words by Christiana Harris photo by Emily McCartney
When you talk to Shareea Woods you sense a feeling of warmth and easy going comfort. This wife and mother originally from San Diego, CA exudes positive light and energy in every aspect of her life. She describes herself as creative, ambitious and fun to be around. By chance you may meet her out and about "socializing" but she also enjoys the comforts of staying home as entertainment. Shareea has picked up many hobbies through the years, some she’s stuck with and others she’s left behind, but she has a integral way in photography to display all her passions in life while being creative and acting as a force of positivity throughout her work. Shareea is that friend/colleague/confidant that we all need in this world to inspire us to do it all and stay connected.
IT: What lead you to do photography?
Shareea: It all stemmed from the passing of my grandfather a while back. I remember taking the pictures for the funeral service and what caught my attention was a photo of my uncles sitting on the front row. They served as pallbearers and they all have bald heads like my grandfather did. It was awesome to capture them looking at my grandfather in the casket and realizing how they all got their bald heads from him. That photo of them just really stood out to me as something powerful.
What’s your opinion of the art scene in Dallas?
You know I’m not familiar with the art scene in Dallas. I had a friend who mentored me early on in photography by just letting me do graphic designing for her for a short while. She really helped shape what I know artistically but I do not have any friends who are on the art scene or anything, especially since my mentor/friend moved away from Dallas. So I’m not sure how it is.
photo by Emily McCartney
What were your early art influences?
“People in conversation.” It is always inspiring to shoot two people interacting with one another and “connecting”. I do alot of portrait photography. I try to shy away from doing events LOL. But I love people. Also, a while ago I used to paint and I believe that my love of Photoshop and editing stems from when I was a painter.
What has been your experience as a woman in photography?
Umm it has been an asset for me because I feel I am a very relatable person and I try my best to make my clients feel comfortable in whatever way I can. Sometimes when I’m working with couples, and it may be a couple who is having a hard time, I try to get them to talk about how they met just to make them feel comfortable and break the ice a bit. It helps them connect more during the shoot, and that’s what I love to capture.
What inspires you?
Love. Connection.
I like that answer!
I like that answer!
photo by Emily McCartney
What gives you the most joy in what you do?
I would say client satisfaction. I love when I’m shooting a client and I’m able to show them a few shots in between and they get excited and immediately want to post their shots on social media. To see their excitement about what we’re creating is what gives me the most joy in doing photography.
What do you bring to the table that is most unique to what you do in photography?
Well, I feel that I am very “go with the flow” when I’m working. I hate the “posed” look in photography and I try to just focus on what’s organic to the client that I’m shooting. Especially with newborns, it just makes more sense. You get the right picture for the right person. I approach every shoot without expectation of what could be created.
What’s next?
Well, I really want to focus on being more creative. I currently juggle my love of photography along with being a working mom so I’m not sure when I could do photography full time. I have a good job so its not a financial pressure. But until then, I just want to work on being more creative. I love taking pictures of hands and I have few shots I can show you of that. Hands really help me capture scale and connection, especially if it’s the parents holding a newborn’s hands or I even have a photo of a woman holding a man’s head and just showing that connection of love and perfect balance. So, I just want to do creative things like that and maybe even have a gallery exhibition of my work someday.
You can see more of Shareea's work right here
photo by Shareea Woods
photo by Shareea Woods
photo by Shareea Woods
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