Life is a Darkroom

06/07/2026

this one's for the dad who'd never book this for himself.

the one who'd say yes in a heartbeat if it were for the kid. who calls himself "not really a photo person." who'll stand a little stiff for the first three frames —

and then forget the camera exists the second a small hand grabs his face.

that's the photo. not the posed one. the one where you stopped performing and just got to be his.

(and yes — bonus dads, stepped-up dads, grandpas who became dads, the uncle who always shows up, and dads to dogs and cats. we said even fur. we still mean it.)

spots are already going. here's what's still open:
dad & me at the depot — pay what feels right minis
outside burlington northern depot, red oak

✦ friday june 19 — 5:00, 5:40, 6:20, 7:40
✦ saturday june 20 — 5:00, 5:40, 6:20, 7:40
✦ sunday june 21 — 5:40, 6:20, 7:40

each session:
✦ 20 minutes, guided with intention
✦ 1 location, 1 outfit
✦ 8+ professionally edited images
✦ online gallery + print release + option to order prints

pay what feels right is real. that number can be $0, $20, $50, or a surprise. the point is access, not extraction.

to reserve: dm me or text 712-356-8098

life is a darkroom is emotion-based posing + creative direction. consent-forward, affirming, and built around the idea that you are the entire reason we're here.

you don't have to be a photo person. you just have to show up as you are.

🖤🌸

06/07/2026

model call — fishing couple session

life is a darkroom photography // red oak, ia

looking for one couple — any shapes, sizes, ages, abilities, orientations, gender expressions, or relationship configurations — willing to spend a golden hour at the water’s edge with me and a fishing rod.
this is a documentary-style session. less posing, more being. baiting hooks. tangling lines. laughing about the one that got away. the way your hand finds theirs without looking. quiet feet in the shallows. a shared thermos. the way you sit when nobody’s watching.

you don’t have to be conventionally beautiful, conventionally fit, conventionally photogenic, or conventionally anything. you don’t have to know how to fish — i’d actually love it if one of you is teaching the other. wheelchairs, walkers, canes, mobility aids: bring them, they belong in the frame. q***r couples, older couples, couples who’ve been together six months or sixty years: all welcome here.

what you get: a full edited gallery, web-ready and print-ready, delivered through pixieset. usage rights for personal sharing.

what i ask in exchange: your time (about 90 minutes), a willingness to be photographed honestly, and permission to use the images in my portfolio, on social, and possibly in future marketing.

when: sunday, june 28th at 6:30pm
where: viking lake state park, stanton, ia
requirements: must have your own fishing poles and equipment + current fishing licenses

deadline to apply: friday, june 19th

dm me, comment below, call/text 712-356-8098 or email [email protected]

tell me about the two of you. not your resume — your story.

06/04/2026

love is love, and you’re safe with me — not just this month, but the other 11 too. 🖤🌸

pride month gets loud in june and quiet by july. but i’m not a june photographer. i’m a year-round one.

so let me say it plainly: if you’re q***r, trans, nonbinary, questioning, or somewhere you don’t have words for yet — you have a seat in front of my lens. not as a trend. not as a special edition. just as a person worth photographing well.

i started this whole thing for the wallflowers — the people who’ve been told, in a hundred small ways, that they don’t photograph well or don’t belong in the frame. a lot of you have carried that longer and heavier than most. i see you. i want to make you images that feel like the truth, not a performance.

engagement photos. chosen-family portraits. “i finally look like myself and i want proof” sessions. couples, throuples, your dog, your best friend who’s really your family. all of it. all of you.

red oak, southwest iowa, wherever i can reach.

comment PRIDE or send me a message. june or december — the door’s the same.

06/01/2026

loft 22 is such a special place. while i haven't had the opportunity to work out of the space, i think everything they do is fantastic. check them out!

We will talk more about this tomorrow but ….save the date 😘

05/29/2026

this one is for the dads.

the ones who carry car seats in one hand and snacks in the other. the ones who got handed a baby and figured it out. the ones whose kids climb them like a jungle gym. the ones with a toddler on their shoulders and a golden retriever pulling the leash.

father figures of every kind — biological, stepped up, bonus, chosen, grandpa-stepped-in, uncle-who-shows-up, and yes, dads to dogs and cats count too. (we said even fur. we meant it.)

dad & me at the depot — pay what feels right mini sessions
📍 outside burlington northern depot, red oak
🗓 friday june 19 – sunday june 21
⏰ 5–8 pm — 5:00, 5:40, 6:20, 7:00, 7:40

✦ 20 minute session, guided with intention
✦ 1 location, 1 outfit
✦ 8+ professionally edited images
✦ online gallery + print release + option to order prints

slots are limited and they will go fast. pay what feels right is real—that number can be $0, $20, $50 or a surprise. the point is access, not extraction.

to reserve a slot: dm me or text 712-356-8098 📷

life is a darkroom focuses on emotion-based posing + creative
direction. consent-forward, affirming, and built around the idea
that you are the entire reason we're here. show up as you are.

05/27/2026

ladies & theydies!

if the only reason you haven’t booked with me is that your man says you need to lower your spending—i got you!

we can set our phones on the ground when you tap to pay. 💋💁🏻‍♀️

05/25/2026

make sure you stop by THRIF-T’s at the CASTLE—Red Oak Iowa, Thrift today!

02/21/2026

my assistant really said “i don’t get paid enough for this” and then hit me with this look 💀

sir. you are the emotional support. not the supervisor.

anyway — while he debates filing an hr complaint, i am officially booking milestone sessions 🎓✨
prom. graduation. senior photos. the big, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it chapters.

let’s make something that feels like you — not stiff, not awkward, not “stand there and smile.” we’re documenting the becoming.

if your milestone is coming up, don’t wait until the tassel’s already been turned.

schedule your free consult and let’s start planning your moment 🖤
https://lifeisadarkroom712.pixieset.com/booking

02/12/2026

okay but this throwback?? she still breathes.

soft eyes. subtle smirk. a little sweetness with a sharp edge — exactly how i imagined this chapter of the king kills collection with The Mourning Dolls. 🌙🖤

this series will forever have my heart because it let me romanticize the strange and play in the shadows a little. storytelling + portraiture just hit different when they’re allowed to be a little haunted.

if you’ve been waiting for your sign to book something cinematic, moody, story-driven, or slightly unhinged (in the best way)… this is it.

i currently have limited session availability open.
outdoor storytelling sessions (the studio is still in her glow-up era).
portraits, couples, creative concepts, and “let’s make art just because.”

let’s build your main character moment.
dm me, text, email, or book a consult through my site — let’s create something that lingers. 🖤📸

model: shannon 🫶🏻