My interview by Soar Sister Spotlight a site http://www.soarsisterspotlight.blogspot.com/ that interviews and profiles new and upcoming photographers...what a blessing to get the opportunity to share my story...
Meet Shelley Dee Hohe . . .
I am "Simply Inspired" by the way a photograph can tell such a
beautiful story filled with so much emotion. ~Shelley Dee
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.~Phillipians 4:13
A parents life is a childs guide book ~ author unknown
Location: Roseburg, OR.....will be relocating to the San Francisco north bay area with in the next 6 months
Contact Info:
Name of Business: Shelley Dee Photography & Artistic Design
Website: http://www.shelleydeephotography.com/
Blog: http://www.shelleydeephotography.blogspot.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/shelley.hohe
Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/shelley.hohe?ref=profile#/pages/Shelley-Dee-Photography-Artistic-Design/332149965054?ref=ts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/shelleydeephoto
Email: shelley@shelleydeephotography.com
sss:What's in your bag? (if you are building your bag, what do you desire for your bag?)
sdp:Nikon D90, 2 Nikon rechargeable batteries, Nikon Grip/Battery Pack, Nikon SB 600 AF Speed Light, Gary Fong Lightsphere II, 2 SanDisk 8GB Extreme III memory cards, and a Nikon remote. As for lenses I have all Nikon lenses which include- 70-300mm AF-S VR Zoom, 18-105 mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX, 50mm f1.8.
As for what I desire, I am saving up for the 24-70mm f2.8, 70-200mm f2.8 and the 50mm f1.4 and of course the Nikon D700. My equipment now would be used for backup because I would love to do weddings and it is so important to have backup!
For studio equipment I own a back drop stand and a few back drops. I prefer using natural light coming through a window but it would also be nice to own a lighting kit for backup.
sss:What's your favorite editing software?
sdp:Lightroom and Photoshop CS4 which I will soon be getting once I get my new Macbook Pro for on the road and the iMac for home. I currently have PSE 7 and didn’t want to upgrade till we did the big switch from Windows to Mac
sss:Favorite Food:
sdp:Probably anything that is not good for me :) I love lobster, all Italian food, my brother in law’s famous chocolate pecan pie. My Grandfathers authentic Swedish pancakes which I have not had in 15 years since he passed away. A good combination pizza from Round Table, Hawaiian Sweet Maui Onion Chips (the best!) and I love, love, love chocolate!!! Especially my Ghirardelli semi sweet chocolate chips.
sss:Favorite Color:
sdp:Well it all depends if it’s decorating my house or if I am wearing it. My all time favorite color is pink, loved it since I was little. But now that I am older I love darker colors to wear like black, green, plum and teal. For house colors I love natural colors like browns, ivory and sage, with a hint of deep reds here and there.
sss:A few of your favorite things:
sdp:Going to church and worshipping God, spending time with my wonderful family, Starbucks decaf, soy latte, my Lancôme pressed powder, lip gloss and hand moisturizer, Origins underwear for eyelashes, my Solia flat iron, watching the Steelers win the super bowl, going to Disneyland with the fam, snuggling up under a warm blanket on a cold rainy day while watching a good movie, book stores, first nights sleep after putting on some crisp clean sheets, flip flops, buying cute clothes for my kids, manis & pedis (when I get them as a treat from my husband). Of course photography falls under this category as well :)
sss:What and/or Who inspires you?
sdp:My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, He is full of mercy and grace. He inspires me to lead a life that is holy and pure. My family inspires me to always do & be the best I can. I am also inspired by my mom for introducing me to photography at such a young age and to my grandmother for introducing the love of art. The one thing that inspires me most in photography is a photograph that can tell a beautiful story filled with so much emotion!
sss:Name something you just have to have everyday:
sdp:The word of God, prayer, hugs and kisses from my hubby and kids, my blackberry, coffee in the a.m., a little time to connect with friends and family on facebook , my Lancôme pressed powder, lip gloss and hand moisturizer. Oh and don’t forget food and water, we need that right???
sss:Tell us all about your journey into the world of photography. When did you realize that this is what you wanted to do and why.
sdp:It all started when I was a young girl. My mom was into photography and she shared her love of photography with me by taking me out on photo shoots and buying me one of my first real cameras in junior high school. I have loved everything about photography since I could remember. One of many special memories I have is sitting with my grandma for hours upon hours looking at her photos and listening to her share her stories of life. I really do love how photos tell a story and they capture moments that you can look back on for years to come.
