Meet Chantel Zettel | Elopement Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chantel Zettel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chantel, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
My work life balance was absolute shit in my early years. I had no sense of boundary, I had no rules, I had no principles, heck I never said NO. I was working a full time job and making photography my side hustle and i was in the THICK of it. I was photographing every single evening after my 7am-5pm, then I was filling my weekends with photoshoots, and I didn’t get ANY sleep because I was doing the back end of things until 1,2 sometimes even 4am and waking up just to go to my full time job the next day. I burnt myself out. This wasn’t the first time I had done it. Took me years to actually figure out where to draw a line and how to say no. To this day I’m still trying to improve my workflow and efficiency in my calendar but I’ve mastered being able to step back and take care of myself for my business so that I can show up 100% me, 100% of the time. I now have a life outside of work where I travel, I spend time with my friends and my family, I block out time to just be by myself. My entire balance has some a 180 and I am forever grateful for my failures that have lead me here. Each failure taught me a lesson. Whether it was a big lesson or a small one, i learned something new each and every time. Balance is how you make it work for your life specifically.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Specializing in travelling, adventuring and elopements has got to be the main thing that sets me apart from others. I am quite excited about the community i’ve built, the relationships i’ve gotten to create and the people i’ve gotten to meet. It’s the most rewarding and best thing about this career. I continuously get to be apart of so many big and small moments in peoples lives so much that they trust me with some of their biggest secrets and most vulnerable moments. how fucking cool is that?!
Experience is my greatest asset to being where I am today. I constantly put myself in uncomfortable situations where i gain experience and get to learn and grow as a professional. If you aren’t willing to be uncomfortable, you’ll find yourself at a plateau. Was it easy? hell no. was it worth it? hell yeah.
You have to decide in that moment what is more important to you, and where your values stand. Ask yourself how you can benefit from the situation? How can you apply these lessons to your profession? Is scaling your business more important than staying comfortable right where you are for the rest of your life? Are you okay with living this exact life for the rest of it? I wasn’t. I wanted to be better, i still do and i am eager to fulfill my potential.
I’ve learned countless lessons from basic communicating, to leadership, confidence, operation, and plenty more where I had to fail first in order to see a glimpse of success.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
In my little town of Durham there’s a few local spots that are a must but with it being so small i’d also travel a bit outside of it to get tons of experiences in the books.
Firstly, I am gonna imagine is a hot sunny summer week. In the morning when we wake up hungry I am gonna head down to the country corner. They make the best breakfast, have the BEST staff and your always in and out in a timely manner. Now that weve ate, id head down to mcgowan falls to walk the trails, see the falls and maybe even go in for a swim. You can also camp in the other side of the conservation area which would also be a fun time!
For lunch i would hit up the new restaurant on highway 6, “The foundry” and have a few patio drinks. after that i’d be feeling a little fun cold drink so I’d head down to Eowyns ice cream shop. They have tons of unique juice drinks, iced coffee and boba. It’s kinda like a small town starbucks lol! The next day i’d make a tee time at the homestead golf course where we can sit and have a patio drink and eat lunch after. theres. few other little trails in durham around that id go to too! Once we’ve hit up all those places i’d go for a little downtown shopping at Eckhardt’s floral with their cute store and check out the thrifty places on main steet!
My next summer activity would be to grab a couple drinks, blow up some floating tubes and lounge in the river as it takes up from one bridge to the next just outside of town! We also might see if the durham arena/baseball diamonds are hosting any events and swing by to watch some local friends play a game or even just walk the area.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have not one specific person but i have a whole community of amazing local photographers, friends and family that have been apart of this journey and has helped me every step of the way. Jasmine Goulding, my bestfriend supported the shit out of me, she even came with me to my first wedding so i felt confident. Desiree Newton, my little sister took so many days to come explore with me, do fun photoshoots to help me get started and even did little jobs for me throughout the year.

Website: https://www.zettelphotography.com

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Image Credits
Zettel Photo