Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelley Hunter.
Shelley, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My story starts at about age 10 when I started getting my certifications in editing, lighting, and technical director video production at a public broadcasting network in our area. Then it became a part-time job doing videos. then when I graduated high school at age 16 I was just doing a quick little promo video for a wedding Guild, I had this little point-and-shoot camera when this lady walks up and says “hun” what are you doing? I reply with I’m just shooting photos to fill in when I make the promo video, she said “oh… arnt you aren’t you a little young for that? Again I replied said yes I’m a freshman in College. This is not what I am going to school for. But I have been professionally trained….thank you! She told me a little bit about herself and what she was there for. She asked to see the photo on the back of the little camera. I showed it to her. She looked at me with a really interesting look on her face. She wasn’t mad or happy, she wasn’t seemingly impressed so I did not know what her reaction was. She utters the simple phrase honey if you can do that! With that! Let me hand you mine that is when photography and my love for photography started.
Needless to say that was a bigger camera and that was back in the days where digital wasn’t quite mainstream yet. It’s taken years to get to the confidence part and the lack of fear, but still have a healthy amount of concern going into shooting an event. You always want to have a certain amount of concern for shooting an event especially something like a wedding where you don’t get that first kiss option ever again. Therefore shooting weddings is basically portrait photographer shooting but with a lot more first and only shot kind of moments.
This business helps me stay home with my children which is another thing I never really saw myself doing. But my three children are very happy that I get to be involved with their day-to-day activities as much as I am. My children, if you were wondering are actually already training to be photographers. The eight-year-old actually almost argues with the school photographers when they do the posed school photos because she was trying to explain to the lady that the pose that she wanted her to do was not flattering for her size of a person. Consequently my daughter’s face in the photo pretty much tells the story of how much she was ticked off at the lady. Which I find someone hilarious, if that’s okay me to say.
The three year old boy actually already poses people and knows how to use one of my cameras. And the baby well let’s just say she gets shot a lot. She knows how to work a camera no matter the size, but she just works it! From the front because her little hands aren’t really capable of picking up the cameras just yet.
Specializing in weddings, as we do. Requires a certain amount of what I call “crazy patients” or “perfect peace”. Because you’re getting people on what is the best and the worst day of their lives and we’re not just talking about the brides/ Grooms. NO! We’re talking about all of the family and the guests. Open bar or not, things always get a little bit crazy in good ways and bad ways. I almost wish that I could tell you just some of the interesting moments that I have seen but still we feel so blessed to be a part of.
Quite frankly people who shoot weddings or family portraits should feel really blessed, that we were called upon to be a part of a complete strangers life and that now were somewhat United with them, just because we were their wedding photographer etc.
I have worked at or owned or run 5 other photography companies and traveled all over the country shooting, everything from portraits and weddings to marathons. I learned at a young age that I did not want to wake up 10 years from then and not recognize myself because of who I became. This made the decision of leaving the large company in Dallas that I worked for after my internship at a different company, an easy decision. Those companies did not speak to potential clients unless you were spending $100,000 or more on your wedding. I have a passion for Photography and I happen to be innately good at it. I LOVE the customer service or psychology part of Photography soooo very much that the art of photography almost takes a back seat.
I now shoot budget brides and train other photographers as much as possible. I was just trying to explain this to another photographer yesterday that I am in business as a way to give back than about making money. I am very blessed to have the income as a part of getting to be everything I feel I should be and still get to pay the car notes. So I make enough money not to kill my self-trying but I still get to try and change the photography industry.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Not at all a smooth road. Most of the fears or failing were mine and not following my destiny. I made most of my choices out of lack, in confidence or finances or support and mostly brokenness. When you see quotes saying that photographers have to be successful because equipment is sooooo expensive. Trust me they are right. I still can be honest and up front in saying that I do not know all that my $6,000 camera is capable of nor do I know what the $4,000 back up camera can do. Because all I need to know is how to take and most importantly MAKE great photos. I do not edit my photos to often nor do I think a Professional should have to (that often). I know enough after 14 years of shooting, that I can be confident in saying we are affordable excellence photography. I have not ever seemed too good at the technical side, I had to make sure I surrounded myself with someone who was. My brother at one point joined me with the photography thing. He was the best at the technical stuff and had the money to put into it. That was an interesting pairing as well. Because the sibling dynamic makes business and such really “fun”. We were always close but then I hid or was made to hide by others…in his shadow. Consequently, started believing the lies of inadequacy or insecurity. Or any other word you want to put in there that is not helpful to confidence. Now that I am almost all grown up and in my 30’s. I can tell you that most if not all the fear and insecurities are gone and I have trained 3 thriving photographers in this past 11 months. I do this because of my passion to change the industry for the clients and fellow photographers.
