We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Celieta Frost a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Celieta thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

There is no such thing as what it takes, but more of what you will give. Now, do I think I’m successful? No. I think I am putting in what it takes to be successful. I hold a very heavy expectation of myself so, success isn’t always the end goal for me. Each day I try to post content, make posts, create content. Your passion doesn’t have a clock in and clock out button. Whatever you have to give is what will be your result. I love the Springfield community and I give my all into it.

Celieta , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For those who don’t know me, my name is Celieta. It is pronounced, suh-Lee-tah. I am a local photographer in Springfield, OH. I started off at Shawnee High School! My freshman year I was the newbie and was hiding under a very thick shell. My friends from Springfield High were playing basketball at Shawnee and I brought my camera for fun. From that day, the day “cfrostphotography” was my new name. After every game my phone would explode with text messages asking about photos.

I went to every sporting event and made two senior videos. My life was attached to the camera. But, sometimes love becomes hatred as every minute of my high school career was spent behind the camera. After my senior year I chose to walk away from photography.

My first college years I worked at Springfield Health and Fitness where I landed the job to do their social media. I was handed a mirrorless camera and the excitement was then ignited once again.

Now, as I finish up my senior year of college. I find myself hugging the camera as I meet new people each week. I have done giveaways to single moms who have never had family photos before, families that may be loosing a loved one and wants their family to be together once more. I have cried many times at shoots and never plan to stop. My clients are my friends and watching them grow and capture those moments make my heart full.

So, that’s who I am.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn is that there is no competition in photography. When you grow up you learn about competition and how brands are in competition with one another. You read about how businesses start to struggle, even close, because of this idea that competition ruins everything.

I have met numerous photographers with different talents. There was not one time I felt as if they were trying to take anything away from me. No. There are many photographers that I admire as their art is unique, present, and them.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

While you are building your business it is important to remember to stay true to who you are. There has been numerous times where I have a-lot on my plate. As a full time college student, full time substitute teacher, and photographer, there were many times where I was incredibly stressed. There were times I was two pints of ice cream in during a mental breakdown as everything was piling up. But, I had to stay true to who I was. Each photoshoot I had to look at what I was doing. I was capturing moments for clients that will last a lifetime. The moments spent with me are documented, forever. My stress didn’t matter. What mattered to me was these moments that are so precious to others and myself. I could not let the stress change how I was going to treat others.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Cfrostphotography
• Facebook: Cfrostphotography