Valley Visions Photography - (608) 634-6263

By appointment only....

One of the greatest rewards as a photographer is capturing those fleeting moments where people lose themselves in the moment, and the lens reflects their true spirit. I love to create images that tell a story, that leave the viewer with emotions as they view the images. Capturing these moments is so much about having a relationship with the person, or in the case of newborns, capturing the relationship between a parent and child. Being with babies and children on a day to day basis just fills my soul in ways I can't even describe, and you will very often find me on my knees, crawling around with little ones, playing and being just goofy before, during and after the session. I just absolutely love every minute, even when sessions don't go as planned. Especially wonderful is to still present some breathtaking images to parents after a session seemed to crash...they just never believe it actually happened! So rewarding!

After teaching middle school for many years and raising two boys, I have developed a sense of patience that people comment about all the time...almost a sense of disbelief that I can be amazingly calm about babies and children who melt down, run all over, or pee/poop/puke over and over during a session! None of it really phases me, which helps to get those true images that my clients love.

Working with high school seniors has been my creative outlet, as I drive all over the county searching for another great spot to capture images that is completely unique from the images of their classmates. I work with seniors ahead of time to really find ways to show off their individuality, and create amazing sports composites and collages for them...the images that THEY want on their walls! Each senior's graduation announcement is completely unique, not a cookie cutter approach, and we work together to design it from start to finish. My seniors love that no one else has a card that looks anything like theirs!

As a teacher and a professional, I truly value the importance of continuing to grow in the field of professional photography. I have only been in this adventure for a few years now, but I have participated in a great deal of intensive training with some of the top photographers from across the country in areas such as lighting and posing, relationship portraiture, maternity/baby portraiture, Advanced Photoshop for Professional Photographers, and cutting edge seniors. I also earned various scholarships that allowed me to to attend workshops and purchase equipment. My photography and written work has been featured in several Vernon County Tourism guides, "In the Light" publications, "Visitor: A Visitor's Guide to the Hayward Lakes Area," Kickapoo Valley Map, "Women in the Outdoors," and "Family Fun" magazine.

Most recently, my greatest honor is the completion of a project that took nearly 2 years in collaboration with Vernon Memorial Healthcare. The entire maternity wing is now lined with my portraits, all of babies and expecting mothers, so that as people pace the hall waiting for their own little one to arrive, they will smile and stay focused on why they are going through the pain!

When I'm not creating images, I'm also an instructor for UW-La Crosse in the Education Department, helping student teachers as they make that final step before becoming certified teachers. I'm also a mom to two middle school boys, Zach and Tom Shaha, and married to a man that keeps me on my toes and keeps me laughing... Dan Shaha. We spend a lot of time at the family farm in the woods when they can pry me away from work! It has been an amazing ride these past few years...an incredible amount of work as we put the studio together from scratch and built the business, but the end result has been priceless...hearing so many people tell me that they just can't pick because they love all of the images. That is what makes it all so worthwhile to me...building relationships, capturing those natural moments, and hearing people talk about how much they love all of the images! I just love it!

GIVING BACK:
I believe we all have gifts in this life, whether it is talent or time or a compassionate ear...whatever the gift, it is increased tenfold when we use it to better the lives of other people. Throughout the past few years, I have donated countless sessions to people and organizations because the need was there...from people who have suffered great loss, to people fighting cancer, and organizations that do so much for our children, military folks who have just returned, missionary families who have dedicated their lives to helping others, and creating church bulletins at no charge so their money can be better spent on the needs of the congregation. One of the most challenging roles I have taken on is my volunteer work with the infant bereavement program called Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (see below). I hope that through my gift, there is more sense of hope in a dark time, more tears of happiness in years to come, and more reassurance that people in our community truly do care for one another in good times and bad. Please let me know if you know of a situation where a donated session would truly make a difference in someone's life!

INFANT BEREAVEMENT PORTRAITURE:
Sad, but a fact of life...so many families lose an infant at birth or soon after. I am a volunteer photographer for the non-profit organization "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep," and offer a sensitive, private photo session of the family with the infant as a way to honor and cherish their babies, and share the spirits of their lives. I will come to the hospital, set up a room there for the session, and capture your final images together. This service is completely free, and the family will receive a CD of images and a DVD set to music. For more information, or to connect with others who have lost a child, visit: www.nilmdts.com. This site offers tips on what to say to grieving families and shows samples of what can be done to honor the memory of the child. Out of respect for the families, I do not have any of my work for NILMDTS openly displayed in my galleries. Hugs and love to all who have had to go through such a tremendous loss.

Tags: Arts & Marketing