Capturing life through the lens. That’s what professional photographer Shelle Anderson does, both in-studio and in the great outdoors as Fremont County’s premier boutique photography studio. And her focus? Telling your story.
Shelle has been a photographer for 18 years, lived in Riverton for ten years, and has had her studio on 612 East Main Street for the past seven years. With her eye for details in setting and stage and a creative soul, she specializes in high school senior photos, families, weddings, special occasions and events, kids, newborns, and a lot more.
Shelle offers special studio and holiday theme-based sessions throughout the year, including ‘Christmas Minis’ and her annual ‘Santa Experience' sessions. In-studio sessions are lighthearted and fun. She has costumes, props, ‘floofy skirts, and loves to dress up her clientele.
“If you send me your child, I can dress them up,” Shelle said. “If you send me your grandmother, I’ll dress her up, too! School seniors…like if you’re a football player or a soccer player, and you show up in a suit with your cleats and a football or soccer ball, I will totally eat that job!”
Her creativity isn’t limited to her studio; she shoots both in-studio and on location. “If people want me to come to their home or if they’re having an event at their ranch, I’m happy to do that as well.”
Shelle was recently a co-host for a photography shootout in the Jackson Hole-Tetons area, where nine photographers and five models came from across the country to do five days of intensive, thematic sessions throughout the area. Major sponsors of the seminar included Millers Lab, Bay Photo, and Evoto.
“There is the cutest bar where they allowed photographers to come in before they opened,” she said of a ‘Coyote Ugly’-themed session. “There’s also a black and white high fashion, editorial-type look at a run-down vintage motel, a fairytale theme in the mountains, flying dresses (with smaller) airplanes on a runway. There are photographers that come to this from Mexico City, Massachusetts…models come from Las Vegas and California.”
Shelle attends seminars like these once a year as a creative outlet and to learn new things from other photographers, and has recently started hosting seminars of her own. “I think staying on top of your craft is a really important thing to do.”
“For me when I look at a photo, it’s ‘Oh, I remember when…!” You can hear the music, you can smell the smells; you remember the anniversary, wedding, the party, the cake…so it’s the feeling you want to capture, the emotion. You want the moments; you want to create the whole picture, the story.”
Through the lens, Shelle feels as if she’s blessed to be a part of the whole experience.
“People don’t print images as much anymore, not nearly enough,“ she said. “So I don’t know what they’re going to do when their loved ones pass away. Are they just going to set their cell phones on a stand? They’re not really capturing the memories and the moments as much. And I get it, life is busy. It’s been a minute since we’ve had family photos done. But a shot with grandmas with their grandkids? I watch my own daughter with her grandma and it melts my heart. At weddings during the father-daughter dance, I cry every time.”
Shelle has a real connection with her community, and on the side, has offered some wreath-making classes at her studio that are seasonal and holiday-themed.
Younger kids can come and create a wreath, too. “My mom taught me how to knit and crochet, and I feel like a lot of that stuff is going by the wayside. People aren’t learning how to do those things, so I’m glad I can share a little bit of that.”
As far as having her studio on Main Street, Shelle said that when she was younger, and “even when we were living in Phoenix, I never realized how much Main Street meant to me,” she said. “Main Street is the life blood of every community, and I feel like if your Main Street dies, then your community kind of loses a piece of itself. Being on Main Street is iconic. It’s very special.”
Shelle Anderson Photography is located at 612 East Main Street. Call (480) 510-5351 to book your session. You can follow her on Facebook at ShelleAndersonPhotography or visit her website at shelleandersonphotos.com.
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