Stephanie Michael, Photographer

Introduction: (I'm going to try to not be incredibly cliche.) I don't really think my photography stands out from the rest. I kind of shoot what I want or how I feel. While I look to others for inspiration and ideas, my style doesn't really resemble anyone else's. So I guess that makes it stand out - but my personality more than my work is what people remember after we get done shooting. Creating photographs is a fun hobby for me - so I have fun while I shoot. I think what I enjoy the most is making people feel good. I've recently shot some boudoirs for a woman who used to weigh 324 pounds. She's had weight loss surgery and now is very small, but still has all of her excess, sagging skin. Because of this skin she is very self-conscious and was very nervous to be naked around her boyfriend and was EXTREMELY nervous to do boudoirs with me. A glass of wine into the photo shoot she was getting more comfortable and her photos turned out great. I got to see her go from very worried about "looking stupid" before we shot to absolutely being shocked at how beautiful she is when I gave her the finished photos. That made me very happy. I also enjoy coming up with ideas for photo shoots, creating props, backgrounds, and costume ideas, and then putting it all together. Imagining and executing a creative photo shoot is a major endorphin release for me.