We recently connected with Stella Cheng and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Stella, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I was a frontline healthcare worker for almost 7 years and have seen so much in my time. There was a lot of mental exhaustion after shifts. The early pandemic was one of our hardest times. Everyone was feeling down. Everything felt like it was on pause. During that time – I needed an outlet. I wanted an outlet.
I’ve always dabbled in photography because always did landscape when I travel to National Parks. I didn’t know how to do portraits so in 2020, I participated in a lot of styled shoots. Styled shoots are staged wedding photo shoots. I decided I could handle weddings if I worked in the Emergency Department and dealt with highly stressful situations. Attending styled shoots helped me so much. I was able to connect with vendors. Since then, I’ve learned the editing style I like. What camera settings to use. What makes my photos pop out.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a wedding and couples photographer located in Los Angeles and have traveled out of state for photography. Also, I love shooting all types of photography such as family, maternity, and graduation photos.
I love asking my clients what they envision in their shoot and how I can make it happen. Each shoot is different and would give my clients their personal touch. As a photographer, you have to have creativity. And sometimes you have to share your creativity with others.
As a light and airy photographer and love using light to my advantage. Light is a powerful tool for me.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The three areas of knowledge I have is my editing style, using light as my tool, and knowing the settings on my camera.
I’ve had a lot of DMs ask me about my editing style. Or what I use. One of my advice to anyone starting as a photographer is to figure out your camera settings. Once you know how to use the manual settings, you will have a sense of direction in your editing style. I’ve always known that I love love and airy photos and how they can look like film.
Photography takes time to develop. Thus why going to styled shoots helped me and doing a few free photo shoots when I first started. There was no pressure on me. Again, it’s an outlet to use my creativity. It helped me so much to invest in myself to be the me now.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
As a photographer, you’re a creator and visionary. My ideal client is someone who can see my creativity and be part of it. I ask my clients what they envision for their shoot and my creativity will start flowing and I bring these ideas to my clients.
My ideal clients will trust my ideas.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://stellachengphotography.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/stellachengphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stellachengphotography/
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/stellachengphotography/
