We recently had the chance to connect with Shauna Devenport and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Shauna, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Lately, I’ve been deriving a lot of joy from gardening! I have a single raised bed box garden outside that has a large zucchini plant, green bean plant, and sweet potato plant. It also used to hold two cherry tomato plants, but those died not long after giving me an amazing harvest! I also have hydrangeas, zinnias, and other plants that I truly enjoy watering each day. Being outside, watching the plants I’m nurturing grow, and harvesting the veggies grown has been such a fun and rewarding part of my summer! It’s truly brought me so much joy.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello! I am Shauna Devenport, owner and photographer behind SLD Photography. I have been doing photography as my small business since 2010, and it was a second job of mine until five years ago, when I made it my full time job.
I am a former ELA teacher of 13 years, and this is my fifth year outside of the classroom. When we got pregnant with our third child, my husband and I knew that we could not afford to have all three children in daycare at the same time. Since I was already working two jobs (teaching and photography), I knew something had to change, and so I chose to stay home with my children and pursue photography full time. It still feels so weird to not be a teacher with a classroom, but I’m having a blast tutoring kids one-on-one during the week, and I am also substitute teaching occasionally for my former colleagues and school. My husband often jokes that I left one job only to take on two more!
I do feel that my years of teaching has made me feel very comfortable working with other people’s children, and I genuinely enjoy working with kids of all ages! I’m currently gearing up to take on my super busy autumn season, and I’m so excited for all of the families that have booked me for this fall already! I genuinely love capturing seniors, couples, and families in the beautiful natural spaces around us.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My husband has always seen me far more clearly than I have ever seen myself. We are high school sweethearts, and have been together since we were 16 years old, and he’s been my biggest cheerleader since day one. I asked him to buy me a camera back in 2008, and he got me my first digital camera. He’s watched my images go from extremely amateur (and downright bad), to mediocre, and then better, until I got to where I am today. He’s been my muse, my model, and my subject more times than he likely ever cared to be, but he has always been willing because he wants to help me problem solve and do my best.
My husband is also someone who is a realist, and does not sugarcoat what he truly believes (mostly because I’ve asked him not to with me, because I want his honesty more than anything), so when he tells me he thinks something is good, or I need to change/tweak something, I do my best to believe him. He is always talking me up, and lifting me up! And while I often don’t see what he sees, I try to see myself through his eyes, because he genuinely sees far more potential in my work than I have ever seen.
And quite honestly, I could have never continued working so hard at my craft without him. He has built me several computers, constantly troubleshoots my software issues, and always reminds me to restart the computer before calling him, haha! He doesn’t work for IT as his job, but he sure does at home! I appreciate his expertise and ability to spot issues in my computer long before I do.
Lastly, my husband is often the one home with the kids for hours on the weekends while I’m off shooting sessions. He always tells me as I leave, “It’s fine! I’ve got this–have a great session!” And he really does have it all under control. He is a true partner, an incredible father, and there is no one else I trust more with the people we created than him. I appreciate him, and love him, more than he can ever know.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Actually, yes! When I first started doing photography in 2010, I could not figure out a way to edit my photos. I did not make enough money to purchase photoshop, so my husband clued me in on a program called Gimp, that was free and basically just like photoshop. I immediately downloaded it, and realized how out of my depth I was. It was then that I wanted to give up, because it felt like such a daunting task to figure out this software.
However, I have always told my students that I wanted to create lifelong learners in them, so that when they struggled with a new concept or job, they would be willing learners. Growth mindset is something we all have to work on, especially when something really difficult and foreign to our minds is thrown in our path. I knew I couldn’t give up, and instead, I poured myself into learning about the software and editing properties.
I knew absolutely nothing about photo editing, and genuinely struggled, and struggled, and struggled with figuring out how to edit these images to make them decent! I spent hours upon hours practicing my photography on my husband, my dogs, my friends, my nieces and nephews, my family members… and I slowly learned how to harness the creative properties of photography via editing in Gimp. I think I utilized that software until about 2011 or 2012, when I eventually downloaded Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.
I’m thankful that I have continued to have a growth mindset, because I have needed to shift, or change, or research new things my whole career, and that doesn’t end just because I’m established. I’m always open to learning new things about photography and editing, and I am always doing my best to stretch myself in comfortable ways that helps me to grow my craft!
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
I know that my closest friends would say that my family is what matters most to me. And my closest friends are like family to me, so they fall under this umbrella as well.
Everything I do, I do for my family. I love them more than they could ever fathom.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
Oh, absolutely.
I taught for long enough to know that even the very best teachers are often overlooked. Many amazing teachers quietly teach their students to the best of their ability, never getting the accolades that they so keenly deserve. The same goes for photography–not every photographer is going to have a huge following, or host shoot-outs with loads of other photographers vying to get in, or be known on an international level. Not every moment I capture is going to be jaw-dropping, or emotive, or make you, as the outsider, feel something.
But every photo I take for the ones who hire me will feel something. They will see their little loves in their portraits, and hear the laughter, or remember the moment it was taken. I do my best for my clients because I want them to LOVE their photos, and remember the moment with clarity and joy. I don’t need a huge following to do my job well for those who hire me, because I’m capturing these moments for them and no one else. I don’t need a huge international following, because I don’t want to travel away from my own family to capture someone else’s (unless my family is with me!). The only praise I need is from those whose moments I captured, because I love knowing whether they love their images or not.
I do my best for myself, too, because I want to know that I gave my all. I do like to give myself little high fives when I feel like I’ve done a good job, haha!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sld-photography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sld_photographykc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sldphotog
Image Credits
SLD Photography
