Mindset Makes It Happen with Shauna Crane

September 20, 2021 Artist Spotlight

Episode 94: Shauna Crane

In Episode 94 of the Portrait System Podcast, Nikki Closser chats with Shauna Crane of Red Crane Portraits. Shauna has been a graphic designer since 1997, and there’s a good chance you’ve heard of her because she has done virtually all the graphic design for Sue Bryce Education & The Portrait Masters, and her gorgeous templates are available in The Portrait Masters Store. Shauna has been a professional photographer for nearly as long as she has been a professional graphic designer but has struggled with pricing her photography work at its true value.  As a result, for most of her professional life, Shauna has leaned into graphic design as a career, all while yearning to develop her photography business. In the last few years, things have been manifesting like crazy for her photography business as the result of her years of self-development work and her new confident mindset.

Be sure to listen to the whole podcast to hear Shauna’s inspiring story of how overcoming a difficult divorce and healing challenging health concerns made way for her to fully claim the power of her passion and the clarity she needed to achieve her dreams. You won’t want to miss how her decision to follow her heart has jump-started the manifestation of her dreams.

You also might be intrigued to hear of her innovative pricing and packages that start with single images and go all the way up to billboard designs.

In this blog, you’ll find some of Shauna’s vibrant personal branding portraits, links to her websites, and answers to some bonus questions.

You can find all of Shauna’s awesome templates in The Portrait Masters Store. Click “Templates” near the top of the page to go right to them.

SBE courses mentioned in this conversation include: Self-Love, Harsh Outdoor Light Hack, and Lighting.

Get to Know Shauna Crane

Q: Most artists have a point in their life when they knew this was meant for them. Do you have that moment?

A: By 2012, I was shooting everything I could — families, pets, weddings, engagements, etc. — not focusing on a genre. I was happy. I was photographing something, but I was not happy with my overall body of work. I didn’t have a niche, a clear message, or a clear demographic to market to. I had just finished an 8-month photography program the year before that I had spent way too much money on, and I didn’t feel prepared to make a business out of it. That year, I submitted a photo to a photography contest and won a ticket to WPPI University. The host that year was Sue Bryce. I had never seen her work before and knew nothing about her. But when she introduced herself and her style of portrait photography, I was in awe. It reminded me of fashion magazines and the vintage portraits on my family wall of my parent’s house. She talked about a new education she was launching in a couple weeks, so I signed up and absorbed everything I could, and I never looked back.

Q: How did you push past fear when building your business?

A: I have to remember that if I don’t push through my fears, I will never grow my business. I am very shy. I still have a difficult time approaching people and introducing myself. I moved into a new space 3 months ago, and there are days when I’m so pumped up and excited I talk to random people I meet on the elevator, have a quick chat, and give them my card or welcome them to follow me to my studio to check it out. Then, there are days when I pass right by my neighbor across the hall from me—with whom I’ve had so many opportunities to talk to, but never did. That was until this week when I left my studio door open, and she walked in and introduced herself to me, and we talked for nearly 2 hours! Now, we’re planning cocktail hour with a few other neighbors on our floor and a few new clients I photographed this week to discuss ways to collaborate and cross-promote each other. Fear holds you back!  Remember that when opportunities come your way and take action. 

Q: What has been your biggest accomplishment since starting Sue Bryce Education?

A: I just earned my TPM Master Photographer Accreditation! I didn’t even realize how much that would mean to me until I opened the envelope when it arrived in the mail. I spent too much money earning a certificate in photography at a school where I didn’t even learn a fraction of what I have with Sue Bryce Education—it has completely changed the trajectory of my business, my self-worth, and my whole mindset!

Q: Making a connection with your subject is one of the most important parts of a great portrait. How do you make lasting connections with your clients?

A: I have conversations with my clients before, during, and after their photoshoot. I ask them about their work, their hobbies, their families, things that bring out their joy. At the same time, I study their expressions and that leads to amazing captures. The last few months alone, I feel have been the most life-changing in that respect. After years of letting my fears and lack of confidence get in my way, I have completely taken a new approach to building relationships. And to be completely honest and open, working with a therapist has made a huge difference. Helping me overcome a lot of past issues and talking to a licensed professional has helped me break through the fog that greatly contributed to my lack of confidence. Now instead of beating myself up, I take the tools she has given me along with the wise words from Sue’s Self-Value Workshop and have taken a new approach to connecting with my clients.

Q: For someone starting out on their photography journey, what advice would you have for them?

A: You don’t need every new gadget. You just need what will get the job done. Start small with the essentials. As your business grows, then add what you need to get to the next level. Learn to tell the difference between what you WANT and what you NEED. Remember what Sue says, “Ask yourself, will this make my ship go faster?” 

Q: Do you regret any decisions you have made in your business?

A: No, I don’t regret any of it. Mistakes help you learn. When you realize you’ve made them and take the time to learn from them, you can recalibrate yourself and make adjustments. You allow yourself to grow from them. It’s a balance. With the bad comes something good.

Q: Where do you see your business in the next 5 years?

A: I see myself traveling around the country and the world photographing people. I don’t need to be in one place to do this. My youngest will be graduating from high school in 2022 and will be off to college shortly after, and my oldest will be getting married next year and moving across the country with her new husband, so there will be no reason left to keep me here in Bakersfield. I’ve been dreaming of this day for 25 years to go off and explore the world—and thankfully I have a business that I can do anywhere!


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Shauna Crane of Red Crane Portrait

Follow Shauna: Website – Instagram Facebook YouTube


 

Transcript

Click Here to Read the Podcast Transcript

FULL TRANSCRIPT: Please note this transcript was generated by AI and may contain errors.

00:00:00:02 – 00:00:02:07

You’re listening to the Portrait System podcast.

00:00:02:14 – 00:00:13:29

I woke up one morning and like, That’s it. I’m not making excuses anymore. I want to do this. I want to reopen my studio. I felt this pull to come back to it.

00:00:16:28 – 00:00:47:23

This is the Portrait System Podcast, a show that helps portrait photographers and people hoping to become one. Navigate the world of photography, business, money and so much more. We totally keep it real. We share stories about the incredible ups and the very difficult downs when running a photography business. I’m your host, Nikki Closser, and the point of this podcast is for you to learn actionable steps that you can take to grow your own business and also to feel inspired and empowered by the stories you hear.

Today’s guest is Shauna Crane, and she has had quite a personal journey during the growth of her business.

00:00:48:00 – 00:01:18:24

Shauna has been a graphic designer for years, and she shares that while she never had a problem with charging for design. She struggled with her pricing for her photography work, and she talks all about how she finally overcame that block. Shauna’s story is a big reminder how we truly need to make sure we’re taking care of ourselves while we’re on this path of entrepreneurship. We may come across trials and tribulations, but this is very possible to come out of it as a successful business owner. Shauna is someone who I’ve known for years, and it was so wonderful to be able to hear her story and her growth. OK, let’s get started with Shauna Crane.

