Today we’d like to introduce you to Monica Justesen
Monica, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve loved taking photos and capturing the magick I see in the world since I can remember. I started my business shortly after graduating high school and have had a slow and steady climb to finding a place of feeling truly fulfilled by what I do. Throughout my journey, I have explored so many types of photography before really finding my passion and niche working with women, retreat leaders, and small business owners in the wellness industry all over the world. After really leaning into what lights me up the most, I created my signature offering, the Initiation Ceremony, a transformative ceremonial photo and video experience that captures the essence of your magick and how life is Initiating you in this season of life. It’s been a messy and beautiful journey that is ever evolving and I love knowing that it will likely look different from this a year or two from now.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not at all! I don’t think any artist’s or entrepreneur’s journey is a smooth road. And, as an artist or entrepreneur, we don’t pursue these paths because we think it’ll be easy, breezy. We pursue it because we love it and it’s worth the blood, sweat, and tears that it often takes to make our dreams come true.
I share in all the struggles that working artists in today’s world face – uncertainty around income, imposter syndrome and self-doubt, financial hardships, personal losses. On a weekly basis, there are challenges to face and hurdles to climb. It’s obviously not all hard, but you have to really be dedicated to your craft and work to stoke your inner fire to make sure you never feel like the good outweighs the bad for too long.
I’ve had to take on clients that were less-than-ideal because paying the bills was more important than having every single client by my ‘dream’ client. I’ve had to sacrifice time with friends, family and loved ones in order to work. I’ve dealt with catastrophic equipment failures at the most inopportune times, I’ve forgotten to bring batteries for my camera to a shoot that was in the middle of nowhere, 4 hours away from home.
I could go on and on, but for me, I try to always come back to what lessons I can learn from each difficult situation that comes my way. Every struggle is an opportunity to grow and it’s all gotten me here today.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I capture women, retreat leaders and small business owners (usually based in and around the wellness industry) all across the world. I *love* capturing folks that pour their heart and soul into their work and offerings, and being able to combine my work with travel to capture retreats is a dream come true.
My signature offering is called the Initiation Ceremony session. It’s a deeply intentional, ceremonial photo and video experience that creates a space for you to show up and be seen in the magick of what you’re moving through in this season of your life. It was an offering that felt too big and too weird at first, and it has blossomed into the most incredible experience and become my signature offering.
I’ve now expanded it into a private Initiation Retreat experience on my property in the heart of Southern Maine to really combine all of my gifts and love languages to hold and support women through a full-day Initiation experience, fully personalized to them.
I’m so proud of myself and my work. I’m proud of the space that I create for clients and the way I’m really able to create a place for people to let their guard down and fully be themselves. I love hearing when folks tell me that I made a session feel effortless and fun. And I love being able to reflect back to people all of the magick I see in them.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My two biggest pieces of advice: Keep learning, keep trying and lean into community!
I always strive to be learning new things or trying new techniques because I don’t ever want to feel like I ‘know it all’. I want to remain forever curious and keep an open mind. It creates so much space to try things and mess up and experiment without judging or putting pressure on yourself, and I think it’s always good to remind yourself what it feels like to be a beginner at something.
And lean into community! Being an entrepreneur in today’s world can often feel isolating, especially in creative fields where the vibes can sometimes feel more competitive than communal. Speaking from experience: your people are out there! If you haven’t found them yet, keep searching and I promise you will find them. And once you find them: lean in! Make it a point to hang out, to co-work, to support each other, to build genuine relationships and cultivate a group of like-minded folks to be in community with. It’s one of the most life-changing things you can do and even without effort, it can transform your business and skyrocket your success, simply because you’re building genuine connections. Even if you’re in business by yourself, you don’t have to go it alone.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.monicajustesen.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/monicajustesen
Image Credits
The photo of Monica was captured by Jessica LaFleur
All other images captured by Monica Justesen