Stein Law has been assisting their clients in Corporate Services, Tax Planning and Controversy, and Estate Planning for two decades. They now add the vibrant energy of Harrison and Karine to their team. They offer both experience and vitality.
Shayna Image is thrilled to have an ongoing relationship with Stein Law and the Stein family, having created their headshots in 2017, a personal home gallery in 2020, and the growth of their firm now in 2021. I am grateful for enduring relationships!!
Hannah’s approach to real estate is much like finding a dating setup: start with a wonderful client, and know that their perfect match is out there… it’s her job to bring the two together. She has a broad understanding of Atlanta (just ask her about free activities to do with your family!) and what makes it special.
We crafted her session for here at the Shayna Image studio, with the goal of showcasing her glowing personality, professionalism, and the backdrop of her specialty.
Reach out to Hannah via her website: www.hannahsells.com
And check out the fantastic video created by FilmTribe she made that showcases all that Jewish Atlanta has to offer!
Hanging for Completion
Melissa is an artist. Not by trade or practice, but creatively, in her mind. By trade and practice she’s a Maharat, a leader, and a guide. But she gets these incredible creative bursts, and I get to execute them! She saw my headshot, and wanted a twist for herself. My favorite messages are from her, saying “I just had this crazy idea for a photoshoot…” See one here.
Darker, more dramatic background? Or brighter? What do you think?
We wanted something rich, dramatic, but still as colorful and vibrant as Melissa! The only purple in the original image was in her headband, but I infused the color into our backdrop and her necklace to build cohesion.
Here’s the setup behind the scenes!
Attention To Detail
Alexandra is an artist. When she reached out to me, there was a perfect understanding of what we are trying to accomplish when you work with me. She wanted us to build art together. She did, however, throw me for a loop when she asked about the process of booking three sessions in a year.
I told her I have a two-session discount that could easily be adapted…but why three sessions? Clearly there was a goal…
She mumbled a bit, talked about capturing different environments… then came out with it: she was expecting!! She imagined a gallery in their home that tells the story of their evolving family through this time: a family of three, a family maternity session, and as a family of four.
I definitely squealed through the rest of our consultation.
Our session was delightful, learning all about Adam’s work as Executive director of local synagogue Or VeShalom, which I had the pleasure of attending for a few years, and getting Stella’s full spunk. They are such a dynamic family! But what was truly fun was capturing this image, with Stella completely unaware of why we were taking it:
We’ve been waiting all these months until Chanukah to finally make the announcement. May this family have nothing but joy going forward.
Speaking of going forward… it’s almost time for their second session!!
Location location location!
Mary Turner is all about location. Passionate about travel, she mulled over the possibility of becoming a Landscape Photographer. But at the moment, she’s turned her attention towards other locations: helping commercial real estate clients.
I can’t wait to watch Mary’s adventures!
A Calibrated Lab
Getting the Perfect Picture
MAZAL TOV to the Wenger family, on Gila’s Bat Mitzvah!! Everyone was so excited to celebrate her, even if the plans had to be carefully rethought. I’ve had the opportunity to capture this family through the years, and seeing Gila evolve into such a poised young woman was stunning. Leading up to the event, we strategized the best methods to memorialize the occasion with family as lasting art in the safest way possible.
Click each image to enlarge.
Each of the girls radiate. Strong individuality, but all emanate kindness.
The Wengers were able to celebrate, albeit in a non-traditional way, with those they love most.
From the beginning, they knew they what they wanted for their home. We planned out the galleries that they will enjoy daily and for a lifetime to come.
The girls in the hallway (image unedited for mockup)
The images to the side are for individual bedrooms.
They wanted images from our previous sessions in 2012 and 2017 to be incorporated. I can’t stress enough, as a photographer, the importance in investing in backup data systems and being organized about it. I was able to pull up the original images from both years, and spruce up both so that their gallery would look more cohesive.
In my own home, I have a gallery with prints from multiple years, and I confess I often spend time reveling in the growth of my own littles. I’m thrilled that the Wengers will be able to admire the story of their family in their living room.
