We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kristen (Ris) Mittlestedt a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kristen (Ris), looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
In highschool my mom gifted me a point and shoot camera for Christmas. Before the time of iphones, we used little hand held cameras to take “selfies”. I spent my weekends posing my friends in makeshift studio sets! I wanted to create images that looked like they fell out of a movie or magazine. I remember being so in awe of models, how they looked so confident. I wanted to bring that feeling out in my friends, who at the time, much like me, struggled with self confidence. We were the weird artistic kids in school that didn’t really fit in with a specific cliche. I worked as many side jobs as possible and lived that fast food employee life until I could purchase my first professional camera.
I used these images to apply to the Fine Arts program at Ball State University. It honestly wasn’t until my last year of college that I decided to pursue photography professionally. I was told that I should go into graphic design or photojournalism if I wanted to have a profitable career. I dabbled in both but they didn’t bring me joy. It’s important to be passionate about a career if you’re going into business for yourself or you will burn out.
So I began my career as a wedding photographer. Perhaps it was because I was planning my own wedding at the time, but I really enjoyed capturing the raw emotions and pure confidence and love during the wedding day. I told love stories with the same artistic spin I used for my gallery work. Through my 12 years as a wedding photographer I got to travel the world and even be published in some big wedding magazines and blogs.
However my career as an artist began in 2020. I worked full-time as a wedding photographer for 8 years, and then Covid hit. Suddenly I lost all of my income as weddings were prohibited for most of 2020. This was an important moment in my career. Since I couldn’t photograph weddings, I began dreaming again and found myself back to my roots. I built makeshift studios around the house and did self-portraits to cure the creative itch. I began dreaming of more elaborate sets and once day while walking around town I spotted new windows being installed to the top of a building downtown. A building that was unoccupied since I moved to the town of Bluffton in 2011. I went down a rabbit hole to find the owner of the building, contacting people around town. That is when I met Nathan Stauffer.
He walked me through the building he had recently purchased and was actively renovating. It was in horrible shape. Standing in a room with putrid pink wall paper, no ceiling, and wild green floors; he told me he had other people looking to rent the space so I would need to make a decision within the next day. I took a leap of faith and signed a lease without seeing the final finished space.
Moving into the studio changed my life. I will always love photographing weddings, but I knew I needed to pivot back to my childhood dreams of creating my own sets. Growing as a woman I had faced a long journey of accepting my body. I hated who I was for a very long time, and I never wanted another woman to feel that way. With the studio space I would be able to show women how amazing they are by showing them in art. There is something so profound about seeing yourself through the eyes of another person, seeing yourself as a work of art. Because at the end of the day, that is what we are; works of art. Every person has beauty in their own way and I was determined to prove it to every woman who walked into my studio space. I found my life’s purpose in 2020 when I shook Nathan Stauffer’s hand. I wanted to heal women through the power of art and radical self love.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I told a bit about myself in the last question but let me ramble some more! My work can be described as whimsical and ethereal portraits of women. It’s an unfortunate truth that many women experience trauma in their lives. Either abuse from a loved one, a partner, or sexual assault. A lot of women who walk into my studio are looking to reclaim their bodies, their femininity, their selves. There is a misconception about boudoir and glamour photography, my work is never for the male gaze. My goal is to create a safe space for women to discover their own personal power. The amazing thing about photography is that is freezes a moment in time. It’s a slice of your existence that you can forever return to. Through elaborate sets and fine art editing, they will see themselves in a fantasy world. A place that is all their own, a world that no other person has or will ever be able to exist within. It’s theirs and they rule it. Seeing yourself in a work of art is a powerful experience. I love seeing the faces of my clients and exclaiming “YES, THAT IS YOU AND IT ALWAYS WILL BE!!!”. I never make anyone beautiful, I always counterpoint that statement by asking “what changed?”. We can put you in a gown and put some makeup on you, but we didn’t change who you are fundamentally; you’ve always been beautiful and always will be.
