Shannon Sewell » commercial

‘but for now heaven is in new york’

SS — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 02:21:40 +0000

I am spoiled. Kim & Alyssa came again to help me out with a shoot (I don’t know what I will do with myself on my own again!). If you love the props, be sure to check out the Prop Shop (Kim’s new baby where she will be selling all of her amazing creations), they’ll be there.

Jenn Davenport drove up from Kalama to hang out for the day. I just love when you meet someone that you instantly connect with (even better when they live on my side of the country!). She was an absolute delight and we had such a fun day hanging out, talking shop & playing in the studio. Thank you for coming and I can’t wait until we can do it again… :)

styling: Kim Adams from The Prop Shop Market

hair & make up: Alyssa Underwood

‘two drifters off to see the world, there is such a lot of world to see’

SS — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:22:48 +0000

Where do I start? I am so excited to share this shoot with you. You remember my little Frida girl? Well, her big sister is a HUGE Audrey Hepburn fan. Just a couple of weeks ago I had mentioned it to my amazing cohort, Kim and (of course) she finds a whole slew of Audrey inspired goodies within a week. It just happened to coincide with Denise flying in from Japan for her mentoring day with me so… it was a date! Denise and I have been talking forever about getting together. The distance between here and Japan was a bit of a hurdle though so as soon as she found out they were moving back to the states we HAD to get it on the calendar (she will be moving to Vegas for anyone interested in a session with her!). So, we got our gorgeous model (I adore working with this family) and had an Audrey extravaganza! Didn’t Alyssa do an amazing job on hair/make-up? So perfectly Audrey :)

styling: kim adams

hair & make-up: alyssa underwood

vancouver | WA

PS… the winner of the Vol. 25 give away is Jessica from Refuge Photography!!! :)

‘but you have got something they don’t, yeah you have got something they don’t’

SS — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:46:32 +0000

I am back to share my second shoot while I was in Kansas City. There is something so genuinely uplifting about spending time with like minded souls. It is so easy to go day to day in the ‘real world’… superficial interactions, niceties with acquaintences, being the ‘public’ you and keeping the ‘real’ you to yourself. For the first time in 22 years of being a vegetarian, I sat at a table full of people and could eat every single dish served (yes- even living in the crunchy NW, not a group meal goes by that I don’t get asked about my veggie ways as I snack on the side dishes- haha), I watched parents interacting with their kids just like I do and listened to chitchat about lifestyles that sounded just like mine. And I sit here reflecting on how lucky we are- lucky that we are business owners and employees that pick our own co-workers and associates, lucky that we choose our own business models and rules to live by, lucky that we dictate how our day to day will go and can surround ourselves with people that get us and encourage us to be who we are meant to be. Embrace that… don’t let it go unnoticed or fail to use up every lit bit of it you can ;)

I spent my second afternoon with Heather Roth. We chatted about artistic endeavors (the girl has it running through her veins) and goals in our photography. We had a set of adorable twins to model for our shoot for The Measure (they were super shy & unsure but way too cute for the camera not to love every minute with them) ;) I couldn’t have thought up a better way to wrap up my visit…

I will be in Gatlinburg TN next month at this glorious retreat in the Smokey Mountains. So much good stuff planned!!! Come join me here :)

wardrobe: The Measure Designs

kansas city | MO

‘if I could escape and recreate a place that is my own world’

SS — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 05:31:28 +0000

I just got back today from a little escape to warm sunshine and good friends. I spent the weekend in Kansas City with my friends, The Solars (if you’ve read my blog then you know them from their amazing Road Trip in a Box and Indoor Adventure Guide that I’ve swooned over). I am home feeling exhausted and happy… late night conversations with true friends and fabulous days spent with other photographers left me with sore cheeks, a couple extra smiles lines and a full heart (not to mention some fun images of adorable little girls in crazy beautiful dresses). I want to thank each and every one of you that came for the day. It was a perfect group full of talent and humor… I couldn’t have asked for better!

I wish you could see these dresses in person… oh. my. They are hand painted, mixed media and sooooo gorgeous (ZozoBugBaby showing off her art skills & beyond!)…

wardrobe: ZozoBugBaby

kansas city | MO

‘I think a change (a change would do you good)’

SS — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 03:19:34 +0000

I’ve been playing with the new clothing line a bit and I thought it would be fun to show you all the ideas I have for wearing the Lace Shift with Flare Dress (my favorite piece of the day). I would say this is our most versatile piece. It comes with a Flare Dress in your color choice (or choices if you add a second Flare) but it goes way beyond… I love that you can take any tank or dress from her closet and completely change the color scheme and look… you can dress it up (like we did in our Wander photo shoot) or dress it down for every day. Now… to figure out how to make it fit me… ;)

AND… If you purchase it (or any other Wander piece) by March 25th, you can use coupon code “laceshift15″) for 15% off your purchase!!

