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

Chelsea , appreciate you joining us today. The first dollar you earn in a new endeavor is always special. We’d love to hear about how you got your first client that wasn’t a friend or family.

When I decided to pick my camera back up to create a business, I knew I wanted to solely work with women, and I was instantly attracted to the Boudoir niche. I started photographing my best friends and myself, learning so much with every click I made on the camera, and on my iMac when trying to learn and figure out my editing style.

Fast forward a couple months of practicing and now its November of 2019. I launched my Instagram page with plans to promote free sessions as a Black Friday deal in exchange for images to use via my portfolio. I booked ten ladies when I launched the Black Friday deal, I was blown away. Ten ladies… ten?! WOW! I got them all booked, and again learned a lot from trial and error. I used theses images to promote the business with hopes this time I could land paying clients.

Couple days later, I got my first inquire, and I was PUMPED! Also nervous, as the pressure of my first paying client was on. She lived a couple hours away and was willing to travel to me for a bridal boudoir session. Was this really happening?! I remember crying happy tears to my husband when we both got home from our 9-5 jobs “I got a client, I got my first freaking client!”

Session day came and I remember the stress was unreal. I cleaned my studio probably three or four times making sure it was perfect. My client arrived, and we got her all set with hair and makeup. and got right to shooting. When she left I remember looking at the images quickly on the back of my camera thinking “okay I actually love all of these, hope she does too and wishes to purchase a product!”

I delivered the gallery via dropbox (this was the beginning okay, remember that!) and crossed my fingers she would request my product pricing list. And guess what, she did! I will never forget the high I got reading her email that was full of “Thank You”s and ” I love them so much”. Processing that first invoice, product purchase, and product delivery was all a new experience for me and was a process for sure. She emailed me once her products arrived that she was so pleased, saying she couldn’t wait to book with me again.

Fast forward almost 2 years later, and this same client booked one of my Black Friday deals. Out of all the twenty something clients I booked from the sale, she was the client I was most excited about. She DM’ed me expressing she loved how much I was growing with my business and my imagery, and couldn’t wait to work with me again. The best part for me was the fact that I was finally charging my worth at this point, and she didn’t ask or question why my pricing was different from her first time around. She valued my work, my time, and I couldn’t express how that was milestone for me.

Finally it’s the day of her second session, and as she’s on her way out I hugged her and let her know how special of a client she will always be to me since not only was she my first paying client, she trusted me again with such an intimate experience. She will forever be my most favorite memory from the beginning of my career journey.

Chelsea , 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?

I have been messing with cameras ever since middle school. I first started off with my grandmothers film camera, then moved to my first digital camera when my parents gifted me one for Christmas in high school. I shot small weddings, senior photos, and of course my friends. One day I was in Victoria Secret with a friend of mine shopping and saw the more artistic B&W shots in the dressing room of their models. I remember thinking “who gets to take those photos? I wanna do that”.

So I did just that. In 2019 I was inspired by the company who we went through for our wedding, ‘Something Old Dayton’-Gem City Co. in Dayton, Ohio. It’s a married couple who run the business and I always wanted to be my own boss. Seeing their business and loving my experience with them inspired me to do the same. So soon after my wedding I remember diving deep into education via photographer educators, youtube, etc. I wanted to work with women, be my own boss, and create art. The best part is now, I do exactly that.

I offer an empowering boudoir experience to my clients. Why do I do this? Because we, as humans, thrive off of positivity and being more in touch with ourselves. I want to give this to them along with creating spicy art with their bodies, building their confidence. My clients come to me for so many reasons such as a gift to their partner for their wedding or anniversary, or maybe they have lost touch with themselves sensually or their partner sexually and are in hopes this will help spark the flame again. Others may book because they have either started a weight loss journey, or just had her third child and doesn’t feel like herself anymore. I know it’s truly hard to love and accept our bodies with the way society and social media protray what “beautiful” is, as I too struggle with this so I know how important it is to practice self love. I also understand how busy life is, so I make their experience as easy as possible. We offer professional Hair & Makeup, so no worries about getting yourself together before you arrive, and just let yourself be pampered. I also offer my clients a closet that features over 300+ pieces of lingerie, robes, accessories and more for them to dress up and live their best lives.

It never gets old when clients come back for their gallery reveal and say “OMG.. that’s me?! I look that good?!” …YES QUEEN YOU DO! I truly love my job, and to be honest it never really feels like work. It feels like I am making a new best fiend and having the best girls day with them. I have so many repeat clients, and that proves to me they value me just as much as I value them. A boudoir session is not just about wearing lingerie and posing; it’s an opportunity to see yourself the way I see you, which is a beautiful human. It’s also the opportunity to try something new, pamper yourself to the extreme, and watch your confidence grow and flourish.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I would have to say from a client point of view- I get told repeatedly from clients that I made them feel comfortable, and it felt more like bestie time vs a ‘service’. That too is my main goal, to make sure clients are not only learning to get comfortable in their own skin, but also being comfortable with being nothing but skin and little to no clothing in front of me. This has helped me build a clientele off of my clients telling their friends, and helping me to be known as the artist that made them comfortable during such an intimate photo session. I cater to all women, and I am known for showing off all different bodies vs just representing a certain body type via my portfolio. I want my clients to know I can pose any body, shape, or size.

From the photography community point of view-I have always had the mentality of ‘community over competition’. To be friendly and positive with other artists within your area is more helpful than you’d think. I get referrals from other artists that capture Family & Lifestyle , Newborn, Wedding, etc. They will send their clients my way confidently knowing they are in good hands. It is also extra fun to have someone to chat with about editing or get together and play around with creative ideas.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Of course creating my own hours and schedule is a huge benefit- but most rewarding aspect is my art is all over. Every client and I create spicy and sensual art together and it’s either printed and displayed in a Luxe Album, or hanging on their wall as a metal print. I get to literally change women’s view on themselves, all the while doing what I enjoy and love. I really love connecting with women on an emotional level, helping them heal with art, or start a new chapter with art.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.geminiboudoir.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geminiboudoir
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/geminiboudoirintimateportraits