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

Cristen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

I wanted to create something that was more than just taking a photo, I wanted to create moments that our clients could remember forever. I wanted to create an atmosphere of a moment, creating a frozen memory in time that families and loved ones can hold on to. When my (now) husband joined in on the business it has made it even more special to us. We always want to focus on staying true to the couple, whether that be inside jokes, particular hobbies, songs for the couple that bring back memories, anything that creates true connection, reactions, and real moments. We try to focus on creating a space where people are themselves in front of the camera. We want to create moments in front of the camera that our clients are able to look back at and hear the laughter coming from a still moment, remember the feeling of being with their partner, and not worry about whether they are perfectly posed or not. We love being a part of each of our couple’s love story and enjoy being able to see each couple we photograph relax into the day and have fun with their partner and families.

As for the boudoir side of our business, I have a very personal reason for creating this space. I grew up in a background that told me who my body was for, what my body was for, and how I was supposed to use it for it to be “worthy” and that’s not even bringing into the conversation as much pressure societal views have put on us for what our bodies “should” look like. As I became an adult, I wanted to gain back my ownership of my body and allow others to gain back their confidence, ownership, and feel amazing in their skin. Through boudoir I have been able to see so many others in front of the camera transform and, even it is for an hour, be the incredible, confident, and jaw dropping human that they always have been/are! I want to focus on how the individual person feels the most confident, whether that be in clothing or out, I focus on creating a safe space where my clients can relax, have fun, feel sexy, and reclaim what their body means and is to them. I want to create a space that is collaborative with clients and focuses on what makes them specifically feel confident: from what music we play in the background to what clothing they have on your body. Every session is a journey and so individualized that I always leave astounded with how much each person brings, and experiences: something different.

Having both of these types of experiences with clients has made every struggle of being a small business owner worth it. Knowing that we have provided still shots of these moments for our clients means that they can always look back at them and remember that day: the feeling and their loved ones which means the world to us. We love being able to gain life long friends from clients and being able to be a part of all of their journeys is such an honor to us.

Cristen, 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?

Hi! My name is Cristen Williams, I am a Knoxville, TN wedding and boudoir photographer (but love to travel) and my husband, Spencer, is my second shooter. We are a photography duo that focus on true moments, reactions, and connections between you and your loved ones in order to capture those moments for your session. We will always make sure to get the photos in which everyone is looking at the camera and smiling, but we focus on making sure that your true selves shine through your photos.

Spencer and I are huge goofballs. We have tons of inside jokes, facial expressions that mean an entire paragraph to one another, and silly languages that we have created at this point that others don’t get what-so-ever. We realize that all couples and families have their own specific ways of communicating with and navigating around each other throughout their daily interactions, and that is what we want to capture. We have captured secret handshakes between a bride and groom, played kid songs on repeat to allow a child to dance her way through the entire photo session, and stolen so many secret moments between couples throughout their day that they weren’t aware of, all so that we can get the realest form of how their love is expressed: little smirks, quick kisses, passing glances, fixing of ties. All of these moments that get forgotten throughout the chaos of the day is what we are there for.

We always say we want the “head throwing back with laughter” shots, the “kids running around and not being ‘perfect'” shots, the moments that you can hear when you look back on the images. This is what we strive for in every session whether it be your wedding day, an engagement session, boudoir, and more.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I love this question because although I love creating and being in that headspace of being able to create something beautiful, the most rewarding part of all of this is the people.

We have so many memories with people that aren’t a part of our day to day lives. We don’t take anything for granted and are so humbled each time that someone chooses to have us be a part of their significant moments in their life. The stories that we have been able to be written into, or have been given the opportunity to have glances into has been astounding. We are able to learn about how people have met, their butterfly moments, sharing first looks between parents and their children that are starting their own journeys. We learn about hardships, heartbreak, loss, happiness, love, new life. We get to experience so much through our clients and we can’t ever get over the fact that we are allowed to take part in all of it.

For the boudoir portion the reward is similar but hits me intensely. I have heard so many stories of those that have lost their confidence in themselves, their bodies, and who they are that I am humbled, honored, and blown away each time that someone allows me into that vulnerable space with them. The clients always have so much fun and walk out on a cloud and I still haven’t gotten “used to” it and hope I never do. I love seeing the transformation, the confidence starting to flow into their body, and then of course being able to be their biggest hype girl for the next hour.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I think owning a small business always comes with different chapters of new challenges and the opportunity to be able to learn and grow through those. Throughout my time with this business I’ve moved from Arizona to Tennessee and had to start all over again with building clientele and a new style of editing due of the different environment I was photographing. However, the most recent challenge we have faced is the pandemic. During 2020 we had to halt a lot of sessions due to weddings being postponed but also wanting to remain safe for our clients and ourselves and our immunocompromised loved ones. During this latest season it has felt similar to starting over again. I don’t think non-artists realize how impactful it has been for photographers, videographers, and other creators during the pandemic. While our businesses might have seemed to “disappear” it’s really been due to the fact that we haven’t had the opportunity to create because of safety, health, and opportunity.

We are so grateful for those that have helped create sessions that are safe for all involved throughout this season as well as those that have reached out to book after things have slowed down, pandemic-wise. Also, this chapter has allowed us to further our education in our craft, challenge ourselves in how we edit, shoot, and how our customer flow goes, and allowed the freedom to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes. I think the biggest thing about challenges and struggles as a business owner, but as a human as well, is what we can learn from the journey and how we can create a better experience for others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cristendeannphotography.com/
• Instagram: @cristendeannphotography
• Facebook: @Cristen DeAnn Photography
• Other: Boudoir Instagram: @cdp_velvet_vixens

Image Credits
Kennedy Photo Cristen DeAnn Photography