00:01:19:17 – 00:01:22:07

Hey, Shauna. Welcome to the portrait system. How are you?

00:01:22:23 – 00:01:23:26

Good. How are you doing, Nikki?

00:01:24:04 – 00:01:25:25

I’m good. It’s so good to talk to you.

00:01:26:07 – 00:01:34:15

It is. I feel like it’s been forever since we chatted it and not by email, but, you know, in voiced voice.

00:01:34:29 – 00:01:57:26

I know, I know, just for our listeners out there, just so they know that we’ve been working together for a long time, and we email a lot because Shauna has done most of, if not all of the design work for The Portrait Masters and Sue Bryce Education. And also, like you designed my email templates and you created, you know, all the templates in The Portrait Masters store.

00:01:57:28 – 00:02:01:15

So well, not all. There’s a couple in there from Haike too Oh

00:02:01:17 – 00:02:27:14

yeah, that’s right. That’s right. But the majority you did. Right? Yes, yes. So, Shauna’s name might sound familiar to you, Shauna Crane, because she has done so much design work and we talk about her a lot. But that’s not what we’re going to talk about today, because I know that your graphic design work was something that you’ve done for a very long time, but you wanted to shift into being a full time photographer. So yeah, we’re going to talk about how you grew your business and all that good stuff.

00:02:27:25 – 00:02:57:21

Yeah, which is actually quite a journey because it was harder for me in my mindset to switch from being a full time graphic designer to a photographer and actually came across some what, as you call them, the, you know, your boundaries or your your brick walls and presenting yourself and feel that feeling so self-conscious. And I didn’t even realize that I had this problem until I started my studio photography business.

00:02:58:01 – 00:03:22:26

Yeah, I remember Sue saying something where you had said to her and she, I believe she uses you as an example and one of the videos on SBE. Mm hmm. How you could charge whatever you wanted for graphic design and not feel guilty or have any issues around it. But as soon as it came to photography, you just like slipped my mind. Yeah, like totally went backwards. And I think that’s so common for so many people.

00:03:23:06 – 00:04:08:24

It is, and that’s what I was referring to. I didn’t realize that I had a lack of confidence in selling my work and charging what I was worth. Until that, when it came to graphic design, I was so, so confident in it. I knew it had been gosh, since 1997 that I’ve been a graphic designer. Oh, wow, yeah. And when I was going to school, they taught you how to price yourself because there is a set guideline for it. There is actually a book from the Graphic Designers Guild that they put out that give you and they break it down from like regions and they give you the numbers on what is best to charge for certain things like by product, by where you live, like how many people are going to see it.

00:04:09:07 – 00:04:40:19

So I was already in that mindset when it came to graphic design and when it came into photography. Before I met Sue, it was introduced to her business model. There was no set standard mm. Or what you charge and what you charge for headshots or what you charge for hair and makeup, or what you charge for a printed piece and. So when she introduced that business model, it was like I had to wrap my mind around that, which I got the idea.

00:04:40:21 – 00:05:11:22

I knew this is what you charge, but then I had to go over the hurdle of Am I good enough? Am I good enough to charge this? And I’m I still kind of hit that wall every now and then, and I’m now that I reopened my studio after a couple of years I am coming up with. A price list for personal branding and headshots. And coming up with my standard for that, it’s not exactly the way Susan is, but it’s something that worked for me. Yeah, and that’s OK.

00:05:11:24 – 00:05:13:09

Using her as a base?

00:05:13:13 – 00:05:29:29

Yeah. I don’t want people out there listening to think that just because Sue does it this way or teaches it this way that you can’t modify it, I’ve modified the shit out of what she teaches, but the basic principles are there. It’s just I made it work for me and my business, and it sounds like that’s what you’re doing too.

00:05:30:14 – 00:06:01:19

Yeah, it is. And everybody in town who is also a photographer, they all charge something different. There’s a lot of shoot and burn photographers here. And at first, I was frustrated with that because I would lose a client because somebody else wanted to give everybody the all the images on a CD. Right? And I’m like, OK, that’s fine. You got to do it. What’s right for you? And at first, I would get a little bit miffed about it because I’m just like, What’s wrong with me? And I’m like, I had to realize it wasn’t.

00:06:02:00 – 00:06:23:24

It wasn’t about me. It was about what they wanted, what they valued. And that was the biggest hurdle to get over. And I have no idea why that shift was so hard when it came from graphic design to go into photography. Maybe it was because I just felt so insecure about the quality of work I was putting out. I never felt it was good enough.

00:06:24:18 – 00:06:40:17

Yeah. You know, I don’t know because I mean, obviously, your work is beautiful and definitely professional standards. So. And we have some of the most amazing photographers where you look at their work and you’re like, Wow,

00:06:40:20 – 00:06:41:24

yeah, it makes me feel it’s

00:06:43:21 – 00:07:15:20

literally almost everyone who I’ve interviewed, regardless of how fantastically incredible their work is, has gone through this like self value process of Am I good enough? So I wonder. I don’t know. There is something to be said for an industry to say, you know, when you’re in school, this is what you charge and everyone’s kind of around ish the same. Mm hmm. What like, I’ve interviewed so many people who have gone to photography school, like proper university or, you know, programs where they do not teach you pricing?

00:07:15:23 – 00:07:48:16

No, they don’t. And I have been through those programs. I went to Brooks Institute 2010 2011, and I wanted to be a photographer professionally. Aside from what I was doing already, which was I was doing headshots and product photography when I worked in advertising, but I never felt like I properly learned it like the, you know, the best lighting, the best studio set up. I’m just old school that way. You know, I felt like I had to go to school to learn this. And so I found a program that taught that.

00:07:48:18 – 00:08:12:11

But they didn’t teach me anything about business or anything about pricing and barely about posing really right. So when it came across Suze, I was like, I couldn’t believe I was like, I wasted so much money going back to school. I wish she had been around. I mean, I know she was around, but I wish she had been teaching online prior to that because then I could have saved myself thousands of dollars.

00:08:13:27 – 00:08:26:20

OK, let’s go back, though. Let’s kind of work through, you know, how you got to where you’re at now and and give people an idea of before you get started on what what you do shoot now mostly and just kind of what your business looks like in general.

00:08:27:10 – 00:09:06:02

Well, I found that for me, what came so easily was doing headshots and doing personal branding because it was something it’s where I came from. When I was working in advertising, that was what I got the most of head shots and it kind of fell into it, really. I had been doing photography since high school, but I never imagined that it was something I could do professionally because I was a trained graphic designer. That’s what I went to school for. That’s what my degree is in. So getting started there, it just felt a natural transition to me, and I had started from like when I wanted to be a photographer before I came across Sue’s teaching on Creative Live.

00:09:06:11 – 00:09:28:11

I was shooting everything. I was doing weddings. I was a second shooter for weddings. I was a primary shooter for weddings and frankly, I hated it. Mm-Hmm. Props to all the wedding photographers out there because it is so stressful. I was so worried I was going to miss a shot. You know, like the most important shots and you can’t say, I’m sorry a bride, can we start over again because I missed that shot of you coming down the aisle with your dad?

