Artist + Editorial Portrait

ARTIST + EDITORIAL PORTRAITURE

Portraits With
Presence

Distinctive portraiture for recording artists, performers and creative professionals — created with intention, direction and a strong sense of individual identity.

People. Character. Story.

Editorial portraiture shaped by light, movement, expression and the person in front of my camera.

  • Michell Santelik Vanis Salon Portraits

CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER · MASTER ACCREDITED · PHOTOVOGUE · PUBLISHED INTERNATIONALLY

“I’m interested in more than what someone looks like.
I want to photograph who they are.”

–Michell Santelik
Behind the camera

Michell Santelik

Michell Santelik, CPP, is a Master Accredited portrait photographer with more than 30 years of experience. Her work has been published internationally and selected by PhotoVogue. Based in the Chicago area, she creates editorial portraiture for artists, performers and creative professionals—in studio and on location.

The Project.


This is an ongoing photographic project documenting recording artists at a particular moment in their creative lives.

My goal is simple: to create an honest, intentional portrait of each artist—often in only a few minutes—away from the stage lights, the crowd and the performance. Something quieter. Something that feels like them.


Whenever possible, I also want to document the other side of performing: the moments surrounding the show, the view from backstage, the wings or the balcony, and the relationship between an artist and the room they are performing for.


Over time, these portraits and photographs will become part of a larger body of work, with the goal of creating a printed collection and exhibition celebrating the artists I’ve had the opportunity to photograph.


The portrait itself doesn’t require a production. I can work quickly at the venue, backstage, in a dressing room, or wherever a few quiet feet of space are available. When a venue isn’t practical, I regularly work from Chicago locations giving an artist or team another easy option while moving through the city.


No elaborate setup. No hours in front of a camera.
A few minutes. One portrait. A record of who you were in that moment.

FOR ARTISTS + TEAMS

The process is intentionally simple.

Portrait sessions can take as little as 5–10 minutes and are designed to work around an artist’s existing schedule. I can photograph at the venue or another convenient Chicago location with a minimal footprint and very little disruption.

Selected finished imagery from the portrait will be provided to the artist or team.

Interested in being part of the project? Let’s talk.

Let’s Make Something
Worth Remembering.

For artist portraits, editorial commissions, press imagery and creative collaborations, get in touch to discuss the project.