We were lucky to catch up with Shantel Sheeka recently and have shared our conversation below.
Shantel, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
It’s been a long journey. As a child, I was always so interested in photography. The art, beauty and story that can be captured in a single photo captivated me. And there’s something about a candid photo that captures raw emotion that just gets to me. However, I never thought it would be a career that would sustain a living financially, so I went into teaching preschool. I taught at schools where a certain percent of children were statistically ‘at risk’ of failing in the future because of their current environment/circumstances, ie, living in poverty, parent incarcerated, mental illness etc. It was extremely rewarding and has taught me so much about myself, patience, understanding and giving grace. But even when teaching, I constantly took photos of the kids and posted them all over the classroom and hallway. From the joy a child showed after overcoming their fear of riding a scooter to acting like an archaeologist excavating dinosaur bones, every moment and emotion was preserved in a photograph. The children and parents loved seeing their faces displayed all over, and it showed how, through play, they were learning.
As much as I loved teaching and watching them grow, burn out was real and pay, to put it lightly, was peanuts. I was barely surviving.
A year before COVID hit, I was approached to take on a job at a lab. The position was educating new accounts/doctor’s offices on the lab’s products. I viewed it as another way of teaching. I took the opportunity, but then COVID hit. The accounts fell through, and I ended up at a desk job. Going from working with children and all the running around, (literally 10,000 steps by 1:00pm some days) and so much more to sitting stagnant at a dead-end job, punching numbers into an excel sheet, was literally soul sucking. It was rough!
In 2022, I went on a retreat to deepen my faith. During that retreat, I met a photographer. We became friends and had conversations about what we wanted in life. About a month after the retreat, she randomly called me with an epiphany. She said, “You hate your job and want something new…. you love photography, I’M a photographer!! Why don’t you shadow me?”
I was elated! I absolutely agreed. The following weeks, I shadowed her a handful of times. When she got busy, I decided to continue it on my own. On a job, I ended up meeting another photographer, Rani Karana, (Rani Karana Photography) who without him, I don’t think I would have learned so much about photography as I did the 1st year. Later, I reached out to Savanna Velthoven, (Savvy Shoots Photography) who just happened to be a photography teacher!! What are the odds?! We immediately clicked and now I work with her on weddings as a second shooter.
In July 2023, I took a leap of faith. I quit my day job with a consistent paycheck to pursue an unknown, inconsistent career in photography full time. It has been the best decision I’ve ever made. I’ve never looked back.
In a sense, I’ve been fortunate enough to find two passions in my life. One has run its course and has helped shape the person I am today. The other one is just taking off.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m a Michigan photographer and my focus is, but not limited to, couples photography, boudoir photography and branding. At least once a week, in the middle of a session, editing, driving to a job etc. the thought, “How cool is this!? I get to do what I absolutely love for a living!” crosses my mind. I know many people can’t say that & I feel incredibly grateful.
Photography is a field where learning never stops, and I love that! The possibilities are endless, and there’s always something new to discover and learn. You’re constantly evolving and creating.
Nothing beats the feeling when I receive feedback or a review from a client telling me how much they love the photos and how comfortable I made them feel. When they share that a photo I took brought them to tears, put a smile on their face or they can’t believe they look like that, solidifies the choice I made. To me, it’s not only about creating beautiful photos but also giving an amazing experience.
I get to meet remarkable people and learn their stories. Something I always strive to do, whether personal or professional, is help others feel confident. One of my main niches is boudoir photography. My style of boudoir isn’t meant to be over sexualized. It’s designed to help women see themselves as they truly are, beautiful no matter what size or shape. Every BODY is beautiful.
One client shared that she constantly spoke to her therapist about her body dysmorphia. After receiving her boudoir photos, she said it completely changed the way she viewed herself. She couldn’t believe it was her in the photos. For the first time, she saw herself as beautiful. She hasn’t spoken to her therapist about her body since, and I was able to be a part of the healing process with her!
It’s only one story of many people have shared with me. I love seeing people genuinely happy. It literally fills me with joy. Knowing I’m capturing memories that can be so impactful in someone’s life, like the boudoir client who finally saw herself as beautiful or the aunt prepping her nephew, who has autism, for loud noises before entering a party (I had no idea, I saw a genuine moment and snapped it) brings me so much joy. These are real, raw moments, to be cherished forever.
Not only do I get to capture pure moments for people, but I also get to work with other artists. I love the creative process from start to finish.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1) Motivation and drive. No one else is going to work as hard as you for what YOU want. And I want this. I don’t have a plan B. If anything, my plan B is to go back & figure out how to make plan A work. You have to want it more than anything and know you’ll do whatever it takes to make it work.
2) Believing in yourself (even when you sometimes don’t) Forget about everyone else. No one is responsible for your own happiness but you. You have to create what you what out of life. But imposter syndrome is real! There are still days where I question every decision I make. Am I actually good enough? I wasn’t their first choice. This is just a fluke. There are so many intrusive thoughts. I have to remind myself that it’s okay. I’m having a moment and I know I’ll get through it because there’s no other option but to get through it.
3) Kindness & being positive. Kindness goes a long way, and I strive myself on being kind no matter what. I don’t know what anyone is going through but we all have a story. I believe if you constantly complain & only see the negative, that’s what you get out of life. But if you look for the good and are grateful for what you have, then that’s what you get. If you view a “failure” as a lesson and what it’s teaching you, you’ve never really failed. Every ‘bad’ experience I’ve had as a photographer and in my personal life, I’ve viewed as a character building and learning experience and how can I do better next time. My faith in God has truly helped home in on this as well.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I LOVE the idea of collaborating with others. I feel like there’s so much that can be learned from collaborations. The creativity and what can be produced, could be amazing.
I’d actually love to collaborate with other photographers, artists, athletes, clothing brands, makeup artist, DJs and more. I feel like the possibilities are endless.
Another collaboration I would like to do is to work with a breast cancer survivor. I’d like to gift a boudoir shoot to a survivor who’s had a mastectomy to help them feel proud and beautiful! These survivors wear them as a testament of their strength and what they’ve gone through. If that sounds like you or someone you know, please reach out to me so we can do something fun and empowering together!
Connect with me:
Phone: (248) 721-9577
Email: ShantelSheekaPhotography@gmail.com
IG: Shantel Sheeka Photography
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Shantel Sheeka Photography
- Facebook: Shantel Sheeka Photography
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shantel-sheeka-a90ba511
- Other: Phone: (248) 721-9577
Image Credits
Shantel Sheeka’s Headshots: Photographed by Dalia Dream/Edits by me, Shantel Sheeka Photography
Remaining Photos: Shantel Sheeka Photography
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