‘just a girl, all pretty and petite’

SS — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 04:27:59 +0000

A lovely day with one of my favorite little models… we headed out for a few minutes to do product shot for Maya’s Curls (& to play at the playground of course) ;)

The Marah Flower Clip

The Rainbow Ruffles Flower Clip

hair: Michelle Elliott

hair accessories: Maya’s Curls

vancouver | WA

‘the world that has made us can no longer contain us’

SS — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 23:25:21 +0000

First, thank you so much for all of the wonderful & kind words about this issue of Dreamer. The emails and comments have been sweeter than we could have ever expected… to say that we appreciate the amazing support is an understatement!

I had one other feature in this issue I wanted to share. It was the finishing touch on another project I have been working on for the past several months.

I have been in business for 7+ years now… the girls that I work with have moved from sweet little girls to trendy tweens. Through the transition I have found it more and more a challenge to wardrobe & style the shoots with the options out there. There are a million choices for little girls and adults but getting that older (but not too old) look that these little ladies were wanting was frustrating. I love styling and you can regularly find me ‘altering’ pieces here and there, throwing unexpected items together and playing fashion designer in my own closet. So, when Lisa and I started chatting about this dilemma, a little idea sparked. Why not do up a line of our own? (Lisa actually went to school for fashion design making this crazy idea totally doable).

We asked our girls and I interviewed my clients. We found out what they liked and what they didn’t like. We designed a line that fits every function of their daily lives while still allowing them to look totally adorable & stylish (& stay super comfy, too). Every item has been tried and tested by our little ladies, tweaked until we got nothing but oooh’s & ahhh’s (the soft cotton used in these pieces actually had the girls commenting on the fabric… when do 10 yr olds do that?) All the pieces can be mixed & matched (which was another must on their list). I finally got what I had been searching for.

I was so excited when the line was completed just in time to incorporate in my shoot for Dreamer. I love working with this age group and with a little help from Jen (art director extraordinaire) & Michelle (my go-to hair stylist), this line allowed the shoot to come together beautifully.

Without further ado… our first Wander Clothing line. I hope you love it as much as I do!

clothing: wanderclothing.com

art director: jenifer johnston

hair: michelle elliott

portland | OR

“I am doll eyes, doll mouth, doll legs”

SS — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:29:39 +0000

I have tons of different interests, passions, directions I like to take things… this last week has been an accumulation of A LOT of them! I am not sure if I am creatively bursting or creatively spent… I can tell you that being able to see so many visions become reality is a pretty great feeling (whether it’s pure high or pure exhaustion). If you’ve ever chatted with me or been to one of my workshops you know I am BIG on opening up your world to everything that interests you. I don’t believe in not doing something just because you haven’t done it before or because it isn’t ‘you’. I say if it seems interesting- dive in! The worst that can happen is that you learn something new to can incorporate in your life. Best thing that can happen? You find what you were born to do.

Doing the type of photography I do means I spend a lot of time with clothing designers, fashion blogs, graphic design… all of them inspire me and weave themselves into my work. I found myself being more and more drawn to these things so when Julie (Ms. ZozoBugBaby herself) and I kept bringing up how fun it would be to create a place where we could put all our ideas and interests, it became pretty apparent this was something that had to be done. Over the next few months Dreamer Journal began to take shape. There were a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of mistakes, a lot of re-do’s and start overs but, in the end, we did it. We created the place that we had dreamed of. It is with much pride & happiness (okay, there were some tears and curse words too) I share with you our second (woo-hoo) issue… the Spring issue of Dreamer Journal :)

clothing: Lisa’s Mini Mad Hattery

hair & make-up: Madeline Roosevelt

styling & photography: me

portland | OR

‘to greet every new day that may come like the first of spring’

SS — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:03:23 +0000

I’m a little behind on this one. It got lost in the oblivion of shoots done but can’t be shown. The good news is that this is all available right now! If you head over to Chooze Shoes and ZozoBugBaby you can get these cute little spring goodies just in time! (I know spring is right around the corner) ;) You’ll also notice the adorable hair pieces. Once again, Maya’s Curls knocked it out of the park (I think she and Zozo are a perfect match).

And not to make you wait any longer…

wardrobe: ZozoBugBaby

shoes: Chooze Shoes

hair accessories: Maya’s Curls, GracyLu Originals & Petal Patch Baby

hair stylist: Michelle Elliott

talent: Giselle of Option Model & Media

portland | OR

‘drop a heart and break a name’

SS — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:19:53 +0000

Just a quick pop in to show off another magazine project I worked on. It was a collaboration with Knuckleheads Clothing for Babiekins magazine. The issue turned out gorgeous. Some of my faves in there… very proud to be a part. Check out the whole issue in it’s awesomeness here.

wardrobe: Knuckleheads & Hula Mula Clothing

hair: Michelle Elliott

for Babiekins Magazine

portland | OR