Annie Shannon shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Annie, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is a normal day like for you right now?
A normal day, when I don’t have an all day event or photo session for me right now looks like waking up, making my bed, taking the dog out for a walk, coming home to do my daily chores, having my breakfast and quite time and then jumping into work.
My typical work day looks like starting with a creative task whether it be editing, designing an album, or working on some fun marketing project, then transitioning to client communications/ email, finally I’ll wrap the work day up with either prepping for a photo session I have that evening, or doing accounting or other admin tasks.
I generally clock out of work as soon as my husband gets home on the days I am not photographing anything and we often cook dinner, and get out of the house and attend free concerts, movie nights outdoors, or take the dog to the dog park instead of vegging out on the couch and watching TV.
To wrap up my day, I take the time to write down what tomorrow looks like in the order of things I need to get done and sometimes timestamp when I need to get them done. I will also set alarms to go off for each important timed task so that time blindness is not an excuse for me. Then I will get ready for bed, and read a book for about 20-45 minutes to wind down for the day.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Annie Shannon, and I have two fassets of my brand.
1. I photograph love and marriage. I’ve always been drawn to love stories, seen a radiance in an array of skin tones, have viewed disabilities as super powers, and have been entranced by different languages. Weddings are one of the best hubs for bringing all of those fassets of my personality together.
2. I take pictures of other wedding vendors that are strategic and can help connect them with their ideal clients! I’ve seen so many vendors not have enough of different types of images that show off their brand and I’m here to help as both a wedding vendor herself and someone who has worked in the fashion marketing industry analyzing what works and what doesn’t.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
My earliest memory of feeling powerful, was actually when I felt weak. For context, I am Christian, and was raised in a Christian household.
I was playing with my toys at the age of three telling them “I am your king, I am your queen, I am your god.”
My mom stopped me at that point. She said, “you can’t be God, only Jesus is God.”
I instantly felt sorry, and prayed for forgiveness.
Later, I realized what a blessing that was. Not being powerful means I don’t have to have control over everything, and I can give it to God. Not being powerful means I don’t have to carry all burdens of the world. Knowing I have a powerful God in my weakness makes me feel secure and safe.
My earliest memory of feeling powerful is actually when I started to learn that I don’t have to be.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
I know suffering well. I have a disability that comes with chronic pain and fatigue at times. I’ve been through heart ache, through bullying, and loss.
When I think about suffering, I think of the book of James, how suffering is characterized as something that refines you.
It produces steadfastness and immovability and through it all. It produces wisdom, character and grit.
Suffering has taught me to remain firm when things are difficult, whereas success would only teach me what it’s like when things are always good. You have to have rain to see the rainbow, and you have to be steadfast and wise to be truely successful, otherwise you’re just a one hit wonder.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
I don’t believe the public version of anyone can encapsulate the “real” you. Because the real you has things that are not see in public. The quiet wins and the hidden battles.
That being said, I do my best to be authentic, and I do speak the same way I do in person as I do online, but I think there is a depth that no one who just knows me publicly could ever know unless they knew me privately.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
If I laid down my name, role and possessions, I would have my faith, my husband and my love for others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.annieshannon.co/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annieshannon.co?igsh=MWY0OTF0YmJidm9kaA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Ajpk7qzwk/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Image Credits
Annie Shannon Co