00:09:30:09 – 00:10:08:27

So it just I didn’t have a passion for it, and I did family photos outside. I did pet photos and nothing really sparked joy for me before that turn came around. But I just found that it was easier for me and it felt more genuine to do head shots and personal branding because it is so close to my roots in right working in advertising and I still shoot, you know, things on the periphery. Like, you know, families, mother, daughter, glamour, but it’s not really entirely where my heart is.

00:10:09:09 – 00:10:15:03

I just feel so connected to doing headshots and personal branding, so that’s what I’m doing now. Yeah, but I made.

00:10:16:12 – 00:10:26:24

Absolutely the same as you. Isn’t it so great to not have to work weekends and just to be able to have normal hours and people don’t expect you to be available evenings and weekends?

00:10:27:03 – 00:10:58:00

I still do work weekends because I’m doing two things the photography and graphic design. I have to sometimes work on weekends, but it is nice to be my own boss and say, Hey guys, sorry, I’m going to take this weekend off, so I’m not going to be available till Monday. But most of the time I’ll work on weekends because, you know, my kids are grown up now. Yeah, my youngest now is a senior in high school, so I have the time to devote to it that I didn’t have when I first started out. Yeah, yeah, that’s a good point. And so I feel like I’m very idle and I don’t like being idle.

00:10:58:28 – 00:11:12:01

So if I’m not working in my garden, I’m working on my computer or my boyfriend or hanging out and doing something fun. So for me, it’s not a big deal to work on the weekend. I enjoy it. I enjoy work. I really do. I love it.

00:11:12:23 – 00:11:33:04

It’s it is. It’s different when you love what you do. It definitely is. Yeah. Before I had kids, you know, little kids, I worked all the time, weekends, evenings, like all the time. So, yeah, I definitely understand that. OK, so let’s back up. Then you decided you were ready to jump into the photography world. You went to school for it.

00:11:33:13 – 00:12:07:18

And then what? I still kind of flailed. I was shooting. Everything became a set because what I was learning in school was specifically wedding and portrait photography. Mm-Hmm. And I didn’t know anything about the business. So when I came across Sue for the first time, I felt like I had a focus and it brought me back into the studio because I didn’t like shooting outside. And that’s what all the photographers around me were doing, and that’s what they are teaching you in school. And I didn’t like that environment because it seemed to be more about the background, the outside and less focus on the person.

00:12:08:03 – 00:12:39:06

And growing up, I have these amazing old, black and white photos of my relatives and relatives I’ve never met because there’s these pictures are over 100 years old and they’re all done in a studio. And I just felt more connected to that style of photography because it became more about the person. When I’m looking at those photos, I can see, you know, my kids in them, I can see myself. I’m like, Oh my God, this, you know, my dad looks so much like my great great grandfather. And so I wanted to do more of that.

00:12:39:08 – 00:13:16:11

Just didn’t know how. So when I first started learning from Sue, it was, Oh my god, let me try all these different things I loved. Love, love, love her style this this beautiful glam like updated glamour look and using these fabrics and beautiful dresses. And I still want to do that. It’s just I was so much more drawn to getting headshots of people for their business because of all the businesses they work for. As a graphic designer, they’re lacking these things, and I’m like, Well, how can I help you with this and still do your graphic design? But I really want to give you this beautiful presence for your business.

00:13:16:13 – 00:13:49:17

This is your you represent your business, and so you need to have this a great photo that represents your brand. Mm-Hmm. Mm-Hmm. So for me, it’s just it kind of is a full circle thing. So it took me a few years to get to that point. From the time when I when I started, I would say that. So after 2010, so from 2010 to 2012, I was kind of like finding, you know, the style and the genre that was best for me. And then when I started learning from Sue, it was more of an evolution.

00:13:49:19 – 00:14:23:14

Learning everything I could about styling a photo shoot and lighting and posing was the biggest thing I learned from her. Yeah, because it was something that I the skill that I lacked so much learning in school. And I was like, was a question. I was always asking my teachers and they were just like, Well, you know, just do this, do that. But I’m like, But there’s got to be more to it, like, how do I get them into that pose? And that’s the gap that Sue filled for me was how to get them from just standing there and from your camera to in this beautiful pose that made them feel confident.

00:14:23:23 – 00:14:55:02

And you know, for the clients that want to lose, you know, want to lose weight before they come into a photo shoot. I give them that feel from that pose or from the posing they do for them. And so it was it wasn’t too long before when I started getting into networking and meeting people, and I was still marketing both graphic design photography like I do now that headshots really became the majority of my work. And when I hooked up with Go Red for Women. Mm hmm. Just twenty thirteen.

00:14:55:04 – 00:15:25:05

So was when I was first getting into networking and I met up with these women. They started using those creative skills that I learned from Sue to do really beautiful glamour shots or glamour photography from glamour style photography, glamour shots and just it gave me an outlet to be creative and take those things that I learned to the next level. And so after about six years of doing that with them, I just felt like headshots and personal branding were where my heart lied.

00:15:25:12 – 00:15:25:27

Mm-Hmm.

00:15:26:11 – 00:15:47:10

And that’s so important because I I think, you know, similarly to you, I think a lot of people just shoot anything and everything, which is great at the beginning to figure out what it is that you feel passionate about what it is that makes you. You want to work weekends and want to, you know, just love what you do. And it’s just a matter of finding out what you’re passionate about.

00:15:47:21 – 00:16:21:13

Yeah, I think it took me a little longer to get there because I was still working as a graphic designer and as a freelancer. So I’m out there trying to get work that’s going to pay me right now, which was graphic design at the time and trying to shoot photography in between all that or in concert with it. So my evolution has taken me a little while, and now I’m kind of like, I feel like I’m there now. I’m exactly where I’m doing, what I want to do, where I want to be in that and just growing now from this, from this point.

00:16:21:27 – 00:16:33:12

Yeah, that’s awesome. So when you decided, OK, this is what I want to do, I feel like this has been I mean, it’s been several years that this has been an evolution for you. Yeah. I mean,

00:16:33:15 – 00:16:34:19

a little bit slow, but yeah.

00:16:35:02 – 00:17:03:11

Well, I don’t know. I mean, everyone has their own life path and their own timeline. And and you also, OK, this is what I wanted to say, too, is like you had your have your graphic design business still to fall back on. And when you don’t have that fire lit under you, sometimes it just we can take a little bit longer because there isn’t that like I need to pay the bills kind of feeling because, you know, you have the graphic design work to do. You think that had anything to do with it?

00:17:03:25 – 00:17:37:22

It did, in my personal life, really slowed me down, too. I was in a and I don’t I don’t like talking about it too much. But it is a part of my story about my evolution. But it’s so painful and it’s so private. It’s it’s hard to know where to draw the line talking about that, but I was in a very tumultuous marriage and it wasn’t it wasn’t happy and it was chaotic and trying to raise my children and make them happy, make this other person happy.