May they have many more celebrations to come!!
Update 1/12/2021!
We were pushed off a couple of weeks due to HSL, but were thrilled to complete the installation today!!
Navigating Gallery Design
See the problems with the way we think about modern photography, and how I solve them, here
Tinisha is delightful. Effervescent. Ready to listen and share. Dedicated to her family, her teenage children, and ready to be dedicated to yours as she helps you find your home.
And a shout-out to LUCY for making the connection!!
The difference in heirloom
See the problems with the way we think about modern photography, and how I solve them, click here.
Adrienne and I continue to evolve together, both in friendship and artistically, through the years. We first bonded in middle school choir. Decades later, she’s making a living as in interior designer and muralist. And we keep hiring each other! Beginning with murals in my children’s old rooms, most recently she’s the artistic brain behind my photography studio (hire her!) And I’ve had the chance to create her maternity, newborn, and last year’s family picture. Which brings us to this year!
Mike, who tours with the band, Hinder, playing bass, endures Adrienne’s and my endless reminiscence year after year. He has such a softness with his girls.
Setting up for John’s session, I decided it was time to update my own headshot.
Photographing yourself? Nervewracking. There’s no “me” on the other side of the table to tell me to relax, to coach my angles. Worse? Photoshopping yourself. Always a reminder that we look at others with kinder eyes.
But I think the outcome is pretty thoroughly me, and I’m good with that.
The background was originally grey, like in John's, but I decided to warm it up and go a bit more mono-chromatic.
Here’s a pull-back of the setup, plus my helper.
I’m on to you Lucy. Every time someone new to the office needs a headshot, you send them my way. Are you the best? You are the best.
This time, Lucy told John to give me a call. He’s in my husband’s Realtor coaching program. Long time New Yorker’s, four years ago he and his wife called do-over. They loved Atlanta: the pace, the people. He craved a new chapter. So here he is, learning how to guide his clients, explain the market, and loving every moment of settling into Life Chapter Two.
I actually answered an unknown number. It wasn’t a car warranty, for once, but it was Michael Smith, who heard from Falynn that I was the person to call for headshots. A fellow Architect at OTJ Architects, he specializes in biomedical science facilities. But we clicked immediately over cowboy boots and wall art.
His home galleries are spectacular, but he’s one of the few who doesn’t need my process to arrange a spectacular array on his walls! There are definitely some perks to the field.
“No pressure, but do you guys think we can finish the remodel on this studio in time for this sweet baby’s first birthday session?”
The construction team put the pedal to the metal, and we pulled it off in time for two firsts:
My first session in the new studio!
Solomon’s first birthday!
It felt like a true celebration of firsts when this amazing baby beamed his mega-watt smile at me. I was floored. “THIS is the kid I get in the studio today?? Can I be this lucky??” I told him he needed to save the grins for the session, nervous he’d wear himself out— it never happened. The smiles persisted: his, and so, of course, mine. He was a rockstar and an angel.
Speaking of new things worth celebrating, this family just moved into a new home! And this art will get to decorate the new walls! We’ve selected a 20x30 canvas to adorn their staircase.
But what’s probably most incredible about this story isn’t what’s new: it’s what’s old. When his mom reached out to me, she told me about the sentimental and expansive family galleries that bedecked their old home. Pictures of her brother and grandfather as babies that she wished to mirror (and we literally got three of the exact same poses!), and lots of images they had brought over from the “old country” that they had restored. This is EXACTLY why I do what I do!! The cheap print labs aren’t archival, and thus the art can’t be passed down. But I create heirloom pieces. So not only will baby Solomon join the family wall amongst generations of pictures, but he, too, can be passed down with them for generations to come.
**Update!
We had designed his piece for their old home, but when they unexpectedly moved sooner than expected, we delayed installation until they were settled. What’s great about the size they selected, is that it looks perfect in the new stairway, too!
It’s magical to see it in person.
Gallery wrap! Album! Mounted prints! Turning a wedding into beautiful art for beautiful memories.
#art #atlanta #atlantaphotographer #photographer #portraits...