Over a year ago I started looking into stay at home jobs so I could help out financially in our family. I kept running into dead ends and I realized photography is what I should be doing when God gave me the discernment to do something I had a passion for. That same month I was blessed with my first dslr camera, at that point I knew in my heart this is what I was meant to do.
sss:If you already have a photography business please tell us about it, type of photography you do, how long you have been doing it, etc...
sdp:My business is Shelley Dee Photography & Artistic Design. Let me tell you the meaning behind my business name. First of all I had a hard time deciding on a name. I wanted something meaningful so I thought Captured Moments, but so many photographers use that. I prayed for God to show me and it was then when I started questioning where my inspiration and love of photography came from. That is when it all came together, “use your name“. Shelley is what my parents named me and Dee is my middle name which stands for Dorothy; both of my grandmothers names. After figuring out my business name I wanted to add a slogan which is Simply Inspired, I decided on Simply Inspired because God is my true inspiration in life. I then designed my logo which has a big “S” and “D” in it which stands for three women in my life who inspire me. Susan my mom and Dorothy my grandmothers. To top it all off, while creating my logo I realized I could work in Simply Inspired. The “S” being the first letter in “Simply” and the “D” being the last letter in “Inspired”. I love how everything just came together!!!
I love all photography, but as far as my business I am a lifestyle photographer. I love meeting new people so I knew this would be the best for me. I also love capturing life’s everyday and beautifully unique moments for my clients. I get so much joy knowing how happy and excited my clients are when looking at their photos for the first time.
My approach to taking photos of people is to make sure they are having fun and that they are being themselves. In some cases I do like to set up shots for those special occasions like an engagement session, or maybe for a special holiday photo session I will incorporate some fun props. I love fashion as well and that is why I developed that my exclusive photo sessions “Cutie Couture” for girls and “Cool Couture” for boys. For these sessions I offer accessories to give a high fashion look to my clients attire & btw there are NO age limits for these special sessions :) I really enjoy taking photos of babies, I love being able to capture them from when they are newborn and follow them in their first year of life that is why I offer my special Le Bebe photos sessions. Babies grow so fast and I believe it is so important to capture these precious moments with your baby while you can!!!
I am in my first year of business and still in the process of building my portfolio.
sss:Who is your favorite photographer that you follow and why?
sdp:Well this for me is sort of tough because I know so many friends who are photographers and I have been so blessed by their willingness to teach what they know, share what they have and inspire me to be the photographer I am today. But if I were to pick one I would have to say Me Ra Koh! Me Ra is such a huge inspiration in the world of photography to me. She is the "Jillian" of photographers, she pushes and challenges you to not give up on your dreams. She is a great mentor and her work is absolutely breath taking! I would love to attend one of her work shops....one day!
sss:Besides photography, what else do you do , i.e. work, domestic engineer, volunteer?
sdp:Besides photography, I am blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom. I love staying home and taking care of our family and house (yes I love to clean). I also homeschool our children, we are going into our 5th year and it works really well for our family. I also help out with my husbands business by doing any graphic designing he needs done or making sure his bookkeeping is staying updated.
sss:What are some of your other hobbies and/or things that you like to do besides photography?
sdp:Besides photography enjoy writing and blogging, I love being able to express my feelings by putting them into words on a page or a blog. I love graphic designing. I will never forget my first experience in graphic designing, it was a class I took in high school. I loved it so much it was the one class I didn’t want to end. Since then I have dabbled in doing designing for previous employers and did even more for my husbands business.
sss:Do you have any other businesses that you are incorporating and/or combining in your photography business or that is separate other than photography?
sdp:Yes, graphic designing. That is why I added “Artistic Design” to my business name. I love designing logos, photo greeting cards, baby announcements, business brochures, fliers for advertising specials and events. As a matter of fact when we move to California my husband wants to open up a marketing firm where he would help businesses with his marketing and business expertise and I could do all the graphic designing. How fun would that be :)
sss:If there is one thing in the world that you would like to change, what would that be and why?
sdp:Any type of cruelty towards humans or animals should stop. Especially human trafficking, slavery and any kind of abuse. It is just so sad!
sss:Name three things you would like to do before you die?
sdp:Lead others to Christ, train our children in the way they should go and I would love have another baby! I know it says three things, can I add a 4th...my husband has always wanted to go on a cruise. So I would love to get a week alone with my husband on a cruise :)
sss:List three goals you would like to accomplish in 2010:
sdp:3 personal goals is to 1)be a good example to our children. 2)lose weight so I can get healthy enough to have another baby. 3) to not let anything get in my way of my walk with God.
3 business goals is to:
1)develop loyal clientele by implementing a marketing strategy focusing on top of mind awareness.
2) becoming more involved in my community by offering my services to non profit organizations and charities
3) to challenge myself to learn all I can in the photography business by attending workshops, reading literature and keeping up to date with the latest resources and technology.
___________________________________________________________________________ Thank you Shelley Dee for sharing with us. Good luck with your endeavors and we look forward to seeing more or your photography and artistic design work!
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