Shelley Anderson Photography Blog

commercial bio for arquette modeling agency/minneapolis natural light, senior and commercial photographer

shelley — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:46:20 +0000

I have been asked to submit a bio on myself for commercial purposes as Arquette modeling agency is now going to be offering me as one of their photographers here in Minneapolis and I am very excited about this opportunity as their agency is one block from my studio and it seems like a good fit for me/my personality as well! Time will tell how much work they will be sending my way but the models get to choose what photographer they want after seeing samples of their photographers work and their individual pricing! anyways..this is what i wrote this morning! It is so hard to write about yourself, or I find this extremely hard. I googled photographer bios and got tons of advice and read tons of samples but most said be humble, don’t be too wordy and keep it short and simple so that’s what i did. how’s this?

Shelley Anderson is a Minneapolis based photographer that specializes in kids, teens, and adult commercial photography. Shelley works with natural light 100% of the time as she believes that natural light is most flattering. As a wife and mother of two kids herself she is known for her patience and sense of style while still having fun and being very detail oriented. She is very passionate about her work and enjoys seeing the art in life and capturing it in an editorial style for her clients. Her 2100 square foot studio is in the warehouse district of Minneapolis just minutes from Arquette.

just one more of ali/minneapolis natural light, senior, boudoir and commercial photographer

shelley — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:18:43 +0000

gosh, i only got about 5 edits done yesterday…but this was one of them. i am going as fast as i can! she’s a looker! ali/model with wehmann mua: herself

her friends call her ali/minneapolis natural light, senior and commercial photographer

shelley — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:44:09 +0000

Ali met me at my studio yesterday to beef up her portfolio. Another photographer, another look:) She is constantly working with photographers to expand it, which is fabulous! We had such a good time together, she is a sweet as can be…and easy on my camera too! Here are just two sneak peeks! Oh, I forgot to mention that she is a model with Wehmann here in Minneapolis! While I was shooting her she was asked to appear in a music video this week…she got lots of attention on the streets outside my studio:)

personal style in photography/minneapolis natural light, senior and commercial photographer

shelley — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:38:58 +0000

I am going to be honest and say that this past month this topic has come up a lot with me. Last month I went to my first MN PUG meeting and I went empty handed as I didn’t know that the topic involved bringing a sampling of your work for critique from the group, but it did and I got to sit back and enjoy without worrying about my images. I will say that the whole night was a lot of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed myself even though I didn’t know many in the group and I honestly didn’t know many of the photographers there very well. (none of my close photographer friends were in attendance and I normally have a hard time sneaking away at night due to activities and homework with the kids). This is how the evening went: we viewed a slideshow of an individual’s sampling of their work and went around the room to describe their style/look in one work -well or a few words as one word didn’t always work for me. I did have a couple beers and pizza and it was a neat experience all the way around for me. I kept thinking to myself “what words would they be saying if we were viewing my work?” DO NOT view my latest kid work on my blog…please peek at my senior work/senior website:)

I have also been to a few photographer classes locally taught by Eliesa of Photogen where we have had to bring samples of our work and this honestly freaks me all out a bit/insecurity all the way around on my part:) But, it is fun seeing other people’s work! I love listening to her talk as she is so inspirational and a few things that she has said in the past is that “don’t put up what you don’t want to be known for”. and we have discussed the importance of a style/brand/look in detail.

I met with a fellow photographer this past week and I gave him some cc on his website. (He has repeatedly asked for cc from me over the past few months and I had just never gotten around to it. ) I honestly hate giving cc as I don’t feel like I have the right to give advice in many ways…but we had a nice lunch and a beer and he asked again”when am i getting your cc on my website”…so I did it:) whew! One of the things I told him is that he has many different editing styles in his portfolio and we discussed this in length. It was just something for him to think about. And for me to think about, is this a positive or a negative business wise?

Back to me…

I have been told that my work can be too similar…and i get that. i am a work in progress:)

I guess I see my own personal style when I look at my images…sort of:)

Does my personal style have more to do with my lighting? composition? or editing? just curious on what others think!

In three different words how would you describe my style of work?

