Rising Stars: Meet Chelcea Stowers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelcea Stowers.

Hi Chelcea, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My mother’s love for taking pictures of family vacations and gatherings inspired me to pick up a camera. In high school I was always the one with a disposable camera taking pictures. In 2018, I started to feel stagnant at my 9-5 and wanted to do something more creative based. I put my two weeks’ notice in and took a chance on myself. Three years later, I am getting ready to open up my first content studio, MONA (Museum of Neighborhood Art) @monadetroit. MONA is a Detroit based creative content studio that creates content for influencers and small business owners.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The road has had its unexpected turns, from losing my car, death of family members, financial troubles and let’s not forget COVID. I was pretty nervous going into this journey because I was going all in and didn’t have anything to fall back on but I have an amazing support system who have been pushing me and helping me make MONA a household name in the city of Detroit.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a Detroit based lifestyle portrait photographer. I specialize in engagement, event and lifestyle portraits. When shooting, I love making my clients stand out by blurring the background and creating a dreamy effect. It is a style that I am known for and I have brought my style of photography to nightlife events with crowd action shots. Whether it is an engagement session or club event, the main goal is to be able have the photos tell a story to the viewer. I am most proud of my continuous growth and the people I have met along the way who inspire me to keep going.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Being a people person has been an important characteristic on my journey. I am a true introvert and photography has forced me to come out of my shell and interact with people from all backgrounds. I was always the creative but shy kid that was afraid to share my gifts with the world. I now find myself wearing many hats being a photographer, event producer and creative director. Being able to present my vision to clients and then seeing the final product brings me so much joy and pushes me to keep going.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chelcstowers.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/just.chelcea
• Other: www.instagram.com/monadetroit

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