Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Lee.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
For as long as I can remember I have read and followed blogs of wedding photographers in the Boston area. Seeing each of them capture a couples most intimate moments in their lives together became something I was fascinated with. Seeing these photographers tell each couples individual love stories through a lens was something I envied and has become the backbone of the why behind my business today.
The thought of starting to take this dream further was truly exciting. I had never taken a photography class and in fact photography is completely opposite to my accounting degree I received from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst.
However after my own wedding in 2015, I decided that there was no time like the present to do what I love. I had talked about it for months and as a wedding present, my husband gave me my very first camera. I soon reached out to my own wedding photographer, Carly Yarbrow of Carly Michelle Photography, to see if she wouldn’t mind letting me shadow her at a wedding. The following season I worked alongside her as her second photographer and was able to photograph close to 30 weddings with her. I am 100% self-taught. I read articles and took online courses and of course practiced.
Seeing how far I have come in the past few years is so exciting. Today I am finally starting to feel like I have figured out my true photography style. What really is the backbone for my business is being able to tell a couple’s love story. My main goal is to capture their love in its purest form. I want each of my couples to look back at their images and remember how they felt in that exact moment. My philosophy is to try to capture those candid in between moments where their love is truly on display. This is the best job and I am so excited to be able to be part of each of my couple’s biggest moments in their lives together.
Has it been a smooth road?
Being a wedding photographer in the Boston area has so many struggles. This is a very saturated market with so many talented photographers. So being able to find your own niche is a struggle that I think each of us had to work through everyday. Being able to figure out your style and your philosophy has really started to shape my business and my place in this market.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Shannon O’Neil Photography story. Tell us more about the business.
Being a wedding photographer you are one of the most important pieces of a couples wedding day. At the end of the day these images are what you will have forever. Creating and capturing those forever moments is what is most important to me. Having my couples look back and remember how they felt in that exact moment is what I strive for. I really want those authentic moments for my couples. Not putting them in a series of poses and clicking away. On a wedding day, I try to capture the natural interactions between a couples while giving them soft feedback to guide them to create those moments. I don’t want a couple to look back at a photo and remember me asking them to put their hand there or stand in that manner. I want them to see the love between the two of them.
To me being part of a couple’s wedding day is an honor. An honor to be by their side as they marry their best friend. So this job is so much more than just another wedding. This is the first day of their forever. So building lasting relationships with my clients is the most important. I don’t just want to be another vendor. I want to build a friendship with each of my clients because what we do together is so important. We are capturing these moments for years to come.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
This industry is constantly shifting each season with the latest and hottest trends for planning a wedding. Brides are looking to the top wedding blogs sites across the country for their inspirations. They are pinteresting everything. And I love this part of the industry. The trends are incredibly dynamic so you will never get tired of photographing a wedding because each one is unique and different.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shannononeilphotography.com
- Phone: 9785001432
- Email: shannononeilphotography@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannononeilphotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shannononeilphotography
Image Credit:
The personal photo was taken by Elizabeth LaDuca of Elizabeth LaDuca Photography
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