We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Catherine Chuang. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Catherine below.
Catherine, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
I remember back in 2021 I did a styled shoot at Chateau de Villette near Paris. I love a lot of things that are related to art, such as chateaus, oil paintings, musicals, fashion, photography, etc. It was a once in a lifetime experience to do a wedding styled shoot and a fashion editorial at such a historical chateau. It was definitely an experience; even the models and the rest of the vendor team were surprised I was daring enough to dream of such projects and make them happen. Because of this project, I’m daring to dream and know I can achieve a lot of goals as long as I set my mind to accomplish them.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I got into the wedding industry by accident. I happened to be at a friend’s wedding and hit it off with her wedding photographer and the assistant. The wedding photographer asked me to be his assistant right after the wedding, so I started my journey with wedding industry. As years went by, I realized what I want to do with wedding photography is very different than his, so I decided to leave and build up my own photography business. I’m now having wedding photography as my main work, while venturing into interior and fashion photography as well.
Being a creative artist and also an entrepreneur, I realize I have to be very honest with myself. You shine when you present something different from your peers. But in order to stand out, you must have many deep conversations with yourself about what you want, your goals, and your hopes in life. The more honest you are, the faster you get to what you want. And always remember, you are worth the fee you charge; you are worth what you ask for because it’s only you who can do the work that you do. The less time you spend on self doubt/loath, the more energy and time you have to make your dream come true.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I feel most rewarding being a creative when a client absolutely trusts me with the project and let me run with my ideas…also when client appreciate everything that I do for them that’s not written in the job description. We are all humans, and we love to be praised and acknowledged when we do a great job!
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I honestly wish back then there is such an APP like Clubhouse that we had during COVID…that was when everybody got stuck at home and had nothing else to do. All of sudden everyone were so into sharing their stories on how they started their business, tax season issues, communication skills, how to better serve your dream clients, etc. During that time, I grew so much and learned so much. Any industry that we are at should be about supporting each other so we can all thrive and make more money instead of treating others like competitors. That won’t get anybody far.
Contact Info:
- Website: catherine-chuang.com
- Instagram: _catherinechuang_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089426018118