For those who may wonder about the beginnings, this is the brief story of my photography career. It started in 2008 when my lifelong interest in photography finally began to materialize. I bought my first entry level semi-pro camera. It was the Canon Rebel Xti, with a kit lens.  I started off shooting friends, objects, and whatnot. (as most budding photographers do).  I enjoyed shooting people pictures the most, and within the same year, I actually opened a small photography studio in downtown Hendersonville where I lived. But before I could really get much going, I got a call to play keyboards in a cruise ship band that was forming and needed me. The thought of being paid decently to travel to all over Australia, New Zealand, Bora Bora, Tahiti, and Hawaii.......well, it sounded good to me. So I closed up my month old photo studio and I hit the open seas!
     Well, the music thing was not a big part of my life at the time, and I spent all my free time in those places just walking around with my camera. It was early 2009, and I shot a lot of landscapes, as seen in the blog photos here. I also lined up some sessions with a few models in different locations where we would be docked at. I loved landscape photography, but I also loved shooting models. After my 4 month journey in the South Pacific, I returned home and created a photo book of my best landscapes, and a few of the models I shot here and there.  You can see (and purchase it here... https://www.blurb.com/b/696430-the-way-i-see-it )

    Upon returning home to Tennessee, I had discovered modern wedding photography. The old style was very boring, but the new and much more artistic style was what caught my attention. I grew intensely passionate about wedding photography. It was who I was. I went on for years, following my passion in that capacity. I think the culmination of it all came with my best wedding ever being on Turks and Caicos Islands (out near Cuba). What a wonderful and beautiful wedding I was blessed enough to photograph!
      Eventually, I left wedding photography. Actually I left it altogether for a few years. I had reached a burn-out point. Also, due to some issues with my knees aging too soon, it was time to quit chasing brides around for 12 hours a day. It really can be a run and gun type of workout. As I write this blog today, I am nearing age 53 in December. No more weddings for me.  
     So I've recently re-launched Shane Irwin Photography, minus the weddings!  I will still shoot engagement photos, and various other types of people photography. I may even shoot the occasional boutique wedding, where it's 5 people or less, in a very small ceremony situation. But overall, I photograph people. Senior portraits, events, families, children, etc. And yes, you can include your dog in the photos. You can also include your baby, though I don't do solo baby photography. That's best left to specialists. 
      So that's it! My photography life in a few paragraphs. I hope you have enjoyed the read. I'm looking forward to hearing from anyone who would like some photography by Shane Irwin. 

It's funny to me when I hear people boast how wonderful the day is when "there is not a cloud in the sky". It SOUNDS wonderful, but to a photographer, it's not good at all (in most cases)
     The clouds are our friend!  In people photography, at least during daylight hours, clouds are great for softening the sunlight. When a cloud, or an entire cloudy sky cast a giant shadow across the land, this is perfect for photographing people. The light is evenly dispersed all around, and there are no shadows. And you know those wonderful raccoon eyes that can happen in the sunlight?  Yeah, none of that.  And I'm sure you know how people squint in the sunlight while you shoot their photos?  Well, none of that either in the cloudy shade.  But we cannot know far ahead of time what we will get, as far as clouds, or no clouds on a planned photo session. So, planning professional photo shoots can be tricky. But we photographers have a solution. 
     There is that sunset part of the evening, and we usually schedule our sessions for the latter part of the day. "Golden hour" as we call it, is the best. You know that last hour of sunshine, where the sun is very low in the sky? That's the good stuff there. Clouds or no clouds, it can be great for photos when the sun is low. We can use that bright sunshine to shoot through the background, through the subjects hair, for that romantic, beautiful sunburst look. (see the featured photo on top of this blog)  We love sun when it's very low in the sky. But when it's directly overhead, it can be the enemy of people photography. 
  Here's another reason this particular photographer does not like to hear the phrase "there's not a cloud in the sky".  I burn easily!  So, when Dawn and I are at the beach, or when we have the top off in my Jeep, I use sunblock. At the beach in particular, I'm always under the umbrella, while she's in the sun.  Oh, but I do always get my share of vitamin D in the sunlight. Just enough to get by. 
    So in short, I'll take those clouds if you don't want them!