How do these images help a person? Seeing yourself as a confident and powerful person is a stepping stone to embodying that in the reality of your life. When you have a bad day you can look back at that image where you own your own slice of time, and be reminded you are that powerful person. This quote from a past client describes my goal better than I ever could:
“”These photo sessions for me are more than just getting beautiful and unique images. They are an empowering therapy session for me that never really ends. I struggle with extreme insecurity, OCD, high anxiety and I’ve been in abusive relationships. Despite all of those struggles Ris takes me away from those things and makes me feel beautiful and powerful. Like I can do something amazing and I deserve to be confident. I can be myself but dressed up how I love in this elevated almost fantastical world while someone’s telling me that I not only belong but that I should be proud. I know that I can completely trust her and even if I need kind words throughout to remind me that I’m capable she never makes me feel annoying or like a burden. I get to be myself and do something for me. Not for kids, not for relationships, not for work, but for me. I leave each session more confident and released from pressures. I almost don’t even care or worry about the images after the sessions! The act of participating in them gives me so much empowerment and joy that I couldn’t even ask for more. But I DO get more. I get beyond beautiful images that I thought weren’t even possible if I was in them. I get to look at them as a piece of art that Ris created with her talent, imagination brought to life, hard work and skill. But they are also a therapeutic session that never ends because I get to look at them as a constant reminder of how I can feel and that I deserve to be able to feel that way. Thanks to Ris being the beautiful, empowering soul she is, I can look at them and remember that I’m capable and can do it. They are beautiful images but the experience and meaning of them are so much more. ” – Courtney
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The main lesson I learned over the years that I believe is important for everyone, artist or not, is that failure should be encouraged! Failure is misunderstood. We live in a society where being perfect is the only option, but if you fear failure you will never begin. Nobody starts anything perfectly. It took Thomas Edison 1,000 attempts before he invented the light bulb. Without failure, some of the world’s greatest inventions, discoveries, and products would not benefit society today.
As an artist, failure is an opportunity. Two years back I decided to design a set around the tradition of Ostara (a Spring holiday similar to Easter). With a fellow photographer friend named Brittany Buesching, we spent hours building the perfect set. Imagine with me, a table covered in silk fabric of different rich colors, elaborate and perfectly placed florals, candles, and various fruits. We had perfect beams of light shining through the windows and a model set upon the table. We created some beautiful photos before the table suddenly collapsed. It became a chaotic mess of candle wax and scattered flowers. Everyone was perfectly fine and laughing but the set we spent hours on was ruined before we were even halfway through the photoshoot. It was then, looking down at the model in the destroyed mess of our set that I realized we would never be able to purposely recreate this set. It became an exclusive design! We kept on with the photoshoot in our “failure” and those images are some of my favorite images to this day.
Another example of failure as an opportunity flashes back to 2020 when my wedding photography business took a loss for the year. I almost quit photography all together and considered my business as a failure. However, it led to the pivot of portrait work that ultimately led to finding my current studio.
Failure isn’t the end, it’s a door that is never locked and should be opened.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
When I started my career I was fearful about reaching out to fellow photographers. Networking is your strongest resource! Find creatives that inspire you and follow them, reach out and ask them to coffee. See where they want to expand in business and see what you can offer to assist and vice versa. Creatives are always learning! A photographer friend of mine named Ashlee and I meet up every few weeks to practice new lighting and techniques that we both want to learn. Together we can creative problem solve areas where we both want to expand! Not everyone is competitive and I firmly believe that a rising tide raises all ships.
Find businesses that might even be outside your niche but you can collaborate with and see how you can help each other. Some of my best friends are photographers, florists, painters, DJ’s, and wedding planners. I’ve collaborated with all of them! They will push your name to future clients and offer their own personal stories and resources that will benefit your journey. You don’t have to learn alone. Build a community and you will always feel supported even when things get rough.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thespaceglam.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.space.atelier/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thespaceglam
- Other: https://www.kristenmittlestedt.com
