Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Loren.
Hi Chelsea, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I’m in business to help small businesses flourish, and I do that with meaningful photography.
Photography is the outlet I can create the most impact through — turning visions into visuals and conveying ideas, products, and services in ways that make them shine.
Showcasing experiences — whether that’s products in lifestyle settings, highlighting hotel amenities, or a business owner’s services — is my favorite thing. Illustrating what a prospective customer can expect in terms of quality, feeling, and the value is actually what catapulted me into photography.
So, here’s the story: I began my photography career assisting my mom, who is an award-winning Family Photographer. When it came time to embark on my own, I followed my love of Art History and Fashion…and moved to Paris.
While in Paris, I worked as a Travel Journalist, capturing the city’s many delights while trying to discover the world’s best croissant. I was sharing this all on my blog — hotels, foods, travel experiences — and that’s how it all began.
I figured out how to make that a “real” job, and I’ve been in photography for over 10 years now — previously running the photo department for an e-commerce boutique, working for a leading wedding website curating editorials, and then directing all content for a Forbes-listed Top 10 Travel Influencer.
Having traveled far and wide, I chose to base myself in San Diego because I adore the many mom-and-pop shops and the historic communities. And I want to be able to support those small businesses — the ones with big dreams and goals of creating a career that not only is something they love but also allows them to live a life they love.
One of my biggest takeaways from living in France is the idea of working to live and not living to work. As a culture, the French are passionate about taking holidays, allowing time to cook and eat slowly, savoring little moments each and every day, and only working between certain hours. They are never “too busy” for things. That, to me, is so important, and it’s my goal to help other small businesses to achieve that reality by helping them grow with meaningful imagery.
I wholeheartedly believe that when you can empower others doing something you love, that’s where the magic happens.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Is it ever a completely smooth road for anyone? Those challenges and pitfalls along the way help shape you and allow you to figure out what it is you’re really want, and in turn, don’t want.
Like I mentioned above, I had been working for other companies and loved to learn from them — and I think that’s super important when you dream of owning your own business one day: learn. Soak in as much as you can from others — figure out what works, and doesn’t work, and garner tools you can implement.
Over the years, I had built up a pretty substantial portfolio photographing and creative directing, but it was under these other companies. So, I knew I wanted to eventually own my own business, set my own hours, and be client-facing.
What I didn’t anticipate was that when my boss was expecting her first baby, she decided to devote herself to motherhood (which I absolutely understand!), and that led me to founding my own business.
Because I’ve had some fabulous mentors and am able to consult my mom on so many things, it’s helped me to craft a really strong roster of clients and ultimately create work that helps brands to reach their target market and flourish, and doing so brings me so much joy.
However, when I was first starting off, I didn’t necessarily know when my next paycheck would be, how to price out creative projects, or how to balance (it’s easy to not “turn off” and work until 10 pm) — it’s constantly a learning curve and figuring out what works.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a Commercial Brand, Personal Brand, and Lifestyle Product Photographer based in San Diego, and work with clients all over.
My background is in Art History, Marketing & PR, Fashion, and Travel, so I assess brands through these lenses. My design approach is rooted in strategy, visual research, and storytelling — I help small to mid-size businesses level up with fresh and meaningful imagery that drives profit.
While I specialize in a few areas: Lifestyle Product Photography, Commercial & Personal Brand Photography, and Hotel/Short-Term Rental Experience Photography, those categories ultimately all tie into storytelling and experience.
Because of my blogging and editorial background, where I worked for leading online publications, I honed my skills to see what performs well analytically and figured out how to translate target markets, ideas, and feelings into stories and content that captures attention. As I’m able to fuse that editorial and marketing background with art, it makes for really engaging visuals that tell a brand’s story.
Each and every project is like a puzzle, and I have to figure out how to make things click into place — what colors complement the brand, what storylines to focus on, what should lighting be to convey a certain mood. I never know what will pop into my inbox, and that makes it extremely fun — I’ve photographed everything from frog dissection kits (not my favorite) to flavored intimate wipes to candles and more.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
If you’re looking to start your own business, figure out what makes you unique and embrace that. Identify your unique offerings and how you differ from the competition. If you are similar to another local restaurant, fitness trainer, or hair stylist, customers have no reason to pick you…which leads them to choosing the cheaper option. You lose out on business when your brand is bland.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chelsealoren.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chelsealoren.co/
Image Credits
Chelsea Loren
