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Meet Chelsea Von Kaenel

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Von Kaenel.

Chelsea, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When my oldest daughter was born in 2016, my husband thought I would really enjoy taking photos of her with a camera that was nicer than my iPhone. He gifted me my first DSLR, and I started taking (and posting) photos of her. Family and friends started noticing, and some of them started asking me to take photos of them and their families! I was nervous, but I took a leap of faith and started photographing families other than my own. I realized that even though I had a lot of room for improvement, capturing photos of families was becoming a passion of mine.

I began advertising traditional, posed family photos. And, though I loved meeting families and taking their photos, there was something missing for me. I wasn’t able to capture who they really were and their true story. I felt like my photos didn’t have the life and playfulness that I was yearning to capture.

When my husband’s grandmother passed away in 2017, we went to clean out her apartment. I had my camera on me, and I just started snapping photos. No one was posing or being directed. They were just cleaning, grieving, and experiencing the loss of a beloved family member. The photos I came away from that time with were not only priceless but also so full of life and truth. I wanted to infuse that into my client’s work, but I still didn’t quite know how to create those honest moments in a professional setting.

A year later, I had my second daughter, and my work screeched to a halt. My new baby was my whole world, and I decided to take a break from professional photography. But during her first year of life, I started to hone my craft as a documentary photographer. I wasn’t posing or directing my children. I was observing them and taking photos as they went. Again my obsession with this new kind of family photography was ignited.

Around the time my second daughter turned one year old, with the encouragement of my husband, his parents and my family, I, again, took the plunge and began to talk about a new way of documenting family life. Now I take photos of other families (and my own) at home, living their lives as they usually do. Without telling them what to do or how to act with each other, families come away from their photo session with photos full of life and playfulness, and their photos are documentation of who they really are and show the truth of their lives together at this particular moment in time.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s been a rocky road, to say the least. Between the demands of a mother, and rewriting the narrative about what family photos can be, I’ve struggled. My biggest struggle has been to communicate the value of honest, documentary-style family photos. I believe in my heart that people deserve photos of themselves living their real life at home, but I think some people are still coming around to the idea of having candid photos of themselves.

And I totally get it, too! With documentary photography, you can’t hide behind posing, or perfect hair and coordinating outfits, and that can be scary. But the photos that families receive are so much more than that. Families deserve photos of themselves that tell their true story, and I don’t think there’s anything more beautiful than that.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I’m the owner and photographer at Chelsea VK Photography, and I’m a Family Documentary Photographer. I’m known for capturing photos that are silly, honest, and tender. My photos aren’t posed or directed, and as such, they document a family’s true connection. Families deserve to have their story told in photos, and that’s what documentary photography does. My photo sessions all about having fun and documenting families at play. My photos are warm and cozy and have a feeling of playfulness and nostalgia.

I’m most proud to have families trust me to be their life-long photographer. When families come back year after year for family photos, it warms my heart. I feel like my clients aren’t just my clients. They’re my friends whom I love and get the privilege of watching grown and blossom through the years.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
In the next year or two, I plan to start offering short family films as a part of my Family Documentary Packages. I’m really looking forward to refining my film making skills and offering video alongside still photos because there is something so special about seeing a carefully crafted film of one’s own family. I know these films will be another treasured heirloom that can be enjoyed for generations, along with the still photos that I offer.

Pricing:

  • Short Story Session: 1-2 hour session, $249
  • Half Day Story: 4-5 hour session, $449
  • Full Day Story: full day session, $749

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Chelsea VK Photography 2020

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