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

Hi Crystal, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

We are a design studio. Instead of taking a large number of pictures, we put a lot of thought into the color scheme and lighting technique before the photoshoot and make sure the tone and colors in all settings are coherent and can be put together to create a visually pleasant art piece or lay out a beautiful story in the album afterward. The photo shoot itself is only one small part of the five steps we do in each session – consultations, outfits suggestions, photoshoot, photo reveal and mockup design, editing and retouching, and final product design and printing – that all together lead to the final products of fine art pieces.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi, I am Crystal! I have more than 10 years experience in photography and opened my first photography & art studio in Ellicott City, Maryland in 2022. My studio creates high-quality and fine arts portraits that feature home wall art decoration for families and business use. I am also a PPA-certified professional photographer among the very few.

I got into photography because I wanted to preserve the meaningful moments in my life. My husband and I used to travel a lot when we were younger. We have been to Australia, France, the UK, Sweden, and of course coming originally from Taiwan, we are always visiting home, which gave me a lot of opportunities to take pictures. Additionally, I was a very technical person and was totally fascinated by how I could possibly manipulate the shutter speed, aperture, and lighting directions to express how I see the beauty of the world. Therefore, playing around with my camera has become an enjoyable hobby for me. After we had our firstborn, I became even more serious about portrait photography. I wanted to capture my little girl’s smile, her innocence, her curious gaze, and all the amazing milestones. Being an animal behaviorist in the past probably also contributed a lot to my interest in human emotions and body language and my passion for portrait photography.

At my studio, we offer full-service custom photoshoots in a luxury studio setting. After the photoshoot, we help our clients select the best images that will look amazing in their home to print with the museum-grade portrait material and the images that capture the love and emotion to preserve in the album. Minimalism and timelessness are the signatures of the portraits we strive to create. This style allows the images to tell a story of the subjects in beautiful lighting without adding too much distraction.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Professional photographers have the potential to experience extreme burnout if they are not careful. I started this business mostly on my own without a mentor or many resources, so I found myself constantly searching for better systems to run the business. It was a really tough journey for me (and I surely do not recommend it.) For example, locating a good printing lab is basically the essence of my design studio, but even when I searched and compared all the professional labs on the internet and read through all the descriptions over and over, I was still very unsure about what I would be offering to my clients. Then I decided to sign up ImageUSA right away in order to see and touch all the products I wanted to sell in person. Eventually, I found the products that I have my heart on at the conference. Hiring the right partner to work with also took a lot of time and effort. For example, it took me almost five years to build a team that I am very proud to present who we are to my clients. Over time, I have learned this – nothing comes easily. It all takes a lot of sweat and tears, so don’t give up too early. “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.” -Tracy McMillan.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I enjoy being productive and working together with clients on their dream portraits knowing that the photographic products I create for them are pieces of art that they will cherish for a lifetime. It is also very fulfilling to be able to empower clients to elevate their self-image and develop meaningful connections, all while fulfilling their decorative portrait needs.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.crystaltsengphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crystaltseng.photography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crystaltsengphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystal-tseng-573044a/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/crystal-tseng-photography-ellicott-city

Image Credits
Crystal Tseng Photography