Hiiii!
Welcome, and thank you for being here. I am grateful. I truly am. I am also horrible at writing about myself… so here is one of those get to know you with some question kind of things if you scroll down a little that way you can learn about me :)
The above photo was taken by my camera timer on one of our trips to Connecticut to visit one of my best friends. I am a mom, sister, photographer, and basically all-around good human being or at least I try my hardest to be one! For me… motherhood changed me, in so many ways. Outside of photography I work for a metal fabrication company, I get to basically talk crap to men all day and get paid for it. I am grateful for this work, because it fulfills something within me. It makes my heart feel full after every single session. It is beautiful, and remarkable. I am so truly grateful and blessed.
I can easily define these last few years as the years that tried to tear me down, and I have rose to all the challenges, even when I might not have made the right choices or thought I might not make it through. I have gotten to learn that no matter what I can do anything I set my mind to. I am a single mama that takes pride in being kind and compassionate. It is incredibly important to raise two kids that are kind and compassionate human beings, who work hard for what they want.
18 Questions to Get to Know Me
What is your name? Sierra Shawn… I was named after a soap opera name my mom noticed while watching the credits back in 87 - days of our lives, and then Shawn comes from her best friend from high school, who was then killed in a car crash, 6 months later my mom gave me her middle name. Its a sad and sweet story. We remember those we love long after they are gone.
Why should I hire you? If you want to, please do! :) If you resonate with my “vibe” - really who I am because that’s all I can be. Idk, I am weird and funny and laugh at inappropriate times. I have gotten to learn over the years that setting boundaries and knowing what you want to bring to this world, through this work is one of the most powerful things I could bring to the table.
What is your astrology sign? SAGITTARIUS BABY!!! ALLL FIREEEE!! If you know anything about astrology you would know that it’s not just your sun sign that is your sign - all of your placement’s matter. My Big three are Sagittarius sun, taurus moon, and Gemini rising. I like to know my kids sun signs, Maggie is a Virgo x3, and Mason is an Aries sun.. It feels like a beautiful mix, and learning about it has brought an understanding to my chaotic brain :)
You're a mom… how many kids do you want? I have gone through so many feelings over this, I can easily say yes give me all the kids - because I love being pregnant and giving birth, those things for me are POWERFUL and truly FUCKING AMAZING moments of my life! ❤ I have gone back and forth on this so many times - especially since becoming a single mom. I love being pregnant, giving birth, breastfeeding, even bits of the postpartum. I just don’t know if my mental health would make it as a single mom of 3 - if it came to that. It’s just a fear post-divorce of my kid’s father.
How old where you when you picked up your first camera? I was around 10/11… My parents got me my first film camera! I LOVED IT! I would take pictures of everything!!
Film or Digital? 1000000% FILM!!! I LOVE my digital cameras but there is nothing like truly developing your film in a darkroom. I use a SONY A7iii, and love it, I have a film camera I bring to sessions throughout the year.
Video or Photographs? 1000000% PHOTOGRAPHS… but videography is something I AM LOVING learning.
Why lifestyle photography? I am not a pose and smile kind of photographer - I am here to capture raw, pure bits of your lives and love for you to cherish for years to come, and for your grandkids and their kids get to cherish them.
Favorite Podcast? I am a huge crime junkie podcast fan. Even for TV I love a good crime show.
What is something no one knows about you? I use cloth pads when I get my moon each month. I know its a little weird, I would rather use cloth than have to use anything else. I tried the cup - that was too much, and I haven’t liked tampons since giving birth to Maggie… so its cloth pads for me.
Public School or Homeschooling? Pre covid - I would have said “oh I want to homeschool” then I did it in the midst of a pandemic, while working from home and going through a divorce… I did it.. It was hard - I think it would be different if I wasn’t doing it alone, and while having to work from home.
Yoga or Lifting Weights? If you had asked me this even two years ago - I would have said that it would be yoga - the connecting of the breath to the movements. I don’t disagree with it and know I probably should be doing more yoga. I am though thoroughly obsessed with lifting. Specifically powerlifting. I have found how much it helps me process, and just get out of my head and into my body. There really has not been anything that lifting couldn’t help. I am going to compete in my first powerlifting competition this summer (2024!)
What is the most important thing you leave on this earth? The values that I have instilled in to Maggie and Mason. The love and compassion that have been so important to me while raising them.
What is one affirmation you use regularly? I am that I am, because at the end of the day I can only ever be who I am at my core - and why would I want to be any different?
What is the dearest item in your life? I can without a doubt say the most dear, precious gifts in my life are Maggie and Mason… They are the ones that I am growing up with. They teach me daily, and I have so much love for them. I am truly grateful they chose me to be their mama. Its the hardest work I have ever done, learning to regulate my own emotions while Maggie or Mason might be having a meltdown.
Weirdest thing that’s happened to you? I can definitely tell you that pooping during labor wasn’t the weirdest thing. Hmmm… this is the hardest question… I would probably say it has to be motherhood in general. Daily there seems to be something weird my kids do or say to me every single day. LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE DAY!
Most amazing accomplishment in your life? That would be becoming a mom. It changed me, not just oh it changed me… like this shit changed me on a soul level. The person I was is not at all who I am today. Its remarkable how pushing a baby out of my vagina (or if you had a c-section having your baby out of your belly!) makes you look at who you are and who you want to be for that little human being, that just came out of you! ❤ Who you created out of LOVE.
Scariest thing you have experienced? It would have to be when my kids father (ex husband - I refer to him as both… because its nicer than calling him a bad name) had the court rule on some shit that I did earlier in the year (this was in 2021) and the judge gave him emergency placement based off of some shit that I did over 7 months prior. It was terrible - though I can say that now in 2024 we are past that, and just got a ruling about our custody agreement. Its like this relief that I can feel now that we got the ruling. A weight was lifted for sure.