00:17:37:24 – 00:18:08:24

And I was working on graphic design for his businesses and he wanted me to make that a priority. And I couldn’t make myself and my business a priority because it went on the back burner every single time I had to stop and do things for him. And it got so it got so frustrating, and I wanted to make this person happy while at the same time not making myself happy. So that really got in the way of my progress, and I don’t want to blame him.

00:18:08:26 – 00:18:41:19

It’s not his fault. I made those choices. But once I got out of it and I had to heal, I really just hit the ground running. Yeah. So this was like, let’s see. Four years ago, 20 and 17, 2018, I had filed for divorce in 2017, moved out a few months later and I had moved my studio into a bigger space in the building that I’m in now. And I was busy. I literally just put everything into my work because I could now.

00:18:42:12 – 00:19:14:06

You know, finally, I had this freedom that I didn’t have before, and I was booking clients right and left, and I think my sales were up to like my average was like six ninety five. And I was doing mostly just headshots in a kind of a hybrid of headshots with personal branding. I was kind of evolving it at that point. And all of a sudden, it’s like my personal life came crashing down again. Yeah. And then physically, I started feeling sick before I even filed for divorce, and I didn’t.

00:19:14:18 – 00:19:40:00

I thought it was just stress of being in this situation. Mm-Hmm. Divorce is not easy. And then on top of that, I just I couldn’t go see a doctor because my insurance got cancelled without my permission. So, yeah, I had gone to the doctor who had taken a bunch of blood tests and he was thinking, Oh my God, you have cancer, you have leukemia. And I’m like, what?

00:19:40:03 – 00:19:42:22

Oh my gosh, how scary is that?

00:19:42:27 – 00:20:15:15

Yeah. And for a whole year, until I could go see an oncologist, I thought, Oh my God, I’m dying. And so I was just in a fog and I couldn’t concentrate on anything. I was tired all the time and I burnt out and I was trying so hard to do balance both these businesses. Being a single mother and taking care of my my youngest child who is had just started high school and living on my own again for the first time in 17 years, almost.

00:20:16:18 – 00:20:30:15

And just trying to navigate this new life and my businesses at the same time. And when I finally was able to start going to a doctor again and the pandemic, it’s not like, Oh my God.

00:20:32:04 – 00:21:03:08

So I had to wait as soon as I went to an oncologist and they started doing all the testing and figure out what was wrong with me. Everything got shut down. Yeah. And by this time, I was already so emotionally drained I had closed my studio, the one with this big room that I had in the building, you know, put everything in storage, decided to just do graphic design because I just I couldn’t. I had nothing left to give to people. When you’re shooting, you’re it for me anyways. It takes a lot out of you.

00:21:03:10 – 00:21:37:05

Yeah, I mean, I love doing, I love interacting with people, especially one on one and making them feel beautiful. But at that point in my life, I just felt so drained and I couldn’t give anything to anybody. In fact, graphic design to fall back on was great because I could do it from behind a computer in basic solitude. Yeah, and that’s at that time. That’s what I had to do. It’s what I what I needed to to recharge myself and get better. Yeah. And then with the pandemic, I was able to kind of disguise what was going on with me and hide it from everybody.

00:21:37:09 – 00:21:37:27

Mm-Hmm.

00:21:39:08 – 00:22:16:12

You know, I think something that is it’s just so important for people to take away from, you know, while listening to your story is that our own health and well-being and our children like that need to come first. And sometimes that means putting the business on the back burner as long as you can put food on the table. Mm-Hmm. Like, it’s OK to not be full speed ahead with your business all of the time. Yeah, you know, like you need to take care of you first, because if we are not in a healthy mental and physical state, it’s nearly impossible to grow a business.

00:22:16:14 – 00:22:21:11

I mean, we’ve got to at least have, you know. Some sort

00:22:21:26 – 00:22:22:11

of,

00:22:24:07 – 00:22:42:18

you know, stress and everything can just add to the chaos. I mean, anyway, my point is that it’s so important, you know, if you’re listening out there and you’re thinking it’s not a good time to start your business because you’ve got so much going on like you don’t have to be, you know, running a sprint like it can be a marathon where it just takes longer. And that’s OK.

00:22:43:01 – 00:22:46:28

Mm hmm. Yeah. For me, it was more I would say it was more like a cross-country.

00:22:49:09 – 00:22:50:22

But look where you’re at now.

00:22:50:26 – 00:23:22:04

know, I know, Oh my God. And it’s been like just in the last few months, I felt like, well after I had my surgery and they found the doctors found out what was wrong with me and I had surgery, which was last December. I remember waking up from the anesthesia and just like feeling so euphoric and I felt my body healing immediately. And I was like, Oh my God, I want. I started imagining like what I wanted to do, and I wanted to get back into photography and open up my studio again.

00:23:22:06 – 00:23:55:22

I’m like, Just all these ideas are flooding into me. And I was like, I guess, manifesting what I wanted and just thinking, imagining what it was going to look like, what I’d be doing, how I was going to initiate and get the ball rolling again so that I could reopen. And aside from my actual physical sickness, I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and depression. On top of everything else, I was like, Oh yeah, another fucking thing I have to deal with seriously.

00:23:56:04 – 00:24:01:18

So I kept getting different. I didn’t believe the first doctor. I was like,

00:24:03:05 – 00:24:30:14

There’s no way. I mean, I’ve been away from this marriage for a couple of years now. How is this coming up? And I went to two other doctors to get a second and third opinion, and they all concurred that this is this is the the problem. I wasn’t burnt out. I was going through depression and I the reason I couldn’t be around people is because I was afraid to be.

00:24:32:00 – 00:25:04:24

And I had to go to therapy. So for the last six months now, I’ve been in intense therapy and on antidepressants, and within a month or two months of talking to a therapist intensely about everything that had been going on for the last few years, I started feeling better. And I came out of this fog and I woke up one morning and like, That’s it, I’m not making excuses anymore. I want to do this, I want to reopen my studio.

00:25:04:26 – 00:25:51:26

I I felt this pull to come back to it. And I had tried, like during the pandemic a few months before my surgery and months after to take a couple of sessions at my house in front of, you know, kind of partially in my garage, out of my garage doing these outdoor shoots kind of like that from Sue’s video the doing the harsh light series. So I put these v flats up some black and whites, and I was doing headshots and just trying to feel my way through it again and be around people again and kind of seeing, you know, is it still in me? Do I still want to do this right? And probably was it in June? I just decided that’s it.

00:25:51:28 – 00:26:26:08

I was downtown at the courthouse dealing with my divorce, another episode of my divorce. And I drove by my the building where my old studio used to be, and I went in to talk to the building manager and asked her, Hey, is there any space available? And she says, Oh my god, yeah. And we walked to the room and right next door to her. And when I walked in, I, I got this like, Oh my god, moment this like deja vu. And it was nearly exactly the space I had imagined that the morning I woke up for my surgery.

