Conversations with Kristen Chavez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Chavez.

Hi Kristen, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I started as a hobby photographer in 2014, but at the beginning of 2020, fresh out of my divorce and becoming a single mom to two under two, I decided it was the time to dive in and make this a business if I was ever going to do it. Photography has been a steady source of joy in my life, and I always knew this was something I wanted to cultivate into a career.

I loved to capture growing families over the years: new babies, growing toddlers, and funny middle-schoolers. At the beginning of 2020, I co-hosted a women empowerment event with Taylor Paige of The Perfect Touch KC. I did my first boudoir sessions at that event and found a new spark. Empowering women to celebrate themselves lit a fire in my soul.

My passion for family photography and my love for boudoir have pushed me to continue to grow this business into something that can sustain myself and my children, and also make an impact on the clients who trust me to capture these incredible moments.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I think any business owner will tell you that entrepreneurship is not an easy option. Entrepreneurship is late nights after my kids have struggled to fall asleep, weekends spent away from home and my kiddos, early mornings for mentorship meetings, using my entire lunch hour at my day job to edit and deliver client galleries, thinking up a social media plan while you lay in bed, wide-awake in the middle of the night – you get the idea.

Building a business is non-stop. Talent and skill is one thing and is a great asset to a successful business, but creating a brand and finding your clients, your people, is not an easy road. It’s exhausting sometimes, but all of this hard work funnels into my dream – being my own boss, creating an incredible life for me and my children, and being able to create art with my clients who will treasure these images forever.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a photographer, specializing in family and boudoir. I’m known for my authenticity and encouragement. I call myself “Your Personal Hype Girl” and that’s truly what I strive to be. I want everyone to feel like a million bucks when they’re with me and to be able to look back at their pictures, remembering how beautiful, loved, and amazing they felt. I am most proud of creating an experience for my clients that is about more than just photos.

It’s about their kids’ quirks and the love in their family. My boudoir clients tell me how comfortable they feel with me like we’ve known each other our entire lives – and that, for me, is like winning the jackpot. I want every client to feel like we’ve been best friends forever.

How do you define success?
When you wear so many hats, success has so many different meanings. As a mom, stability and health for my children is the goal. As a photographer, seeing my clients glowing and ecstatic over their experience and their images is a success. As just Kristen, doing what I love to do and seeing that become my career is a success.

Building my business has helped me accomplish all of these things, and I am so thankful for the clients that trust me and come back to work with me, for my kids who are flexible and understanding when mama has to work, for my family and friends who babysit and encourage me when I’m tired or feeling discouraged, and for my hard work and dedication to make my dreams a reality.

I could not find an ounce of success without all of these pieces fitting together.

Pricing:

• Family Sessions, starting at $245
• Boudoir Sessions, starting at $400

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: KC-Captures.com
• Instagram: @capturedby.kc and @boudoirbykc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KC.Captures.Photography
• Other: Join my women-only Boudoir Group on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/2901791933229766