2020 Bold Beautiful Perfect: Chantal

“We all have something special within us, in our soul from the moment of conception. If we are able to let that truly shine, our outward appearance become lagniappe.”

Tell us about yourself, Chantal!

I am Chantal Louise Derouen Krause. I am the Mom of an amazing daughter and 3 amazing sons, all grown now. I am CeCe to 3 perfect grandbaby boys. In my old book, I was married for 30 years. Life has me writing a new book now. Travel, adventure, laughs with family and friends, hugging babies, making new friends, sparkly things, and toasts of champagne are filling the new pages!

How did you come to understand your inner beauty?

After a very selfless life for so many years, I was forced to leave that bubble. The timing was good because my children duties were all done and they appreciated my sacrifices. I was a stay at home mom for 27 years and made custom window covering for local interior designers. I never expected to be set to zero financially and have to start a career at age 50. Thank God I had a dusty math degree! I was blessed with an extremely prestigious sewing job building thermal blankets for satellites. This opened the door for an even more prestigious job working in a metrology lab calibrating test equipment for building satellites and other defense vehicles for our country. My work is for Space Quality! I am the only female in my department and the only lab technician that is not trained in the military.

I am out of character in my job setting, but I bring joy to an otherwise very scientific setting. They named me their social butterfly. They tell me that I light up the room when I walk in. I ramble that story about my job because it was crucial to establishing my confidence and bursting the bubble that I lived in for so long. You see, I don’t think it’s possible to possess inner beauty until you are proud of yourself!

I love to proclaim “Girl Power” every time I hear a woman’s success story. We all have something special within us, in our soul from the moment of conception. If we are able to let that truly shine, our outward appearance become lagniappe.

What was your experience with the photo shoot?

Honestly, the portrait shoot was the best therapy I’ve had in the 3 years that it took me to sort life out. I was able to prance around in outfits that I wasn’t confident enough to wear in public. Brandi has a great gift of encouraging the confidence that awakens our inner beauty!

It was empowering to know that my story was valued and sought. It was an exciting feeling from the first moment of contact. I highly recommend this experience to any woman, but especially those who don’t know how beautiful they are!

You are more beautiful than you know!

To book your own fabulous Portrait Session, contact us through the inquiry form below.

Much love,

Brandi

International Award-Winning Portrait Photographer