Photographer Spotlight: Adrianne Shelton
Location: Richmond, VA
What's in your camera bag & what's your favorite lens?
My go-tos are: Pentax 645N Pentax 75mm 2.8 Nikon F100 Fuji 400H Portra 400 Portra 800 Nikon D850 Nikkor 50mm 1.4 I also have 2 Nikon D800s, a NIkkor 85mm 1.8 and a Sigma Art 35mm 1.4 that I rarely use unless the need arises
What is your favorite thing to do when you aren't working?
This likely sounds cliche, but besides sending time with my family (my wonderful husband and 3 kids), portrait photography is my favorite thing to do. I actually work a full time job in the medical industry, and photography started as a hobby for me. Once I got into shooting film, my creative spirit has been full speed ahead, capturing the beauty in the every day. I take my 35mm camera on every family outing, and every film scan delivery day feels like Christmas morning. Aside from family and photography, I love to sing. My husband is an Episcopal priest (I never get tired of saying that and watching for people's reactions), so I sing in the choir at church. I love bringing communities of people together with similar passions to my own, which is why I started The Kindred Path back in 2020.
Who inspires you?
I have to give a lot of credit to my mom for my inspiration to journey down the path of portrait photography. She was a professional photographer when I was growing up, and once I got into it myself, I was amazed by all the skills and information I had picked up along the way. I used to help her steam backdrops, test and meter her lights, and occasionally work the front desk in her studio in a shopping center in Richmond. I really dove head fist into portrait photography when my second child was born. Back then it was still all the rage to take and post monthly photos (I guess It still is, but EVERYONE was doing it back in 2014) and I became pretty passionate about learning my camera along the way. With every stage I documented, my excitement grew stronger to give other parents and children the gift of having tangible memories to hold on too.
What makes your brand unique?
I couldn't put my finger on when my style became my own, but I remember having several sessions in a row a few years back that just felt "right." I've always aimed to preserve and discover the unseen beauty of the every day. I remember swooning over images I took of my own family and telling my husband "wow, sometimes you miss all the beauty of the day when you're living it." I hope to help my clients see that it doesn't always have to be a "those were the days," memory, but a "these are the days," appreciation of life as we are living it. I've heard clients refer to my family photography style as romantic and whimsical, though I really aim to keep the experience as relaxing as possible, and I think it shows it my images. I tell my clients at the beginning of each session that we'll do our best to get one family portrait with everyone looking at the camera, but after that what I really want to capture is the nature of relationships- love, trust, comfort, fun - the bonds between each personality that makes up they family. Film photography has my heart but I shoot both film and digital. As much as I would love to take the plunge as a film-only photographer, I feel I serve my families best by having both in my bag for different lighting scenarios. I use my film scans to match my digital images, and my hope is that my clients won't be able to tell the difference between the two mediums when enjoying their images.
What's your favorite aspect of your business?
My favorite aspect of my business is the art itself. My full time work is in operations and I see my photography business as a way to be uniquely me. I could talk about my approach to sessions, how I use my cameras, and how I edit my photos all day long. I love getting to know every family that graces my lens, and a little more about their story every time I see them. I love watching children grow into who they were made to be, and parents doing the same.
What business advice would you give to someone overwhelmed with starting out?
Never lose sight of the reason you started. For me, it's always been my desire to show families the beauty that can sometimes be hard to see from the inside. Any time I'm overwhelmed I go back to that simple mantra and make sure I'm still doing it for the reason I started. It's easy to get swept away in every inquiry that comes your way, but take a moment to think about whether it makes sense for your before saying yes to everything. I spent a fair amount of time second shooting weddings, doing branding sessions, preschool photos, and a variety of other gigs, but in the end I always came right back to my passion for family photography, and I'm here to stay.
What's your Starbucks drink?
I am type 1 diabetic so my low-carb delight is an iced almond milk sugar free vanilla latte!
Where can we find your work?
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