From stories sprung my love for the mediums that bring them to life — photography, writing, and filmmaking.

When I received my first camera when I was in middle school, for the first time in my life, I felt I could serve as a storyteller myself — to take my own experiences and express them through the visual landscape of photography.

Following years of learning composition, lighting, and testing out an endless variation of shooting techniques, I began my own photography business in the fall of 2015, Chaveli Photography, where for five years, I have had the honor of connecting and translating the stories of hundreds through my lens.

Through Chaveli Photography, I served witness to proposals, marriages, graduations, births, surprise reunions and many more. And with each photoshoot, came a different story, a new opportunity to connect with someone and capture the authenticity of their emotion and experience within a single frame.

With the growth of Chaveli Photography, I grew as well.

While continuing my work in portraiture, I began the journey of expanding my love for film, into an additional tool to tell the stories I bore witness to. Further, I began writing more and grew a desire to pursue a career in storytelling more than I ever had before.

For the last two years of my college career at the University of South Florida, a short mantra I wrote found its way into endless notebooks, sheets of paper and ongoing repetition in my head.

I am a photographer. I am a writer. I am a filmmaker. I am a storyteller. I believe in the power of stories. I believe in the power of people.

The short mantra carried me through sleepless nights spent editing, or studying for exams.

The short mantra pushed me through the occasional seasons when doubt would creep in.

The short mantra became a daily reminder of my purpose and who I am.

Then finally, in the summer of 2019, I took a leap of faith in leaving my hometown of Tampa, FL to move to New York City to further delve into my love of storytelling as a Master’s student at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

There, I honed in on learning how to capture stories cinematically through the mediums I love most — photography, filmmaking and writing.

And throughout that time, I realized that this business, this brand, can no longer go on solely utilizing one tool to capture stories, but rather expand to telling compelling narratives through photography, film, and writing. And then, Chaveli Photography bloomed into Chaveli.co.

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Now, 8 years since opening my business,  I’m 25, a soon-to-be wife and mom, and still in love with capturing stories through photography and videography.

Together, my fiancé and I began our own media business, C + B Studios, with a focus on wedding and business photography and filmmaking. And towards the end of the year, we look forward to having a physical studio location for our business to meet with our clients, host photo/video sessions and education seminars and bring the Tampa/St. Pete creative community together through exciting events.

Here’s to capturing more stories.