We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chelsea Whitaker. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chelsea below.

Chelsea, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I have been taking photos for pretty much my entire life. I received a pink Kodak point and shoot when I was 9 or 10, and I’ve been doing it ever since. I went to GVSU for Photography, and graduated in 2017. Going to school helped me to learn about different types of photography and mediums. The question for me was always what would my focus be. For a while I wanted to be a nature photographer, and then I wanted to work for National Geographic. It wasn’t until I brought my camera into a show at the Pyramid Scheme in 2017, that a bell went off in my head, telling me I had found my purpose. Oh, that sounds so cheesy. But that’s the only way I can really describe it. I’ve always had a love for music, and I didn’t realize that putting that love of music with my passion of photography would be such a perfect fit.

Ever since then, I’ve been doing all that I can do to photograph shows and bands and festivals.

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 am a freelance writer, photographer and creative director based in Grand Rapids, MI. I have been photographing music since 2017, and currently write and photograph for two publications, Local Spins and Trial and Error Collective. I love to work with musicians, directly, creating portraits for album art and promotion, as well as capturing their energy on stage at a show. In the past some years of learning the music industry, I have also dipped my toes into some non-photo endeavors. For example, I co-produced a music festival called Sounds of the Zoo for its first two years, I co-judged the New Moon Songwriting Challenge in 2023, and I plan to begin learning lighting design this year.

I think my style, creative energy and ability to capture moments are what set me apart from others in my craft. I am not afraid to try anything once, and I love a challenge. I hope to be considered as the go-to photographer whenever bands need photos. Whether they need live show coverage, album art, portraits for interviews, in-studio candids, and anything else. I love to collaborate with artists and other creatives in all ways, and I have grown to really love capturing the intimate moments that others in the public may not see.

I am incredibly proud of my career so far, and I feel as though I am just getting started. Some notable moments in my recent history that I am proud of would include photographing Riot Fest in 2022, Snoop Dogg in 2023, and working with Cameron Blake in studio at Local Legends Recording to capture some candids and portraits for Local Spins. Those photos are some of my favorites of all time.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Oh boy, this is a big question, but a necessary one. Society needs to recognize artists as professionals and pay them accordingly. The world is quite literally built on art, yet our society acts like artists and creatives aren’t “real jobs’ and they don’t value them like they used to. This is a massive systemic change that needs to occur for this to really happen. But I also believe change starts locally. I hope that the general audience will buy tickets to local shows, support local musicians and creatives in whatever ways possible. Because your favorite national artist used to be local. Taylor Swift was just a girl playing guitar in Pennsylvania before she grew to global stardom. If our local communities can help each other grow, we can grow together. The music scene in Michigan is insane and just keeps getting better. I hope that our local governments can recognize the significance of this scene and fund our creatives to keep them going. It really is a team effort for the community and our government to help our ecosystem truly thrive.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

The biggest resource I wish I knew about early in my journey was community. My community is my biggest resource, and when I was just getting started there was so much competition, that you couldn’t find the community. And as a beginner, it’s easy to get distracted by others doing the same thing.

Contact Info:

• Website: chelseawhitakerphotography.com
• Instagram: @chelseawhitakerphotography
• Facebook: @chelseawhitakerphoto

Image Credits
Lilly Irene Photo (portrait of me)