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

Jasmin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we talk about all of your success, let’s start with a story of failure. Can you open up about a time when you’ve failed?

Looking back at it now, I don’t think it was necessarily ME who failed, but I felt like I had failed my family. Growing up in a somewhat tradition Chinese Canadian family, my sibling and I were raised to be good in school, get good grades, go to University and get a good paying job in business. I felt like I was being pulled in a direction I didn’t want to go to. I was always creative, adventurous and wanted to express myself differently and I let me parents down when they found that out about me. I never went to University, high school is my highest education level. I pursued a career in the arts instead of business and that forced my parents to adjust to that. It was definitely a challenge from ages 14-22 especially with my father. But looking at it as an almost 24 year old woman, I see it as one of my biggest successes and one of the best – if not THE best – decision of my life.

Jasmin, 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 was bullied by the same group of boys from kindergarten to grade 8. All those years, I dreaded going to school, I was so anxious sometimes that I wouldn’t sleep or eat and I would cry out for help and nobody would listen. I was thrown into therapy, anger management group sessions, and nothing worked. I felt very isolated and had no way to express myself and had no one to speak to. So one day I downloaded Instagram and saw that there were people in this world who took these wonderful photos and they were so creative. I wanted to be that. So I grabbed my iphone 4, put on a dress and started to record myself in different poses in my room. I downloaded some editing apps and that’s where it started for me. I got my first DSLR in grade 10 and ever since then, my interest in photography blossomed into what it is today. I went from nature photography, wildlife photography, travel, weddings, street, portraits and then finally self portraits. I realized my confidence reached an all time low when I couldn’t even look at myself in the reflection of a car window. I avoided myself. I couldn’t live my life never wanting to look at myself. So i forced myself to practice posing in front of the camera. It took a long time but eventually I fell in love with the idea of me wandering through nature and creating this sense of magic. My editing style took some time to figure out. But once I nailed the dreamy, majestic vibe, I knew i had finally found my passion. People from around the world started to message me on Instagram and other social platforms saying my work inspired them to paint, write, draw, or just live. They said my photos brought back inspiration to them. Some even told me my work saved them from leaving this world. Those are the reasons I do what I do. They are the reason why I create. I know what it’s like to feel like you don’t belong here. And my work is a representation of how beautiful this world is, simply because you are in it.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, it’s building those relationships and friendships with people from around the world. I have had the pleasure of making friends with people from different parts of the world, and have even met s few in person. It is such a beautiful gift to be able to connect with others through social media and bond over our love for creating. Another rewarding aspect is the ones who personally reach out to me to thank me for creating. I’ve had countless of people message me saying that my photos have inspired them to paint, draw or create again. I know what it’s like to want to give up on your creative dream, and to have those people tell me I’m the reason they started again, makes my heart full.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Remaining close friends. I have very few selective clients as my target audience pertains to brands and women entrepreneurs. That being said, I make sure to remain a close friendship with my clients so that we both feel comfortable and excited each time we shoot together.

Contact Info:

• Website: jasminchew.com
• Instagram: @majestical_jazz
• Linkedin: Jasmin Chew