00:26:26:22 – 00:27:04:23

Wow. And I’m just like, Oh my god, I, I can do this again. Yeah, it was so inspiring. I’m just like, Wow, did I really, you know, imagine this and it came to life. From that moment, it was just like, OK, I’m tossing all my stuff out of storage. You know, I redid the floors. I started moving everything back in and I made the announcement, Hey, my studio is reopening in July of twenty twenty one. And I just kind of hit the ground running I before I have even started advertising yet, and I had been getting calls for headshot sessions like all of a sudden out of nowhere.

00:27:04:25 – 00:27:16:07

See, that mindset is so important. If you think it is, or even if you know we’re like, whatever it is, it’s crazy.

00:27:16:09 – 00:27:52:14

It’s crazy how, you know, I’m not I’m not a religious person, and I don’t know if you know, thinking that being, you know, the universe in that sense is necessary religion, but Sue talks about that a lot. But it is so true. Mm hmm. You know, thinking and deciding, making this decision to do that suddenly put it out into the universe. And all of a sudden it came right back to me. Like, I decided I wanted to do this again. I put it out there didn’t even realizing I was putting it out there or just something I wanted to do in it immediately came to me.

00:27:53:09 – 00:28:26:14

So it was so I don’t even know how to describe it, but I just I I talked to my boyfriend about it and we just started laughing. And just like, he’s like this, you do this all the time. You think whenever you think something in you, you follow through and you do it. He’s like, I’m in awe of you. And it just made me feel so feel so good to have somebody there for me who encourages me and doesn’t try to change me or tell me how to do it their way. Hmm. Just lets me be totally and I.

00:28:26:23 – 00:28:28:15

I had never had that in my life.

00:28:28:28 – 00:28:59:10

Yeah. You know, Shauna, that has come up. I can’t even count how many times in our group, in the Facebook group where people are like, What do you do when you have a partner or a parent or people who are just not supportive of you and your business? Can you share a little bit just about that? And I know you have like complete extreme opposites here, but if you were to give advice to someone maybe who is in a situation where their partner was not supportive of what they were doing, what advice would you give to people who are listening?

00:29:00:11 – 00:29:39:01

Well, I know I did it the wrong way because it was a very different situation. I think probably a lot of people have, you know, having just a basic, the basic person who doesn’t support you. Mm-Hmm. It’s kind of with my mother, my dad always wanted me to do something with computers. My mom wanted me to do something with art. But growing up, it was never encouraged for me to go to college or do this or do that. And I would be like, Oh, you don’t want me to do that. You don’t think I can do that. Watch this. Mm-Hmm. You know, I was just like, Don’t ever tell me I can’t do something because I’m going to prove you wrong every single time.

00:29:39:28 – 00:30:10:05

And I was very defiant in that way with my mom, not with my dad, because my dad had passed away, you know, long before I ever went to college. But it was, it was, you know, head butting with her and with my ex it was. It was not so much that he didn’t support me. He just wanted me to do it his way. And I’m like, You run a completely different kind of business. And what this is, this is a, you know, Sue calls it a luxury brand. It is. Mm hmm. And you have to oh, you’re charging too much in this and that.

00:30:10:07 – 00:30:45:04

And I’m like, This is the business model. I’m following this business model. You do yours. You stay in your lane and let me stand mine. And I mean, my advice would be just, you know, follow your heart if this is what you want to do. You have to just ignore the naysayers. I know it’s hard is is really hard, especially when it comes to, you know, your spouse because you guys are a team or at least you should be, and you’re working together to build a life together and support each other, not just emotionally but financially.

00:30:45:06 – 00:31:16:23

So you have to make sure that what you’re doing isn’t being reckless, you know that you’re on a good footing and that you’re doing it in a way that is still sustainable. To your guys’ lifestyle. Mm-Hmm. Mm-Hmm. But you know, if you you talk to them about what you want, what your intentions are, and if they are agreeable to that great, if they’re not, you have to make a decision whether or not you’re going to defy that and just do it anyway.

00:31:17:01 – 00:31:17:16

Mm hmm.

00:31:17:28 – 00:31:24:19

So, you know, I remember because this is something we talked about in depth, you know, within the group and on some of the lives where it was.

00:31:26:18 – 00:31:56:23

One thing that Sue said that I think was really important is you don’t necessarily I mean, when it’s your partner, if someone is trying to, like, dictate how you work and how you spend your money and that sort of thing, that’s something you have to really do some soul searching about and decide if that is. Something you want to, you know, to be part of your partnership and relationship, like there’s a whole other level of depth when it comes to that, but if you’ve just got someone who is telling you you’re charging too much. No one will pay that in our town.

00:31:56:25 – 00:32:11:28

What are you thinking? Who’s going to spend money that much money on photos? And that type of situation is to not tell them what you’re going to do and not share the entire process and try to convince them. But just do it and show them. Mm-Hmm.

00:32:12:13 – 00:32:21:19

Yeah. And don’t ask for permission. Exactly. Because that then puts you in the in the position of being so much submissive.

00:32:21:21 – 00:32:25:27

But well, you’re giving them the opportunity to tell you that you can’t.

00:32:26:14 – 00:32:38:16

Yeah, that’s it. If you give them permission, it’s, you know, you’re saying, Oh, then you’re giving them the opportunity to say, No, no, you can’t do this. No, you can’t follow your dreams.

00:32:38:25 – 00:32:56:24

Mm-Hmm. When you ask for feedback, you are opening yourself to feedback and you need to be willing to take it. But if you let someone know, you know, thank you, but I am not looking for feedback at this point, you know, I appreciate your thoughts. And I wasn’t really looking for feedback, you know?

00:32:57:02 – 00:33:27:25

Yeah, frankly. Yeah, like I said, I feel like I did it wrong. Yeah, I was not in a good position to and I did. I did ask for permission and I shouldn’t have, especially with the wrong person. But now it’s like I was already doing this when I met my boyfriend. And I remember when the first time he came by my studio and it had a window, so you could see in what I was doing and I was photographing somebody. And when I walked out and we were talking, he was just like, It’s so awesome to see you working and doing what you do.

00:33:28:02 – 00:33:59:03

You look so happy doing it. And I was just like, Wow, this is this is fun. This is different. And even when I wanted to, I needed to stop. He was like, It’s OK, you know? You know, I’m here for you. Just do what makes you happy. And still, he wasn’t disappointed in me when I when I stopped doing it. And now that I’m starting it up again, he’s just like, I’m seeing you light up again. You look so happy. And that is the ideal situation.

00:33:59:05 – 00:34:21:21

I wish everybody could have that encouraging, you know, a significant other. I wish I had had that in the beginning, and I probably would have. It would have been easier, easier road for me. But honestly, I don’t feel like I have the best advice for anybody in this situation because I went from one extreme to another. There is no there wasn’t the middle ground for me on this one.