I guess over the years I have defined and defined my editing to where I have it I am comfortable with. I honestly have gotten so busy that I don’t “play” in photoshop like i used to as much. my color edits and my bw edits pretty much look very alike when i’m done?

I used to haze up images, or do a bit more vintage look, etc, etc and I just stopped. I used to edit the same image in color, bw, light brown and sometimes even more ways for fun. used to. now i just do color and bw.

One other thing that I stepped away from the PUG meeting was the Rousley was kind enough to come up to me and he said “With you, more than anyone else what you see is what you are going to get”. He said that if you hire me there are no suprises. My work always looks like my work and he can tell my work. I would like to think is his a positive as a business owner/artist? I dunno.

I shoot a lot of individuals so I walked away thinking my work was going to be “bashed” for the lack of a better word as with images of individuals you have a harder time capturing a feeling/emotion. A lot of the images we peeked at for cc were of couples, weddings, families and kids interacting.

Now that I am doing some modeling shoots, again-single subjects, I am working hard at getting more “lifestyled” images…so this is a personal goal for me.

When you look at my senior gallery in particular I do get that my work looks a bit alike. I am going to try to make some changes this 2013 senior. The hard part is that most of my seniors only get 8 edited images so I edit the ones I know the mom/senior would want for the most part, not necessarily the ones that I want that I took due to I really try hard to get them at least 3 of that 8 that would work for the yearbook to choose from. HMMMM!

I have been thinking about this a long time. Is this a bad thing or a good thing as an artist? Thoughts? I know I have a style, we all have a style even though we are all basically shooting with the same digital camera and same digital lens. The fun part is that all of our work looks a bit different from each other.

I am a constant work in progress. But, I honestly love what i do…I would love it if you would take the time to describe my work by leaving a blog comment. Or any comments that you have re: style/branding/look! Please peek at my senior website only though as my main/commercial website is under current construction:) I don’t shoot that many families anymore so I am switching it to be my commercial site…goal for the weekend!

Thanks much! Have a super day:) Sorry for the novel this morning! I do plan on playing a bit this week on a few of my favorite images to make them nitty gritty more fashion-like for fun. Do I plan on changing my current bw formula. I doubt it:) As always, thanks for stopping by my blog and following my life/work a bit!

Hugs,

shelley

a few more of miss natalie/wilhelmina minneapolis/minneapolis natural light, senior and commercial photographer

shelley — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:37:02 +0000

i am having so much fun with the models and i have worked with some awesome make up artists along the way as well. jennifer of flawless shades worked with me on natalie and i think we got an awesome variety of looks. it’s tough to be 4 and to sit nice and still for make up and hair and then start pictures…lots of patience was involved, especially for a little girl who doesn’t like her hair combed/brushed much:) natalie did great…and here is a nice sampling from her time with me/us!

natalie/wilhelmina minneapolis/minneapolis natural light, senior, boudoir and commercial photographer

shelley — Wed, 09 May 2012 23:33:27 +0000

natalie: wilhelmina minneapolis 4 year old model

mua: jennifer of flawless shades

out the door to watch my boy place some baseball…go spartans:) but here is one sneak peek of miss natalie. check back tomorrow as i will watermark and get the rest of her images up here for viewing. such a sweetheart, just like her mom:)

play day this thursday/signed models only/special rate/minneapolis natural light, senior, and commercial photographer

shelley — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:14:17 +0000

wanted: pretty faces this thursday. check it out:) models…models…models.

one day only…this thursday, may 10th i want some pretty faces in front of my camera for a play day:) here is the deal… teen and adult models signed with an agency only, one hour shoot, 2 outfits/one look-come with hair and make up all done and ready to go, $100 includes portfolio mini shoot/photographer’s time and talent + the best two digital files custom edited in color and bw, with the possibility of purchasing more files from me if i chose to edit them for portfolio purposes + private gallery with print capabilities. the weather is supposed to be gorgeous…my studio is booked for these so we will meet there…but it would be fun to hit the streets a bit too. 10 am, 11 am, noon, and 1 pm. first come, first serve:)

