Meet Emelie at Chimli – From Travels to Retouching

At Chimli Retouch & Motion, Emelie is one of the key driving forces. Here, she shares her journey into the world of images, what inspires her, and how she sees the future of the profession.

Travel Shaped Her Eye for Imagery

Creativity had always been present in Emelie’s life, yet she chose a social sciences track over art and design in high school. After graduation, years of travel followed — seasonal work and backpacking across the world. During that time, she ran a travel blog, and it was there her interest in photo editing truly began.

“I started experimenting with editing to make the blog images more appealing — and I quickly got hooked.”

Eventually, she applied to study photojournalism in Sundsvall, hoping to combine visual and written storytelling. But reality didn’t quite match her expectations.

“I realized fairly quickly that photojournalism wasn’t the right fit for me. I want to shape images to convey a feeling — not just document reality.”

After leaving the program, she applied to Fotoskolan Sthlm but was initially rejected. Instead of giving up, she entered the industry through e-commerce retouching at  Caliroots and Zoovillage, later moving on to real estate imagery at Erik Olsson Fastighetsförmedling. A year later, she was accepted into Fotoskolan — and loved every minute of it.

“It was exactly the kind of creative and technical environment I needed. I learned so much — about images, but also about myself.”

Combining Creativity with Efficiency

After graduating, Emelie joined Mud Studios, working with  H&Ms e-commerce imagery, where she also became part of the company’s automation group. She has little patience for repetitive manual tasks if they can be streamlined.

“I’ve always enjoyed combining creativity with efficiency. Finding smart, optimized workflows is something I’m genuinely passionate about.”

When she later moved to Umeå, she continued working remotely. After a period of parental leave, she felt a growing desire to build something of her own — which eventually became Chimli Retouch & Motion.

A Passion for Editing

What does she love most about image editing? For Emelie, it’s about elevating and refining each image to its fullest potential. She can spend hours fine-tuning details, testing styles, and drawing inspiration from other photographers. One of her biggest influences is the photographer Shortstache, whose matte, darker tones resonate strongly with her aesthetic.

“I love diving deep into the details and making images look their absolute best. There’s always something new to learn.”

She is particularly proud of projects where her work has received recognition — such as winning the Wacom competition in the montage category and receiving the Molanders scholarship upon graduation.

The winning image in the Wacom-competition in 2017

Lifestyle and Photography

Outside of work, Emelie prefers spending time with her family, both at home and at their cabin in Hemavan. She has a love for interior design and organization - even if life with young children doesn’t always make it easy.

Recently, she has also begun photographing more herself, including weddings and family portraits through Tavelsjö Colab. - a creative coworking space outside Umeå that brings together a boutique, gallery, hairdresser, skincare therapist, homeopath, osteopath - and Emelie’s own editing studio. There, she continues to explore new ideas and grow into her role as a photographer.

“It’s such an inspiring environment to work in. Being surrounded by others who are passionate about their craft creates both community and creative momentum.”

The Future of Image Editing

The industry is evolving rapidly, but Emelie is confident that image editing will always require an artistic hand. While AI and new technologies are becoming increasingly important, she believes someone will always need to guide the process in the right direction.

“If we stay ahead of the curve, we can use technology to our advantage and develop new creative ways of working.”

She has many ideas for Chimli’s blog and website and looks forward to exploring new trends and workflows in the years ahead.

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