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Art & Life with Shelby Sorensen

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelby Sorensen.

Shelby, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
Growing up in Washington State showed me a life full of wonder and adventure. Everything around me was fascinating, and it was rare to ever find me sitting still. However, the thing that I’ve always loved the most in life is telling stories. I could talk to someone for hours, even if I had never met them before, I loved the social interaction of it. Creating is what sets my soul on fire, and for the longest time, I even thought I would be an author someday. I took all of the Honors and AP English classes in high school, I started my own short novels, but I had never thought of photography as another creative path for me to tell stories through. For me photography was just something I did, it was my escape from reality and just a fun thing to do, from documenting family vacations to chronicling the smallest details on holidays, to even just frolicking through fields of soft fine grass and photographing my mother’s flowers, it always brought me peace. It was where I found serenity in a world full of homework and the ever-daunting pressure of finding a ‘real’ job.

However, the life path of becoming a creative author was not the one for me, as life had a different plan, and what a beautiful one it has turned out to be.

After seven concussions and hard medical diagnoses words were no longer easy for me, they never felt like they were enough to express what I was feeling, what I was thinking, they just always seemed beyond my grasp, so in the darkest time of my life I turned to the one thing that had always brought me immense joy — photography. There was no stress, no real strict guidelines…just me, my camera, and endless creative possibilities. The world was my oyster, there was no holding back, and I finally felt free.

I took my first ‘real’ photography class, where I wasn’t just walking around outside and hoping for the best, my senior year of high school after my teacher had been telling me for over a year that I had talent, now I just needed to technical knowledge. After that, I was hooked. Photography became my whole life, exposure math, which I had previously thought an impossible hurdle to overcome, came to me like it was second nature. It all just made sense to me. That same semester in high school that I took my first photography class, I decided to apply to colleges to get my major in photography.

After my applications were sent out, and responses received I discovered that I had been accepted to the Art Institute of Seattle, but I ultimately decided to come down to Arizona to pursue getting my Bachelors of Science in Photography at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.

I’m currently finishing up my junior year, and I will return in August to complete my senior year of school.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
The thing about my art is everything comes from the most raw and real parts of my soul. It doesn’t matter if it is a product shot, a photo of some food, someone’s birthday portrait, a wedding, or a self-portrait, everything I create bears the mark of my heart and soul on it. When I put my art out there, it really feels like I’m putting myself on display for the whole world to see and my biggest hope is that that comes across when people see my work. I started off as a portrait photographer, some work having some fantasy elements to them whether in concept, post-production or in styling; however, in high school, I didn’t have much of a budget to work with so I was typically using whatever I had around the house to dress my models up. As I grew older, and my work became more sophisticated, I have dabbled in weddings but have found my true calling in creative portraiture, conceptual fine art portraits, and styled product photography. While my product photography may seem simple, I often try to include nature and natural elements to it, often by playing off of ingredients or scents or colors, to tie back into my passion for the Earth and preserving it. While none of them are advertisements to promote green living, I hope that by including some of the Earth’s beauty it will make people take pause and think about what we could be destroying. However, my work that has the most evident depth and raw emotion tend to be my self-portraits. While I don’t limit this style to self-portraits in college I have just found it easier to work around my own schedule rather than others, especially when it comes to asking people to pose for more vulnerable and emotionally taxing imagery. While everyone wants a cute smiling picture of them, not everyone is willing to sit exposed in a bathtub for hours on end. In my conceptual work, my inspiration is tapping into the human condition and psyche. Most of my concepts are thought up during long bouts of insomnia where my emotions and thoughts are bubbling over, and I get this itch to create. I have a list of about 100 ideas that touch on topics of mental health, chronic pain, insomnia, invisible illnesses, stress, the desire to break out of a personally constructed cage that we have put ourselves in to fit into society, the works, and it is ever growing. It’s hard to keep up with my own brain sometimes and find the time, the resources, and the people to help me make these visions come to life. All of my life I have been presented with the idea that in order to fit in we must be ‘normal’, but there is no true normal, there is just you, and in my art, I want to help people express the sides of themselves that they don’t feel are accepted in polite company. I want to create a space where it is safe to laugh, and cry, and scream at the top of your lungs. You can cover your body in paint to express your creativity, or pose for me in a prom dress to show your girly glitzy side that you’re afraid to show, so you don’t seem ‘weak’ or do whatever it is that makes you feel the most alive because that is what photography does for me. It makes me feel free, and it gives me a means to express myself and express my thoughts that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. In my mind no idea is too outlandish or crazy, we just have to be crazy enough to think of it.

Artists rarely, if ever pursue art for the money. Nonetheless, we all have bills and responsibilities, and many aspiring artists are discouraged from pursuing art due to financial reasons. Any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with prospective artists?
Wow, yes, where do I begin?

This is something I struggle with too because I want it all. I want the studio; I want the fancy lights and backdrops and soft-boxes. But here is the thing. You don’t need it yet. Yes, it makes life so much easier if you have access to those things, but you don’t NEED them. 90% of my self-portraits are taken in my apartment in front of a white wall or by hanging a white or black piece of fabric behind me on a door. I buy pieces of fabric from any crafting store and with my speedlight, and light modifier (my weapon of choice tends to be a beauty dish) and a remote trigger I have found that I can create some really moving images, even if they’re just for myself. Photoshop is also another great tool you can invest in, it’s not too expensive month to month especially if you’re a student, and with that your possibilities are endless.

You can do amazing stuff with really very little. Craft stores are your friends, thrift stores are your friends, Amazon is your friend, and at the end of the day if you can create beautiful work with the bare bones equipment just think what you can do someday when someone pays you to make the art that sets your soul on fire? You just have to get creative. It won’t be easy, but when you pull it off, it’ll be oh so satisfying.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
People can see my work on my Instagram page @shelby.elise.photography and my Facebook page Shelby Elise Photography.

I was also just a part of the RAW Artists Gallery up in Seattle back in March, so I have a profile on their website and once my website is up and running (I am updating it right now) you will be able to go to shelbyelisephotography.com to see my work there as well.

I do sell custom prints, so I don’t make them ahead of time so if you see something you like just reach out and get can get an order put in for you, or if you want to create something totally new we can do that too, just reach out and I will be happy to discuss any ideas you have

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Grace Oresman

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition, please let us know here.

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