My biggest hurdle is being believed! No really. People don’t seem to understand the fact that I really do just love doing what I do and that not only are they going to get an affordable photographer that is excellent but they’re also going to get a little bit of a wedding coordinator and a sounding board and someone who’s got your back.
Some of my struggles include the lack of time or respect from others or mainly from myself that I did not put into the business the way I should have. But mostly it came from lack of faith in myself, lack of understanding or freedom to be me, freedom to run the business the way I wanted to, and freedom in the fact that it really is going to work out.
Please tell us about Sassy Shots Photography.
We specialize in weddings or large events. We like the senior portraits or fun/ outside head-shots as well.
We normally do not do head-shots. This year that changed. I was asked by 4 different people for them and they would not take no for an answer. I figured it was a destiny moment so I bit the bullet and did the shoot. As the 4th shoot got started for last head-shot client I had lined up this year, she turned to look at me and said your worth more than what I am paying! I smiled really big, then replied with your worth more than either of us know.
Sassy Shots Photography trains our clients to take photos well. So that even their next selfie takes everyone by surprise. I train every client how to stand, how to look and when to do it. We even take the time/ Make the time at weddings to make sure that we have a little counseling session on confidence and grace. It often turns into a freedom session.
Trust me I know it’s strange! I sit across tables at our first consultations, while the potential client gazes at me as if we are ridiculous about why I do what I do and why we have the vision we have for our company. I’ve gotten beat out of so many weddings in the last 2 years. Especially when I bid on them. Because people just can’t handle believing that I am exactly what I say I am. I don’t think it’s their fault, its Society’s. Which is exactly why we’re in business! We are in business to bring the level of Customer Service, Photographic Elegance and of course FUN! To the budget-conscious bride.
My Life vision personally: is to alleviate stress and disorder from events. I realize it may not sound spectacular because I don’t have dreams of being a CEO of a Fortune 500 company or the first female president, but it’s definitely a Life vision that I’m proud of and one that is really necessary.
I am answering the article’s questions as I am driving to a wedding that is exactly one of the weddings that I exist to be a part of. This wedding they’re spending less than $3,000 which is a little lower than our Norm. The norm is more around $6,000-20,000 on the entire wedding. But this wedding came to me through Facebook friend that it just ended up coming around to me after going through one person who kind of knew about another person who kind of knew about another person who ended up knowing about me.
Did this make you feel blessed or give you that really fun Serendipity moment feeling…..Me too! This wedding wasn’t going to have a photographer they were phones. Which is appalling to me to an extent. Because if you love somebody enough and are willing to make a full-on! Commitment to someone as far as marrying them, you should have the best of everything possible. It is also a really great time in a client’s life to show them an extra amount of love or honor in. there seems to me no! Better time to be blessed by the honor of being a part of a stranger’s life. We vendors for weddings should really see it as an absolute privilege to be chosen or considered. because there is no greater commitment, No Greater Joy, no greater blessing than to aid in a love commitment….specially with all the hate in the world. I can go do a birthday party and that’s cool. I’m glad that this person is alive and hopefully they’re doing something for society but something to be said about a wedding and the purpose of a wedding. It is just fantastic to me!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Nothing! Well the mature part of me wants to say that.
Really my wish is that I could have learned all my lessons sooner so that I could have already been helping more people sooner.
Pricing:
- “Normal Wedding/ Quinceanera” $700.00 – $1,200 *all Images received on a flash drive and not watermarked. *Expected Picture count: 300-1200 photos.
- Senior Portraits $285.00. all Images received on a flash drive and not watermarked. *Expected picture count: 200
Contact Info:
- Website: www.facebook.com/sassyshotsphotographytexas
- Phone: 8178887768
- Email: sassyshotsphotographytexas@gmail.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/sassyshotsphotographytexas
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