We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chantal Convertini a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Chantal , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Ultimately I feel like my purpose found me. photography came to me when I most needed it. but I guess it was a mixture of luck and an intrinsic, born-with love for creation.
I was always into arts via drawing and painting, my earlierst memories are those drawing next to my working mum.
so photography was an extension of an interest that was always there and just another medium that helped me creating what I wanted to capture.
but photography could do one thing specifically well:
It provided me a magnificent tool to connect with others but also with myself. expressing what I feel, what moves me, training myself to seeing beauty in this world.
and the most powerful thing being the selfportrait, that started out as something practical, but was ultimately saving me from pain and heartache in magical ways.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Hi there, I’m Chantal and I am an artist / photographer from Switzerland.
I’m just a girl that fell deeply in love with photography and the way it made me see the world. from day one I was curious, passionate and eventually turned this fire into my job. it was and remains scary to make my most vulnerable part of my heart my business, but a the same time the most rewarding. I love to travel for my workshops, exhibitions, to meet other creatives and to connect in every way or from over art and my images.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
one being the knowledge of how cameras, gear in general, analog film and photography works. I never was and never will be a technical photographer. I have not watched a single “how to” youtube video and for years I did not had any idea what the gear I was using was good for. but that’s one thing that changes with loads and loads of experience. you accumulate knowledge while you shoot, connect, teach, listen, share… and after a few years you have a huge toolkit of knowledge about how to best apply all that technical stuff into a the image you want.
I’d say you need to know what type of learner you are and on the one hand not get lost into the technical details – as the heart is much more important – but on the other hand also not be ignorant, because more knowledge enhances your capabilities to express.
and second thing that was largely underrated in my beginning as well is the “how to business” knowledge. I started out having no idea how that part of my job works. Also there everything I do came with experience, talking to other people, sharing and most importantly: asking for help. and then, also very important: doing what you feel it’s best for you. there is many ways how to do “it”. but you need to find YOUR way to do it.
and third… the personal development, as a basic human being, not an artist, or business woman, or photographer has remained the most important. Learning to listen to myself, to tune in if I’m happy doing what I do, if I get enough rest, if I feel safe, If I feel fulfilled. learning to apply some structure into my days and weeks and also how I prioritize things that help me thrive. and also learning how to stand up /speak up for myself, getting what I deserve, not selling myself under worth ect.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
As a self-employed you always have to be patient with low and difficult phases and I’m still learning how to stay calm and keeping my focus on the things that truly matter. it’s definitely not easy, but I feel the more I surrender, trust and choose joy in what I do over everything else it works.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.paeulini.com
- Instagram: paeulini
- Other: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/paeulini
Image Credits
all selfportraits.
