Sheila Hannus Blog

Styled Shoot : Red Rock Desert Nevada : Part 1

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:24:38 +0000

Boy, I love me a styled shoot… model or not! Clients take note, hiring a professional stylist can be an amazing experience! Imagine having your wardrobe picked for you, the perfect location chosen, and a makeup artist on hand to perfect your once in a lifetime engagement shoot, or even senior portraits. No clue how to find or hire a stylist? I’ve got you covered, I can recommend some great ones!

It’s no secret that I love the photography opportunities the great Nevada has to offer, so I try to make it a point to shoot as much as I can while I’m out there about once a year. I’m loving the beauty and simplicity of this wedding portrait shoot. It’s all about style, the desert, and the moments between Bailey & Maurizio.

Production and Stylist: Kat Harris
Female Wardrobe: Gown: Julia Lovan Designs; Jewelry: 31 Bits; Belt: H&M; Earrings: Anthropologie
Male Wardrobe: Jacket and Pants: Zara; Sweater and Collared Shirt: Nordstrom’s
Models: Bailey & Maurizio; Envy Model Mangagement

Knoxville Engagement Shoot : Brittany & Justin

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 23:46:00 +0000

Downtown Knoxville is a great engagement shoot location rain or shine, and it just happened to be raining on the Sunday afternoon we had scheduled Brittany & Justin’s shoot. However, Brittany had actually specifically told me that the weather didn’t matter, she was game for anything. Needless to say, she’s kind of fantastic.

In addition to embracing the drizzle over in the Market Square park, Brittany and Justin wanted some pictures in one of their hang out spots, The Downtown Grill & Brewery. These two really get what an engagement shoot should be all about, having fun and settings that mean something special to the couple! We had a blast shooting upstairs at the brewery, while Brittany & Justin shot a game of pool (um, Brittany is the pool shark in that family) and played a little pinball.

Thirst Relief Benefit Shoot, WPPI, Nelson Nevada: Part 2

admin — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:55:03 +0000

In the previous post, Part 1, I told you all about how incredible Thirst Relief is, but what does that have to do with a fashion shoot in the desert? Well, Thirst Relief is the brain child of a photographer, and has received growing support within the photography community. Every year an auction is held to directly support Thirst Relief, which I have participated in the past four years. For the past two years I have had the privilege to take part in the annual Thirst Relief Benefit Shoot in Vegas through the auction.

Thank you to the entire Thirst Relief team, Jim Davis-Hicks, Luke Edmonson, Mike Colon, CM Leung, Rocco Ancora, the makeup crew, the styling crew (GLAMTASTIK), the Nelson ghost town owners, and everyone in-between!

[Photo provided by Mike Colon]

Thirst Relief Benefit Shoot, WPPI, Nelson Nevada: Part 1

admin — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 21:00:23 +0000

This is a post, that has some great photos, but is really about an organization that is truly important to me. THIRST RELIEF! Thirst Relief is an incredible organization, dedicated to providing clean drinking water around the globe. It can be easy to take advantage of a seemingly small luxury, but just imagine living even one week without your ice cubes, clean tap water, and the bottled water in your fridge. Now, imagine a lifetime never knowing any of those things. At the very least, every person on the planet deserves clean water! I could go on, but just do yourself a favor and go check out Thirst Relief after you take a peek at these pics.

I’ll do a full list of thank you’s in “Part 2″, and more about the specifics of what in the world Thirst Relief has to do with these pictures, for now just enjoy a few images and then scoot your tushy right on over to Thirst Relief.

A Winning Love Story

admin — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 21:03:20 +0000

I am so excited about this blog post! I read each and every one of the contest entries, and was amazed by all the wonderful, and deserving, future brides who shared their love stories with me.

The winning couple is receiving free wedding photography, and the runner-up will get a free engagement session.

I’ll be honest, when I first posted the contest for free wedding photography I was nervous. Would anyone enter? (That was a silly thought! Wow to how many entries I received!) The most nerve wracking concern though was- How would I choose?

I’m not going to lie, yes all the stories were heartfelt and deserving, but there was one story that stuck with me. It was warm, genuine, humorous, and oh so sweet, it was a clear winner.

Below are a few highlights from Megan’s story. I hope you don’t mind that I share, but girl, your story deserves to be heard! Congrats you two.

“While on the hike, everything seemed to be normal and Rob gave no hint that he was planning something. …. Through all of my excitement, I did manage to yell at him for proposing to me while I “looked like a boy.” No joke. One of the first things I said right after being proposed to was that I looked like a boy. Man, what a lucky guy Rob is! But in truth, I was wearing these ugly hiking boots, a baseball cap, and no makeup…nothing of which was flattering at all. I guess if he could find me attractive at that point, then we are good to go!”

“[My parents] are INSISTENT that they pay for the wedding. Both Rob and I have begged and pleaded for them to let us help with the costs, but my parents will not even entertain the idea. Being a teacher, I can’t contribute that much, but I still want to help ease the financial burden on my parents. We are doing EVERYTHING ourselves…the food, the decorations, literally everything. I have told my mom that I don’t want certain things, but in all actuality, I do…I just don’t want her to pay for it. …. And then to top it all off, my sister got engaged, so now they have TWO WEDDINGS IN ONE YEAR to pay for. …. God bless my parents (and their credit cards!)”

“Having everyone from my family together plus everyone from Rob’s family together will make it one of the most memorable days of my life (plus marrying my best friend helps, too!) There will be nothing fancy, just family and a lot of love. Even though I always envisioned having this huge fairy tale wedding, I honestly wouldn’t change a thing about my upcoming nuptials. In the end, it is all about the marriage and love and not the wedding.“

That brings us to the Runner-Up.

This was FAR more difficult! I was literally phoning friends asking them to weigh in. I didn’t share names or specifics, but I needed some guidance on how to choose.

So, how did I choose you ask? Well, first I must share a personal tid-bit about myself. Which only seems fair after all these women have shared so much with me. So here it goes. There are certain things in my life that have caused me to be very guarded in love. I like to think of it as excessively cautious. Okay, so not the most shocking share topic, but it’s true, and for someone in the “love business” it can be hard to admit.

How did this help me decide exactly? Easy, this couple obviously had no inhibitions in love, and it was a small reminder that life is short so we should all take a lesson from Amber and Will. If it’s meant to be, don’t hold back!

Below is a little something from Amber’s story…

“He walked over, kissed me and gave a hug and I felt things I had never felt before, my heart was racing and I had butterflies in my stomach. I swear it was love at first sight and 3 days later we said “I love you” and things only got better from there. We both knew that we had found our soul mates and that we wanted to get married.”

Again, Congrats to the winners, and thank you to all of the amazing brides who shared their love stories with me!

Scooter Bride … Non-traditional & Beautiful!

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:36:57 +0000

I absolutely ADORE these bridals! I could go on and on about the vintage style… the fun… the Vespa… the fashion… but there’s no need. These beautiful, out of the box bridal pictures do all of the talking for me.