00:34:22:02 – 00:34:43:10

Yeah, yeah. I mean, the amazing thing, though, is that you learned so much through the process. Mm-Hmm. And you are able to really kind of put out there what you wanted and what you were looking for through your business, through a partner because you had that experience. You know, with your ex and just the whole trauma of it all.

00:34:43:17 – 00:35:13:26

Yeah, I actually even had a manifesting moment when it came to because my first therapist was telling me within this for this therapist didn’t really delve into where my problems were lying. And she said, Oh, you need to go out and start dating, just get out there and meet somebody and just just try it out and see what it’s like. And I was so against the idea, and that’s how I met my boyfriend was just on suggestion of my first therapist. Hmm. Look at that.

00:35:14:09 – 00:35:38:22

I know. But before that, I remember walking into my studio and I was so upset I was crying and I just yelled out into the universe exactly what I wanted in a partner, even if it took 10 years to find them. I didn’t want to find myself back where I was. Yeah. And so I asked for specific traits. And four months later, there he was.

00:35:39:02 – 00:35:42:12

Yeah, yeah, so awesome. I’m so happy for you.

00:35:42:21 – 00:35:53:15

Thank you. It’s weird how you can manifest not just what you want in your business, but what you want in your personal life as well. It works in any situation, really. Yeah, yeah. Well, let’s talk

00:35:53:17 – 00:36:13:08

a little bit about how this has helped your business and just now that you have such a clear path and vision for what you want. You know, you’ve shot all the genres. You done it all. You know, everything and you have narrowed your focus to something that brings you joy. Let’s talk a little bit about how you do this, how you process it, what your shoots look like and that sort of thing.

00:36:13:17 – 00:36:44:22

Well, I actually went to pricing headshots. I did. It was kind of a whim. I just wanted like something to get people in the door. So I started this headshot special like three three years ago and it was ninety nine dollars headshots and I was only doing it for a limited time only. I had just moved into this new space and I wanted to attract attention. And so I put this huge poster in a in a gold frame in the window so people would pass by it and see it. And I got a lot of calls. People were buying like three. For headshots, and I was like, wow, I spotted them just to buy one.

00:36:45:00 – 00:37:09:06

Mm-Hmm. And I got such a great response from that. I kept it. And then when it came to personal branding, I’m like, Well, maybe I should do the same thing and kind of price where we would be individually. So I looked at my portrait pricing for, you know, when it came to styling and the full on mother daughter type of shoot or, a kind of a glamour shoot. And you know, I was doing the the seven by nine.

00:37:10:26 – 00:37:46:22

I haven’t printed in so long I’m forgetting what I’ve been doing so much, you know, digital work now that I am forgetting. But it was like I started a two seventy five for an image and I’m like, Well, why can’t I do that for personal branding too? And just do it by one image. So I started pricing them at one fifty nine just for one image, and then people started buying three or four of them. And I’m like, Maybe you should just start doing packages. So I started creating packages and then I’m like, You know what? Maybe I should. You know, people are coming to me with I’m seeing their design work in their online presence isn’t matching with this new image as well.

00:37:46:24 – 00:38:20:26

Let me me throw in some graphic work into that too. Like business cards, you know, the social media headers headers for their website. And so I started creating more packages on top of that, and I just did it again because now I’m know I’ve reopened and I’m making a new magazine for headshots and personal branding. So I put my all my pricing on there, and I started writing the whole thing out and creating individual pricing for one picture. Because you do how out of, I would say, out of 10 people, two of them will buy one image, but most of people will buy three or more.

00:38:21:27 – 00:38:52:05

It just made more sense to me to give that option like that, you know, it’s not like I don’t want people to feel like they can’t come to me because I’m too expensive for them. Hmm. Mm hmm. You know, some people just want that one picture to get started there. You know, they’re just starting out on their business, just like, you know, the graphic designer. So I do templates for just starting out in their business. They can’t afford to hire a professional graphic designer. So it’s kind of it was kind of the same thing for me, giving people an intro into it and the people that have come to me for just one picture come back to me to photograph them again.

00:38:52:07 – 00:39:12:03

In fact, next week I’m photographing two women, one of which I photographed the first six months I was open, and she’s still using that picture that I photographed her for all of her marketing. Wow. Now I’m going to reshoot her re photograph her, and she’s going to be using all these new pictures for her marking. She’s going to do a whole personal branding package.

00:39:12:16 – 00:39:33:21

Nice. That’s awesome. And I’m glad that we have you on to talk about this because a lot of people that we have on just do the package package only. Yeah. And so to have that perspective of just doing the one photo where you’re right, maybe clients will come back once they’ve grown their business a little bit more and they have the budget for it. And so, yeah, you can do it either way.

00:39:34:01 – 00:40:04:29

Yeah. And I don’t I’m not spending like three hours with every person to photograph them. My headshots sessions take 30 minutes, personal branding an hour and my editing time. I’ll cull down my images. I tell them I’m going for headshots. I show 12 images in their gallery. That’s kind of old school, because when when we used to do film, you had your full frame images that came in the negatives had 12 to a roll. So I’m kind of using that as my as my base from from that concept.

00:40:05:11 – 00:40:40:16

So 12 images for the head shots they get to choose from. And I, you know, you could do so much or just a headshot, their expression, the shoulders, kind of the movement, especially with women, you can do a lot more over the shoulder and things like that up against the wall. I even do that with guys up against the wall, with their arms folded. So I give with headshots. I kind of incorporate their arms and hands sometimes into that as well. But it doesn’t take me a lot of time in my editing process. It’s like if I’m picking 12 of the best and adding just minor editing, you know, like flyaways, you know, blemishes, little things like that.

00:40:40:18 – 00:41:17:13

So I think I spend maybe 30 minutes editing if that 15 sometimes. Yeah. So it’s not like I’m spending a ton of time on it and I can crank them out. If I had, you know, three or four headshots, I can get them all done in a couple of days. So I’ve had three photo shoots a couple of weeks ago in the same week, and I got them their images the first person they needed an overnight the next day. So I got their stuff first. Then the next day I edited the other two invite within two to three business days. They had their images to look at on their online gallery, and they each one person bought four and the other, the other two bought three images in it.

00:41:17:18 – 00:41:33:06

I’m doing really well with that. I know at some point I get, I’m going to get busy, I can feel it, and I’m going to have to find an editor to do, you know, just the basic editing for me so I can crank them out faster. But at this pace, I’m doing really, really well.

00:41:33:26 – 00:41:39:01

Yeah, that’s awesome. Again, it goes back to figuring out what works well for you.

00:41:39:16 – 00:41:57:04

Yeah, I guess it doesn’t hurt either that I have a graphic design background, so I already knew how to edit before I became a photographer, a professional photographer. Right. Because I was, ah, I was self-taught editing. And then I learned how to do it the right way. Yeah. And I found that they weren’t too far from each other.

