Meet Chrystal Starr

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chrystal Starr.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Chrystal. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I like to describe myself as a daydreamer and a rebel with a heart of gold. Often getting lost in my own imagination, I first used photography as a way to express myself through self-portraits while I was growing up in a small town in Michigan. As a teenager, I loved playing dress-up with corsets, gowns, and anything that would make for an interesting self-portrait (like dead flowers or a mirror). I had fun doing my makeup for my images too and was always changing my hair color. I tore pictures out of magazines that were glamorous, erotic, queer, or androgynous (like David Bowie, Brian Molko or Jeffree Star) and hung them on my bedroom walls not only for photo inspiration but because I loved being surrounded by beautiful pictures of people. My bedroom walls were an ever-changing evolution of a “mood-board” before that was ever a thing.

When I got to college to study photography, that’s when the real adventure began. College classes forced me to think outside of the box and come up with creative photoshoot ideas to nail an assignment. I knew I loved photographing people, but I didn’t want to just take a portrait, I wanted to take a photograph that was thought out and took some planning; I wanted to tell a story and I wanted to make my viewer stop and think for a moment. I experimented with props, I took pictures in interesting locations, and my senior thesis was a focus on men in heels. I wanted my models to wear something glamorous, something unique, or barely anything at all. My portraits were, for lack of a better word, alternative. I’m thankful to my modeling friends who were up for anything I asked of them!

Today, I still have tear sheets from magazines and other works of art covering my bedroom walls for inspiration; it’s something I will never grow out of. I’m inspired by the queer community that I’m a part of, alternative fashion, gothic culture, and other beautiful beings. I’m always sporting a bright color somewhere in my hair, and I’m quite satisfied with my makeup skills. My self-portraits have transformed into deeper ways of expressing myself, from evoking emotion to displaying my new self-confidence. A few of my gender-bending photographs were featured this year in the “LGBT Heritage: Past, Present, Future” event at Artists Corner Gallery, and now I’m writing this interview for Voyage LA 🙂 It’s been an exciting past year in Los Angeles and I feel like I’m just getting started!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s been a bumpy road this whole time, but I’ve had insightful learning experiences along the way. In 2015 I moved to LA and I thought I had life and freelance photography figured all out. I had spent my whole life in Michigan, making connections and some clients through school, work, and a lifetime of living in the same area, only to start from scratch when I moved here. And I mean completely from scratch. A few months in I had to take a job working in customer service, which was my plan B. I later noticed an opportunity to promote myself when I realized they were hiring random people off CL to do their photography, and eventually I convinced them to promote me as a photographer, which gave me something solid for my resume. However, the work environment was toxic, I was still helping with customer service, and my personal life was suffering because of that. It was emotionally jarring, but a necessary life lesson.

Because things didn’t work out the way I thought it would, I became creatively depressed and I barely produced any personal work for about three years. I didn’t promote myself as a photographer, and I felt lost and uninspired. In 2017, I got a full-time job working as a photographer for an e-commerce company. I had a lot of fun working here and for a little while, I thought this is what I needed to feel complete as an artist (Full-time staff photographer! Pretty cool, right?), but after some time, I felt like something was missing. I was still not creating any personal work because for a moment my full-time job was fulfilling enough, however, I also had this naive idea that I should not be doing photoshoots unless they were commissioned projects. TFP and test shoots were for college, right? No, no, nope. Slowly, through talking with some amazing photographer friends and realizing for myself, I now understand I always need to be photographing, I always needed to be working on personal projects and increasing my skill set, and no matter what, shoot shoot shoot and do so every week.

This September, I finally quit that full-time job in order to pursue freelancing. Ultimately, I want to be recognized and get credit for my personal photographing style. Once again, as with most things in life, it didn’t go as planned, but I’m still pursing it. I’m continuing my education and I’m photographing something new almost every week. I’m pouring over advanced Photoshop tutorials to learn new techniques, and I’m starting to build a clientele that comes to me specifically for creatively themed photoshoots. If we don’t learn, how will we grow? Never stop exploring and evolving, and never give up on your dreams.

Chrystal Starr Photography – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I think it goes without saying that I love photographing people. My creative eye has developed over time and I have an expert understanding of how to pose and style my subjects to get the best image possible. In addition, now that I have unexpected work experience in e-commerce product photography, I have started to expanded my portfolio to include creative product layouts to be used for social media and marketing materials.

I’m most proud of being able to offer my clients a chance to express their own individual personalities, much to the same joy and excitement that I get when I photograph myself. Being both a model and a photographer gives me a unique perspective, which I believe sets me apart as an artist.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I thought success might be landing a full-time job as a staff photographer, but for me, this missed the mark. Success, personally, is having continuous freelance gigs in which I’m overwhelmed with photoshoot bookings. I want to work hard, I want more clients to come to me for my unique visions and skillsets, I want to feel established and in-demand. I would feel accomplished waking up every day working on a different commissioned photography project. Perhaps I’m getting too far ahead of myself, but a girl can dream!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chrystalstarrphoto.com/
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrystalstarrphoto/

Image Credit:
Modeling by Eddie, Tammy, Danya, Dani, Tanya, Nick and Angela.

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