2+2=4/lucy and company/minneapolis natural light, senior, and commercial photographer

shelley — Mon, 07 May 2012 23:12:19 +0000

As anyone that follows my work knows…I don’t shoot that many families a year anymore. I have sort of gravitated to shooting more 1:1 shoots. But, this adorable family is just one of those that I always have fun with and they make it so easy on me. I wish the weather would have been better so we could have done half in, half out, but it is what it is and with #4 due soon we figured we better get it done and not reschedule:) I did a big post on facebook and I will do a few of my favs here as well:) Hint, Hint, Hint to families that do want me to shoot them…i am more apt to say if you book wayyyyyyy in advance like these guys did:) It’s harder to say “no” when someone really wants you and plans for you in advance…just saying:) LOL i cannot wait for baby “firetruck” to be born…btw, i did hear the baby’s name but i’m not sharing:) LOL lucy says it’s name is going to be “firetruck”. so darn cute:)

showcasing one of my senior reps of 2012/laura/orono 2012/minneapolis natural light, senior, and commercial photographer

shelley — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:19:55 +0000

shelley — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:58:50 +0000

just one quick sneak peek of natalie/4 year old wilhelmina minneapolis model in the studio yesterday with me. i bought a dozen white balloons and had a vision for her shoot at the end but she had her own 4 year old ideas:) i taped white balloons in various locations on the floor with scotch tape but she chose to pluck them off and off they went to my studio ceiling!!! having said that…i got this quick shot before the rest all began… more to come later this week for sure! we did a variety of hair looks…hair down, head band, pony tail and then braids for a nice variety of looks! love her in this red outfit and the pippy longstocking braids!

one more sneak peek/minneapolis natural light, senior, modeling and commercial photographer

shelley — Sun, 06 May 2012 18:00:41 +0000

what can i saw about lucy…she did great for a 3 year old. absolutely great:) but..at the end she had had enough of me and my camera:) we got this shot all lined up and in the end all she would give us was her back side…and that is what we got:) flippin adorable. i hope to have all of their edits completed by tuesday at the latest. i hope she had a fantastic birthday party with family yesterday:)

kenitra/cooper high school 2013/minneapolis natural light, senior, commercial and modeling photographer

shelley — Wed, 02 May 2012 13:16:42 +0000

kenitra is my first senior of 2013. she scheduled her senior pictures early as she just got her braces put on last week right after her shoot with me. here are some of my favorites from her shoot:) i thank her for their patience as well…logan has been home sick three days this week and is putting a damper on my life/schedule!

one more sneak peek of kenitra/cooper 2013/minneapolis natural light, senior, modeling and commercial photographer

shelley — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:38:00 +0000

i am plugging away at edits in my free time and here is just one of my absolute favorites of miss kenitra/cooper 2013. i was hoping to finish up her edits today but i have one sick boy home again today, we sure have had the crud this month. ugh! she doesn’t graduate until next june though so i guess all is okay:)

miss lucy and company/minneapolis natural light, senior and commercial photographer

shelley — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 14:42:35 +0000

off the top of my head i had done photos for the V family two other times, so this is our third time together! We did photos once outside when I was in the architectural antique building in ne mpls and last year they met me at Riverplace. Yesterday it was so crappy out, we didn’t have any choice but to shoot inside my studio or reschedule and with the pregnancy coming so soon the V family said “let’s do it”. here are two sneak peeks! lucy is three next weekend…

just a few more of carri/wilhelmina minneapolis/minneapolis natural light, senior, and commercial photographer

shelley — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 21:55:46 +0000

we had so much fun on carri’s shoot and it was such a pleasure to work with make up artist amber rose for the first time! here are just a few more of my absolute favorites of carri:) i will take a minute and say that carri has such a great modeling career ahead of her because she cares so much about everything that she does! truly a professional and is so so beautiful and sweet:) i was honored to be her photographer and help her get started with Wilhelmina Minneapolis!

kenitra/cooper 2013/minneapolis natural light, senior, commercial and modeling photographer

shelley — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:37:14 +0000

what a fantastic way to start out my senior 2013 senior…gorgeous model and oh, so sweet:) someone i did not know prior to the shoot, they found me by googling! love that:) more to come the early part of next week…this is just a sneek peek!