00:41:57:14 – 00:42:10:26

Well, OK. So Shauna, if if I were to come to you, me, maybe just tell us about what your packages include. And I know people can get the ala carte. But like if I wanted your either medium or large package and I wanted it to include graphic design, what would that look like?

00:42:11:02 – 00:42:41:11

My largest package is two thousand six hundred ninety five dollars and that includes 15 images, which for personal branding, it’s going to be a mix of headshots with three quarter image. So you have like sometimes people want to show their their shoes, and I’ll put that in there too, but I just make that decision during the photo shoot. But that includes 15 images and then three pieces of graphic design work, and I have a list of options for them to choose from, from designing a logo all the way to even a billboard. Oh, nice.

00:42:41:18 – 00:43:16:16

Yeah. So they choose a three design pieces as they want, and that’s included in the package. Then my individual images for headshot start at ninety nine dollars and go up from there. So I also have group rates for 20 and over. It goes down to fifty nine dollars per image and then they get a little bit less. So if the person that single person that comes in, they’ll get 12 images to choose from. But then from those images, I’ll crop them into square crops for their profile images and then extend backgrounds if they need them for one specific image, so they’ll get a little bit more.

00:43:16:28 – 00:43:40:00

But for the groups, they only get to choose up to five images for women and three for men. Because you get you’re getting to a lot of people, you have to do a lot more editing. So I kind of since I’m lowering the price for a larger group, they get a little bit less. And then for the packages for personal branding, they’ll start at six ninety five and they go up to the two thousand six ninety five.

00:43:40:21 – 00:43:50:13

Yeah. And then as far as where you’re shooting in your studio, you’re not in your house or outside anymore, right? You have a separate studio space outside of your home.

00:43:50:25 – 00:44:25:20

Yeah, I was shooting in my my garage slash front yard, and now I have an actual studio space. It’s one big room. It’s three hundred and fifty six square feet, huge tall ceilings. I think that they’re like 15 feet high, nice. So I was able to bring in studio lights this time because I have those high ceilings, and that’s something new that I’m bringing in to kind of level up because I was shooting all natural light before with window and I have a ton of windows it’s such beautiful light in there.

00:44:25:24 – 00:44:59:07

Oh, that’s so great. So I can still do the natural light photos and mix them now with with studio light. And I just have the barebones. This time my previous studio is I actually had a couch. I had a whole, you know, three two makeup stations and then a separate shooting area, separate viewing area. But I really, you know, from going back home and starting from scratch again, going back to bare bones. Now basically all I have is my lights, my backgrounds, a desk, a viewing wall and a small makeup station with a mirror.

00:44:59:27 – 00:45:25:25

And I and then I have my props like my the posing boxes, three sets those. I have a couple of like little step ladders and a couple of stools, and it’s that’s basically it. Oh, and a rack, clothes were just a very small wardrobe for people who, you know, things that I bought for myself, for things that I liked that were very inexpensive, that I just put into the studio for people who ever want want something a little bit different than what they have in their closet.

00:45:26:07 – 00:45:57:04

Yeah, yeah. Isn’t it so great to kind of simplify like that? I’ve been doing the same. I’m like, Oh, I just got rid of so many dresses. I just we have this annual garage sale. Mm-Hmm. Like near our house, this huge annual garage sale. And I just I was just selling. It’s funny because I had this big poofy skirt that I used for years, but it takes up so much space and I have so many photos in it. I was like, You know, I’m just going to sell it. And this woman came up and she’s like, I’m a photographer, and I just really think the skirt would would be great for my photoshoots.

00:45:57:06 – 00:46:21:14

And I was like, Well, let me just tell you all about that. I like pull up my Instagram, and I’m showing her all the photos where I’ve used the skirt. And so she ended up buying it and a bunch of other dresses. It was just kind of funny because some people are at the point where they want to have, you know, the dresses and whatever. And that’s so great. And that’s just not what I want anymore. So everyone is just and same with you were like everyone’s just at a different phase and stage, and that’s OK.

00:46:21:18 – 00:46:53:00

Yeah, I yeah, I went through that stage of I made a bunch of skirts and I made these little they’re not really hats, but they’re I don’t know these little poofs. I would put on people’s heads that I learned from Sue and all the styling of the. And, you know, now that I’ve kind of reincarnated it again, my studio, I realized I didn’t need all that. So she sent something mostly headshots and personal branding. There’s no need for any of that. Yeah, I have a few pieces that you know are sparkly sequins-y dresses.

00:46:53:02 – 00:47:25:04

But for the most part, I put everything up on eBay and kept just like basic outfits, solid colored things that could be used in a personal branding shoot or headshot session that I like and just some different colors. And most of my the sizes are kind of kept from like size 12 and up because I find that most of my clients who have more of a wardrobe or need pieces are in that size range. Yeah, that’s awesome. So I just kind of kept women that were basically the same size I do.

00:47:25:24 – 00:47:56:04

Yeah, yeah. It just kind of I just I see something online. I saw this beautiful white dress and it was on sale for half off and I got it for 20 bucks. And it’s a beautiful white. It kind of like a day dress, but it can be an evening dress. And I just thought, Oh, I would love to shoot something on a white background with this and natural light or something. So I bought it for the studio and I can’t wait to photograph somebody in it. But yeah, I just because I kept it so simple now. And it’s funny to go from, you know, I did very little in my house.

00:47:56:06 – 00:48:09:26

I had very little there too, having a studio with everything to then, you know, selling it all and starting over from scratch again and just finding that having the basics is really all I needed the whole time.

00:48:10:22 – 00:48:14:04

Yeah, yeah. It’s funny how little you truly need.

00:48:14:23 – 00:48:22:21

Yes. Yeah, yeah. And then I bought a posing table in a store, so that’s something new. The lights in the posing table are now

00:48:23:01 – 00:48:31:25

awesome, but actually, that kind of leads me into my my first question for you, for the the questions I always ask at the end of each episode. And that is what can’t you live without when you’re doing a photo shoot?

00:48:32:18 – 00:48:35:20

Oh God. Light.

00:48:37:07 – 00:48:45:27

Everything else is kind of is just gravy, but light is the one thing I can’t live without. Yeah. For as long as I have that, I can do anything.

00:48:46:17 – 00:48:50:08

Now you said you do a mix of natural light and studio light. Mm-Hmm.

00:48:50:19 – 00:49:22:00

Yeah. Cool. Yeah, that’s going to be new now. Yeah. So as of as of July, as of last month, yeah, I’m still playing with it because I haven’t used those lights since the first. Was it the second, the second portrait masters and I was manning a booth with the Vanity Fair light. And I loved it so much. I started playing with it, so I bought the same set up and I’m watching all the lighting videos right now on SBE and just getting familiarized with it.

00:49:22:10 – 00:49:48:02

Before when I was using not natural light I was using, I was using strobes I was using like it was the flash, the canon flash that came with my camera and I would use it on camera and off camera. And so I was already familiar with using a basic studio light and continuous light that kind of mimicked window light. So this is going to be a lot of fun. Yeah.

