Shayna Image recently took on assistance in the Social Media Marketing department (don’t they say ‘focus on your strengths’?) and they sent a photographer to my studio and grounds to do a session of me…doing a session. How meta is that?

I needed a family to be in the session. The answer to me was obvious. Lucy. Lucy and my husband work together.

1. She has a gorgeous family, with kiddos who I thought were up for the strange dynamic.

2. Her support of my business has been breathtaking. When a client books with me, they have the opportunity to name a referral source, who receives 15% off a session fee. Lucy has been named so many times, she’s on track to a free shoot.

3. Then I heard she hopes to gift the session to someone else.

It was a tricky evening. What I needed to do to get a great image of Lucy’s family was pretty much the OPPOSITE of what the other photographer, Franca, needed to get a great image of ME getting a photo of the family. If that sentence sounds confusing, it’s a taste of how the evening felt!

Nevertheless, her family crushed it, and we got a couple of lovely images to show from it all! These images were taken in the creek and on the paths behind the studio.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Much gratitude to Lucy and her beautiful family. And I look forward to you all seeing the forthcoming “Behind the Scenes at Shayna Image” pictures!

Setting up for John’s session, I decided it was time to update my own headshot.

Photographing yourself? Nervewracking. There’s no “me” on the other side of the table to tell me to relax, to coach my angles. Worse? Photoshopping yourself. Always a reminder that we look at others with kinder eyes.

But I think the outcome is pretty thoroughly me, and I’m good with that.

View fullsize

The background was originally grey, like in John's, but I decided to warm it up and go a bit more mono-chromatic.

Here’s a pull-back of the setup, plus my helper.

View fullsize

View fullsize

I am Corona Woman!

Hear me roar. Or cry. Or call out in gratitude. Or fear.

I wear all the hats and I want to cast them to the ground. Sometimes I do, and hide in the closet. Sometimes the hats stack nicely.

I am so proud of myself. And ashamed.

All these people are me.

View fullsize

I am Corona Woman. A self portrait dedicated to all those who are doing all the things all the time at the same time right now.

About the portrait: this is 6 separate images taken over the course of one morning in my dining room. I had one speedlight behind the camera and one bare-bulb strobe off right, both bouncing from the ceiling. I tethered my camera on a tripod to my computer, and set it to automatically take 15 shots of each story. I inched myself around the space so that I would have a variety of positions to assist with overlap. Then I spliced them together in Photoshop . I edited the now singular image with a heavy hand of dodge and burning to make it pop. Yes, my little one was actually fighting during the session (he rescinded his protest and requested to take part after he saw big sis was excited.) I desperately wanted to tidy, but didn’t permit myself to move a single item, so this is life during Covid-19 in all its glory.

Hi! Have we met yet? Even though I'm frequently called "Shayna," it's actually my daughter's middle name. I'm Rachel! I'm a native of the Atlanta area, where I currently live with my husband, daughter, and son. I'm a rollercoaster junkie, sushi addict, advanced scuba diver, and list maker.

That thing you think photographers do? Nope, I'm doing something different.
Receiving a bunch of digitals? That's like paying a baker, and having them hand you the ingredients and telling you to "finish it yourself."
I put custom finished art on your walls. Because your grandchildren aren't going to dig through your dropbox for the moments that matter.

Follow me as I share adventures, new works, educational info, and some personal entertainment.