Meet Chelsea Best

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chelsea Best. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Chelsea, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

Ever since I was young, I loved being creative. I grew up with a camera in hand documenting family trips, making music videos for fun with friends and pretending I would be the next big YouTuber. I studied videography seriously starting in junior high and kept with it all the way through high school. It was my passion! The only thing I could imagine myself doing was majoring in film production through college. So, that’s exactly what I did.

Studying film production at San Diego State University was pivotal in my journey in so many ways. I started surprising people through short films I directed. I took more risks creatively, and loved showing people the art I could produce. I signed up to be involved in other artistic roles around campus. I even learned how to shoot 35mm film during my senior year with some of my friends! My short films were invited to the Cannes International Film Festival, and won national awards through Campus MovieFest. I was one of the youngest interns to ever land a position through the Television Academy. My life was set up for success in the television and film industry and it was so exciting. It was something I’d worked for my entire life.

Upon graduating college, I landed a job in post production on my first ever tv show & continued climbing the ladder from there. I was so eager and went in giving it all of my love, passion and energy. I had prepared for this my entire life!! As the years went on, the universe showed me in multiple ways that this wasn’t the life I was meant to live. I was working 12-16 hour days, had bad luck with teams I was placed with, and had a harassment issue that I wasn’t protected from. In a few short years being in the tv industry, I had lost all of that passion, energy, love and creativity for something I had spent my young life working towards. It was incredibly hard to come to terms with, but my mental health was what mattered the most.

During the quiet season of Covid shutdowns, I had so much time to think about what was most important in my life. I went full force into my hobbies. The things I loved the most in the world was traveling and 35mm film. I’d go on little photo adventures for fun, and would always think back to the first time I learned how to shoot 35mm film. To this day, I’m so grateful for my SDSU friends for getting me into it. When I first picked up a film camera, I learned just how precious photography is. Shooting film made each photograph so significant and memorable. The nostalgia that photography brings into people’s lives is so incredibly special.

All of these circumstances led me to stepping foot into wedding photography. Ever since my first wedding, I knew it was the right path. I immediately felt that same sense of passion and creativity and energy that I once had years ago. But this time, it was more personal. Getting to work so closely with my couples to tell their story in a cinematic and timeless way is so rewarding and magical. Sometimes our paths feel like spirals, and the uncertainty of it all doesn’t make much sense. But I’m so glad that things have worked out this way.

I’m so proud of my continued growth I’ve had since starting my business and the art I’m able to produce for my clients. My background in film production gave me the strength to take risks in the creative process & my 35mm film background reminds me to always appreciate the little moments.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My number one goal through my photography is to authentically capture every couples unique love story. My art has been described as cinematic, timeless, carefree, romantic, and full of love. The secret sauce to creating magic with my couples is by having them interpret the prompts I throw at them. I love movement, so sometimes my sessions surprise people by how much of a “workout” it feels like hahaha. But it’s all in good fun. Allowing time for moments to naturally unfold is so important in finding the little, raw moments in between the bigger ones. My couples really do all of the work. Most people tend to enter their session nervous they won’t look good, but leaving the session they feel confident and have a new outlook on photo sessions. Lots of people are usually shocked to see how good they really look in the photographs. But truthfully, as long as my couples are solely focused on one another, the photos always turn out beautifully. I’m just a fly on the wall helping to direct the flow of the day and experimenting with my camera settings.

Connecting with my couples is so meaningful. I’m here for all the tea, so learning about all of my couples relationships is so much fun… and hey, lucky for me it’s an important part of the process too. There’s no better feeling than getting an inquiry from a loving couple and ending up close friends by the end of their big day. There’s nothing like it.

I’m currently focused on meeting my dream couples and joining them on more destination weddings and elopements! My passion for traveling the world goes hand in hand with my craft of photography. I always feel a million times more inspired being in a new space. To capture love in beautiful destinations is my ultimate goal.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Never stop experimenting.

When I first started on my journey, I tried so hard to create work that resembled the big photographers I looked up to. I thought that my photos needed to be bright and airy to get noticed for luxury weddings. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. I knew from the get go that I wanted my photos to be different. I wanted the photography process as a whole to be different. Since I started my business 2.5 years ago, my editing has changed drastically. And it still changes a bit here and there to this day. The more I create, the more inspired I become, and the further I grow. This has made me more confident in experimenting with my camera settings during sessions as well. There is no one way to do things. And there will always be people who love and support the work that you produce!

Don’t let imposter syndrome swallow you whole.

This one is HARD!!! It’s so easy to get stuck in the black hole of imposter syndrome and not find a way out. Nearly every time I open the Instagram app, my thoughts go astray. It’s not hard at all to allow negative thoughts to enter your mind. “Am I really good enough???” YES. Keep creating the art you believe in & others will follow! Surround yourself with other creatives who support you as well, and the journey gets easier.

Just be yourself.

This can also be somewhat hard when starting out your business. You may think “I need to be as professional as possible!” Which, true! But, don’t be a robot. The more I’ve shown my true self on my business socials the easier it has been to book couples who align with my vision and personality! It makes things so much better when you’re working with people who resonate with you and can relate to you. Being myself also gives me a leg up in my sessions! I’m super happy and silly 100% of the time, so bringing that fun energy into my sessions typically makes the experience more enjoyable for my clients. By the end of it all, they usually tell me how comfortable I made them feel & what a blast they had working with me. :,)

How would you describe your ideal client?

My ideal clients are couples who want to FEEL something from their photos. People who want a carefree experience with their photographer. Someone who isn’t afraid to try new things & be silly with their partner. Couples who aren’t afraid to joke around and laugh at themselves together. Those who appreciate having some unconventional photographs in their final gallery. Someone who doesn’t want to feel too stiff or posed when working with a photographer. My ideal clients prefer moodier photos over the bright and airy ones. They appreciate the little moments just as much as the big ones. Someone who loves to see the world & wants the location of their wedding or session documented as well to help tell the overall story. They trust in the creative process and are down to go out of their comfort zone in order to create beautiful art. My ideal clients want to hire a photographer that loves to have fun, who will always be in their corner & prioritizes telling their story in a genuine way. Those are my people. 🙂

Contact Info:

• Website: https://simplybestphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplybestphotography/
• Other: TikTok
  https://www.tiktok.com/@simplybestphotography

Image Credits

Photos by: Chelsea Best @ Simply Best Photography