00:49:48:08 – 00:49:49:06

Yeah, watching

00:49:49:08 – 00:50:05:17

these videos and trying these different setups, and I just cannot wait to just put all those images out there and give this new life and just finally bring to fruition the things that I see in my head and the different setups that I want to do.

00:50:06:02 – 00:50:07:22

So exciting. So fun.

00:50:07:29 – 00:50:14:28

I love it. Yeah. And I feel like a kid in a candy store, you know, like, I’ve got my new toys and I can’t wait to play with them.

00:50:15:02 – 00:50:22:25

Uh huh.. So awesome. OK, number two, how do you spend your time when you’re not working? I know you work a lot, but I’m gardening.

00:50:23:05 – 00:50:54:00

I was doing that years ago. I just had I would always have like a small little herb garden. And when I moved into this new house about it was right before the shutdown. I had this whole area in the back along the the perimeter of the the fence that was all just dirt. And then I have grass. And so I just started gardening and I started off with some herbs and then I started doing vegetables and I would buy, you know, plants that are already grown at the hardware store.

00:50:54:02 – 00:51:23:24

And then I started doing seedlings. And now it’s grown into this huge vegetable garden in the background. And I have pumpkins and watermelons growing back there. And that’s awesome. And you probably saw them on Facebook on my personal page, but I have grown this watermelon that was twenty two point two pounds. Yeah, and the first watermelon I’’ve ever grown. And now I have a pumpkin out there that a couple of days ago is the size of a baseball. And now it’s like, like a beach volleyball now.

00:51:23:29 – 00:51:25:12

Oh my gosh. So cool.

00:51:25:14 – 00:52:00:09

Yeah. So it’s it’s it’s so much fun to get out there in the dirt and play in it. And I go out there and water every night when the sun goes down and here in Bakersfield, I’m up until a a couple of days ago, it had been like 110 or 115 degrees, so it’s hard to garden during the day here. So I do a lot of a lot of it at night and pull weeds once the sun is going down. And I’m pretty pale. So if I’m out there for five minutes in the sun, I start to burn. So it’s probably not like the best. The ideal situation as a guard, as a new gardener to be in, but I absolutely love it.

00:52:00:11 – 00:52:08:25

It is so much fun and it is so rewarding to watch something grow from a seed into an enormous watermelon.

00:52:09:13 – 00:52:13:02

Yeah, that’s so cool. Growing your own food is just the coolest thing

00:52:13:11 – 00:52:30:26

ever, and I have like all sorts of different things out there, like kohlrabi, zucchini, squashes, the the yard beans and tomatoes. Basically, everything out there that I would that I make for dinner every night. I just go out there, pick something, clean it off and I make it for my family for dinner.

00:52:31:15 – 00:52:36:18

So great. I love it. OK, so next question is what’s your favorite inspirational quote?

00:52:37:10 – 00:53:10:02

Oh, life’s a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death. And that’s a quote that’s taken me from childhood into adulthood. And I first heard it when I was watching an old movie from the nineteen fifties called Auntie Mame with Rosalind Russell in it, she the character just inspired me to just like live life to the fullest. And another quote, which also comes from a movie because I think I’m a movie file, comes from under the Tuscan sun and it says, never lose your childhood enthusiasm.

00:53:10:24 – 00:53:37:02

And it’s something that I feel like even at the age of forty six, I still see life through the eyes of a child, sometimes being, you know, looking up at the sky and just being in awe of a sunset and getting excited because there’s stars in the sky, you know, just little things like that, just like stopping to smell the roses, just enjoying everything that life has to offer, no matter what your situation is.

00:53:37:09 – 00:53:52:24

I love it. I feel like it also sort of means that there is so much out there if you just look and take the risk and just do it. Oh yeah, you know, people get stuck in their own like small box bubble and don’t explore and try new things.

00:53:52:26 – 00:54:27:00

Yeah, I know there’s this thing that Sue said before. Like, if it scares you and excites you, then you should do it. Yeah. And I didn’t even realize even before I met her, and she said that to me that I was already doing that with the life I been taking. The big risks and everything in, you know, in school, in life, in business, in my personal life, making those hard decisions and even the easy ones, but the ones that really are life changing and.

00:54:28:01 – 00:54:42:19

You know, building back up from nothing in coming back up again, you know, it’s just it is a formula for life. You know, you have your ups, you have your downs. And it helps you when you’re down to remember those two quotes. Yeah, for sure.

00:54:42:24 – 00:54:50:12

Cool. OK. Number four is what will you tell people who are just getting started? You really just need the

00:54:50:14 – 00:55:23:27

basics like we talked about earlier that the only one thing that I need is light and I can make anything happen. Mm-Hmm. Mm-Hmm. Having started from a home studio and building up to, I had a big studio outside of my home and I had everything I could possibly need in realizing. Once I took all that away, I really didn’t need everything. I just needed the basics and that’s what I have now. So, you know, it sounds exciting to buy a huge wardrobe to buy every prop out there.

00:55:24:15 – 00:55:33:09

And it’s fun to use it. But then you start realizing after a while you don’t need all those things. So just just watch out for that. Yep. Yeah.

00:55:34:01 – 00:55:39:14

Yeah, it’s great advice. I think people spend too much money on things they don’t need at the beginning. And then it’s like, Why am I not making any money?

00:55:41:03 – 00:55:57:24

There’s always eBay. Just get rid of it, you know? Marie Kondo, your studio. If it doesn’t bring you joy and it doesn’t bring you money. Yeah. You don’t need it. What’s what’s your favorite favorite quote with that? Oh, does it make your ship go faster? Mm hmm. If it doesn’t, you don’t need it.

00:55:58:23 – 00:56:03:18

Exactly. OK, Shauna, where can people find you online if they’re looking for you

00:56:04:00 – 00:56:23:06

at red crane portraits dot com? That’s red, like the color crane, like the bird and portraits with an s at the end. I’m also on Instagram at Shauna Crane, I think, or is at Red Crane Portraits and on Facebook at Red Crane Portraits. I’m also on YouTube and LinkedIn as Shauna crane.

00:56:23:24 – 00:56:28:25

Awesome. Very cool. Well, thank you again. I know you shared some personal information, but

00:56:30:10 – 00:56:42:27

you know, I feel like when you are at a place where you are comfortable sharing, that’s when you help the most people. So I know someone listening is going to be definitely gaining a lot of knowledge and inspiration and support from you. So thank you.

00:56:43:09 – 00:56:56:29

You’re welcome. I hope it. I hope it does help. And I apologize if it gets too personal. But without that part of my story, which is really affected, not just my personal life, but also my business, I wouldn’t be being authentic.

00:56:57:16 – 00:57:03:01

Yeah, for sure. For sure. Cool. Well, all right, Shauna, I will talk to you soon and thank you again.

00:57:03:09 – 00:57:06:06

Thanks, Nikki. Thanks for having me. I really enjoyed this. Good. Good. Good.

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