Meet Crystal Whiteaker | Inclusive Brand Consulting & Photography

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

Hi Crystal, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
I’m a Brand Photographer and Consultant, specializing in inclusive branding; so I work with entreprenuers and brands to help them ensure they’re building genuinely inclusive, empowered brands, rooted in core values through 1-on-1 consulting and mentoring and group programs.

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.
My work is a hybrid of professional consulting and creative photography. I originally started as a wedding photographer in 2015. I left the corporate world in 2016 and created a very inclusive, welcoming photography brand with clients from many diverse backgrounds in just a couple of years.

I branched into brand photography in late 2019, which led me into first mentoring other photographers, who were looking for guidance on how to create brands that felt genuine to who they were and welcoming to all people. Then things opened up to creative business owners from various trades.

I leveraged a lot of my experience from the corporate world and combined it with my creative style and passion for inclusion to create thorough consulting experiences for entreprenuers and small businesses who want to build more inclusive brands, rooted in core values.

I created my Empowered Branding programs where people can work on their brands in a group setting or work with me 1-on-1. I’ve also been partnering with other coaches and educators to speak as a guest expert in thier programs, which has been an incredible experience.

It has been quite a journey and none of it has been easy. Especially over the last year, where the majority of my work has centered around inclusion and helping people work through their bias so they can do the work around inclusion in a genuine way. Being bi-racial and a queer woman doing this work has brought up a lot of things I needed to work through personally. Doing my own internal work, while helping others do their internal work silmultaneously has been more of a drain on my energy than I was prepared for. Having a community I can lean on has been a life saver! From friends and family, to colleagues, to my business coach and mentors, and even my therapist–there’s no way I could do this without the suppot of my community.

So far, my biggest lesson has been learning when to say ‘no.’ I’m a recovering people pleaser and I’ve always put myself in positions to serve and help others, but I’ve realized that I really can–and have to–say ‘no’ sometimes. It doesn’t make me selfish or inconsiderate. It makes me wise for protecting my energy, because if I’m going to do genuinely good work with people, I need to have the energy to hold space for them through the process; whether it’s guiding them through inclusion or getting them comfortable in front of the camera.

At this point, I’m incredibly proud of the business I’ve built and the relationships I have. I spent so much of my life up into adulthood, feeling like there was something wrong with me or that I was broken, because I saw and experienced the world differently, but it turned out I just needed a sense of belonging. Building this business has allowed me to create my own sense of belonging, where I am allowed to be as I am and the people who choose to work with me have shared values that fuel the kind of communities we want to be a part of, because inclusion is paramount.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We would definitely spend the first night unwinding and catching up in my cozy apartment, because my best friend, like me, always needs a recharge. (Plus, my apartment is fun and comfortable to hang out in–hammock included!)

Pretending COVID hasn’t been a thing for the last year, we would definitely need to hit the Hollywood Farmer’s market, because there just aren’t farmer’s markets like it where I’m from. This would also allow me to knock out the Hollywood Walk of Fame to show her how unglamorous it actually is, haha!

I would do the obligatory Griffith Observatory visit to share a view of all of LA; and of course the Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach.

We would also need to hit the flower market for the same reason I’d take her to the farmer’s market. Plus my best friend LOVES plants and flowers!

There would be a trip to El Matador Beach in Malibu, because she would fall in love with the scenery.

We would also need to do a movie in the park, because the whole experience of packing a picnic and watching a movie outside is also not something we do where I’m from, because the heat and mosquitoes are terrible.

Museums would be on the list as well!

As for food, Sugar Fish is a must and there is this really delicious place called Grilled Friache that has absolutely incredbile food.

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 would have to say literally EVERYONE in my existing community has supported me in some meaningful way. Friends, family, clients, colleagues. So many people have believed in me when I wasn’t sure if the programs I was creating were good enough, people have taken all of the phone calls to talk through material (and my emotions, haha) as I developed and evolved my offerings. Especially my business coach (JR from Rappo Creative) and mastermind sisters, who have seen me fall apart and build myself back up again. There’s absolutely no way I could narrow my shoutout to just one, or even a few people. I’m incredibly fortunate to have so many people in my community who have been with me for the journey. They all know who they are and I appreciate them so much!

Website: crystallily.co

Instagram: Instagram.com/crystallilycreative

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/20558081/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crystallilycreativebranding

Other: Empowered Branding: https://crystal-lily-creative.mykajabi.com/ Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@crystallilycreative

Image Credits
Photos of me in hammock and at the beach were taken by Jenny Rolapp Photography Photo of me on black stool is a self portrait so you can credit Crystel Lily Creative All images of other people are my clients so credit Crystal Lily Creative as well.