Rugged Beard | Concept | Sanford, N.C. Photographer

The awesome Dustin modeled for us in this burnt down trailer/junk yard. How fantastic is this location? The location was discovered by Terra and when she shared it with us ... I was in heaven!

 The "story" being told in these pictures was so easy to show ... Dustin made it believable and I mean, location location location! haha!

There were these awesome truck hoods everywhere too and even though most of them were FORD, I still dug the hell out of them and again ... Dustin's attire fit right in.

This last shot was literally the last shot I took of Dustin, how great are those fluffy grass thingies?!

*** Please remember that all images are copyrighted to Sharilyn Wells Photography, LLC. Please do not copy or alter any images without SWP, LLC consent. ***

Cast Away | Concept | Sanford, N.C. Photographer

This was another awesome concept that I was invited to by Kat Squibb Photography. It's a little mixture of pirate, cast away, ship wrecked and romance. I mean, you can't go wrong with those things all mixed together right?!

Caitlyn is a gorgeous young lady and I worked really well with her. She was super sweet and silly. I don't even think she had to work hard to give me these outstanding looks! I just kept snapping away while she incorporated the props and went along with the story line! I wish I had gotten a picture of her in a little hole with planks around her like Kat did HERE. It went perfectly with the "ship wrecked" theme. I didn't even think about that though! See?! That's why I am so lucky to have photographer friends who share in their visions!

Plus, I get the opportunity to work with these beautiful models! Caitlyn came from hours away to shoot with Kat and I. She's part of Carolina Talent Agency.

 

 This girl is going to go far in her career! I cannot wait to work with her again! Thank you Caitlyn and Tasha! Hair and makeup credit goes to Hair: Ashton Stubbs Makeup: Natalie Horn!

*** Please remember that all images are copyrighted to Sharilyn Wells Photography, LLC. Please do not copy or alter any images without SWP, LLC consent. ***

Arabian Beauty | Creative | Sanford, N.C. Photographer

Keeping with the creativity flow ... another photographer friend of mine, Kat, with Kat Squibb Photography, invited me along to this gem! I finally got to work with the beautiful Autumn. She was one of three models I worked with that day, but I knew of Autumn and her talent through other photographers in the area.

For being as young as she is ... just 12 years old, she has an amazing future ahead of her. In between shots, her childlike character came out. She giggled, she danced, she played with her little pup. But the second I raised the camera for a shot, she stuck her pose and hit it every time.

For a young 'tween,' she takes direction well and adds to the concept like a natural ... like she's been doing this for 20 plus years. Autumn, you're a beautiful young lady and I can't wait to work with you again!

(P.S. He daddy made that necklace/headpiece ... awesome right?!)

Be sure to check out her other work on her Facebook PAGE!

*** Please remember that all images are copyrighted to Sharilyn Wells Photography, LLC. Please do not copy or alter any images without SWP, LLC consent. ***

Love of Music | Creative | Fayetteville, N.C. Photographer

Started off the year with this super awesome concept shoot with my photographer buddies. Nothing like a group of photographers and fun as heck model to kick-start the year! And ... come on ... this session is pretty kick-ass!

 Seriously ... like, not much editing was needed for these images. Ravon rocked the hell outta it and we had a lot of fun laughing at each other.

I still have A LOT of 2014 sessions to blog ... but I also don't want to start the new year off by getting behind on my blogging now! Especially since it's January and tends to be my slowest time of the year — everyone bouncing back from all their holiday fun and spending.

Terra wanted Ravon to dance ... LOL! I absolutely love this series! You can tell he was having fun ... even though we were giggling at him!

As a storyteller, I tend to find little things to further the story of my character. During creative shoots, I sometimes forget that I'm storytelling because I'm having so much fun and feeding off of others' creativity. So this year, I plan on stepping back and making my character's story known. Here, Ravon's character has an extreme love of music and shows through the different way's he hears, feels and lives it. Hence the iPhone with headphones, dancing to the music he hears, the records, ect.

With my regular lifestyle sessions, this is a given. It's so easy for me to tell your story as it's being shown right in front of me. When I'm "making up" a story for my concept characters ... it tends to be a tad harder because 1) sometimes these aren't my concepts and 2) it's essentially an actor who will do whatever you want him to do. And with four photographers ... there's a lot of acting going on to fit each photographer's needs, styles, and wants.

I would have never thought of putting Ravon on the middle of the parking lot cables and shooting through them. That's all Tysha. Shooting down on him with records all around? That was Terra's idea. On the stairs with that amazing light? A combination of everyone's insight. Listening to music and feeling it so much he yells? That's all Will. 

Album face? Pretty sure that was Tysha ... or maybe Will? That elevator? LOL, that was me. And pretty hilarious as Ravon sorta got stuck in it and had to ride it all the way down and then all the way back up! haha! We were rolling!

And this is why I urge any budding photographer or photographer who's been at it for a while to find a local group of photographers who share the same passion as you and get together to shoot. Even though it's not your concept or something you probably would never do (that weird antler one I did last year), you will learn to see things you don't usually see, meet amazing people and have a few good laughs while sharpening your skill. What's not to love about that?!

*** Please remember that all images are copyrighted to Sharilyn Wells Photography, LLC. Please do not copy or alter any images without SWP, LLC consent. ***