carri/wilhelmina minneapolis/minneapolis natural light, commercial and modeling photographer

shelley — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:53:20 +0000

carri is one of my fabulous neighbors, she lives about a block away from us and allie hangs with her girls all of the time, kind of a second home for her:) she thinks carri is much cooler than her mom…this i know for certain:) anyways…carri was with another modeling agency but chose to check wilhelmina out since i started shooting for them a bit as an independent photographer and she is now signed on with wilhelmina and i have been having so much fun working with her to get her portfolio jump started and i cannot wait to finish her edits so she can choose the images with wilhelmina for her comp card:) here are three images so far! i am going as fast as i can! more to come yet this week and then following her are images from my first senior of 2013!!!

catherine/orono senior 2012 plus commercial project/minneapolis natural light, senior, commercial and modeling photographer

shelley — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:41:40 +0000

round 2 with catherine as we wanted to get a few more outdoor images due to the rain the first day. this girl is so photogenic and oh, so sweet! one of my favorite locations:)

more of whitney/wilhelmina minneapolis/minneapolis natural light, senior, modeling and commercial photographer

shelley — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:33:14 +0000

i am doing my best at keeping up with everything:) i feel like my blog has been slacking a bit…i haven’t been as chatty at least! here are some of my favs of miss whitney/wilhelmina minneapolis model!

whitney/wilhelmina model/minneapolis natural light, senior, model and commercial photographer

shelley — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:32:17 +0000

good morning! my shoot for today cancelled due to the rain in the forecast and i worked her into my schedule for tomorrow instead so it is going to be a big catch up day behind my computer today:) here’s whitney…a new model for wilhelmina, she’s not sure how they are going to market her so we did a few different looks..she does know that the “punk” type look is totally her every day:)

whitney: wilhelmina minneapolis

MUA: jennifer @ flawless shades

oh, my…miss catherine/minneapolis natural light, senior and commercial photographer/wilhelmina modeling agency photographer

shelley — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:06:47 +0000

can i just say…love this girl and so did my camera:) more to come…more to come! i am going as fast as i can! she hired me for a commercial shoot…she’s thinking about being a model????? she’s going to wilhelmina’s open call on sunday with new pics from our time together:) i could have watermarked this with my senior logo as she is a senior at orono of 2012 as well.

alexa/wilhelmina minneapolis model/minneapolis natural light and commercial photographer

shelley — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:59:47 +0000

this cutie pie lives down the street from us and holds a special place in my heart, as does her mom. both her and her mom have been picked up by wilhelmina minneapolis as models and i am flattered to be a big part of this:) we completed alexa’s shoot on saturday morning and ventured all over minneapolis to capture this fun stuff! as always, thanks for following my life/blog!

more of catherine/minneapolis natural light, senior, and commercial photographer

shelley — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:48:17 +0000

i honestly have so much to say about this stunning model…but my to do list is huge as well today so i am going to make this post short and sweet:) sit back and enjoy her beauty! she is a senior of orono 2012…but this shoot was booked as a commercial/modeling shoot:) check back for her outside images…coming soon! it as raining and blowing bad on the one outside image that i am sharing today…we completed the rest on another morning!

alexa sneak peek/wilhelmina model/minneapolis natural light, modeling and commercial photographer

shelley — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 01:53:38 +0000

here is one quick edit of alexa from our shoot saturday morning:) a little different look for me, but i likey! she was sitting inside a tunnel jobby…love the scarf on her head! more to come, more to come…i promise!

catherine/mineapolis natural light, senior and commercial photographer

shelley — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 19:47:52 +0000

just one quick peek of catherine from my shoot with her yesterday morning-i was so bummed that it was so icky outside, but we still got some keepers during our time together:) i posted this image of her on facebook last night and i got over 45 likes…whoa, that is huge for me as most of the time i don’t get that many likes!!! more to come yet this week…i am going as fast as i can and i had a wilhelmina shoot this morning and i have another one tomorrow! love working with models:)

stunning…absolutely stunning, i think you will agree!