Meet Lisa Shaw | The Bigger Picture Photography

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lisa Shaw and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa, how do you think about risk?

Faith is the most important thing for me. In all of my experiences- wonderful times and hardships, God has guided and provided. I am a grateful member of Al-Anon, which is key in dealing with life (and relationships) in a healthy way. I have a strong base of having done things on my own throughout my life, so that makes a huge difference going forward with any new risk or change. Reminding yourself of the mountains behind you that you already climbed, instead of only focusing on the mountains in front of you, is an important reflection. With any risk or change, I have learned to include self-love, empowerment, awareness, a growth mindset, gratitude, and wonder.

I left my family and my life in Michigan in my twenties and moved to the middle of the Pacific, not knowing anyone. I stayed on Maui for three years and “grew up”, as I say. Living on Maui taught me about the simplicity of happiness/ happiness in simplicity. Nature is such a great teacher. It was the first time I was on my own (but made a “chosen family” thanks to God putting amazing people in my life), and I felt so empowered. It was a time to allow myself to focus on me, instead of family, boyfriends, bad relationships, etc. I took everyone and everything said from strangers as teachings. I was facing fears on a constant basis and feeling so empowered by that. Stretching myself. I was working different jobs that I was passionate about and stretching that way too, always learning. I was a journalist and photojournalist, art gallery manager, photographer, exhibition coordinator, consultant to magazines, worked in a wine/art cafe, etc. I started following other photographers there to see which area I wanted to get into. I absorbed everything I could. All the jobs were interwoven, in a way, with creativity and expression as the binding factor.

I started to think about settling down and starting my own photography business. I moved back to Michigan because of family, but to the other side of the state, and lived alone for the first time in my life. It builds a lot of character to only have yourself to depend on, to do it all on your own. I followed many photographers and learned everything I could while working other jobs. I had a push to go out on my own when I had a bad experience with one photographer. It was time. Starting the business was rough and a lot of work. There is so much more to owning a small business than people realize. Fifty million hats and they are all yours. Only business owners understand that. At one point, I was teaching myself code for the website.

I overcame a ton of debt and learned about finances, credit, etc. I bought a house on my own. Home ownership as a single woman brought on many more empowering experiences.

Having a practical side, I didn’t want to make photography my only means of income, for fear of hating it. It is an unstable income in my case,  so I made sure I had other things to let me breathe financially and actually save at the same time. Even at the time that I could have used photography as my sole income, I still kept other light jobs. It especially helped to have that cushion in times like Covid. My business kept growing and I was winning awards for my work. For several years before I got married, I can say that my cushion was sufficient enough to depend solely on photo, but that took a lot of time to get through my own financial anxiety, ideas on being autonomous, and what I strived for on a bigger level.

Working on finding balance with other passions and interests has been extremely important as well.

Having this base of faith, Al-Anon, and my past experiences of being independent and driven, all help when dealing with risk. And I still face a fear every year. It is extremely empowering.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My focus is documentary with a fine art edge. I believe my background in fine art and working as a photojournalist brings something unique to my wedding, family, senior, and boudoir images. I’ve always been challenged and delighted to use the environment I’m shooting at in creative ways. I love that part. Another thing I’ve always loved about this field, is you can put five photographers together at the same location/scene and they will all have a different eye, different things they pull out to show how beautiful the world is.

I wish more people were aware or interested in “Day in the Life” family sessions. It’s true documentary style, no posing and no families sitting in a field looking at the camera. It’s real life, real personalities, real connections- you know, the good stuff. This is what the parents will want to remember, as well as the kiddos down the road. I did a series of these sessions for my sister and the images have so much meaning!! The sessions I have done for other people came out amazing and they do show stories and their connection, personalities. We don’t always live in our homes forever, or will be attached to that stuffed animal next year, etc. There’s a lot to it. It’s so much better than a traditional session, especially when the kids are young.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my friend was visiting, I would definitely take them to the water. Saugatuck or Holland is my favorite. In Grand Rapids, any restaurant downtown, walking around ArtPrize, walking through Frederik Meijer Gardens… I prefer restaurants on the water, like Rose’s, Bluewater, or Botswick. Rockford is cute and quaint. Kayla Rae Cellars is great for wine, and you can walk around the town. I’d probably take my friend to Grand Rapids Pottery studio, where I am currently a member. I love walking the river at Riverside Park with all the happy trees. Millennium Park is also really nice.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
God, Al-Anon, my close friends and chosen family, many other photographers who helped me, even the bad experiences (which pushed me to do it on my own), Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women, my parents, my husband, and my clients who trust me and keep continuing to choose me to document their stories.

Website: www.lookatthebiggerpicture.com

Instagram: the_bigger_picture_photography

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-shaw-3239352/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebiggerpicturephoto/

Other: Etsy– https://www.etsy.com/shop/CanvaBlanca www.yourinfluencerimage.com

Image Credits
The Bigger Picture Photography, Lisa Shaw