Shelley Schuette + The Story Behind

We have all been a little out of sorts lately due to our routines being all out of wack among other things. And sometimes during times like these, we forget to document our lives because lets face it, it’s not our norm. But it very important to capture these times as well because it becomes part of who we are. So when we saw Shelley’s rich black and white photo in our IG tag feed, we wanted to know more about it. We reached out to her to see if she would be up for being featured in our The Story Behind series and we were ecstatic she said yes. Continue reading to learn how this extraordinary image came to be.

IG Handle:.
@shelleyschuette

What inspires your art?
Connections, light and everyday life is what inspire me the most. Witnessing the connections between my children all throughout the day just get to me. I know these moments are fleeting so I cherish them so much. If these connections happen to occur in beautiful light, I am over the moon excited!!

Where was this photo taken?
This photo was taken in our backyard in Dodge City, KS.

DSLR, iphone, instant or film?
DSLR | Canon EOS 5D Mark IV | 35mm lens.

What were your camera settings for this image?
The settings were ISO 125, f1.4 and 1/2000 sec.

Can you tell us “The Story Behind” this shot?
Being a busy family of six, it can be hard to have everyone in the same place at the same time. When the pandemic hit, it put a halt on all of the “busyness” that usually consumes our nights. This night was a beautiful spring night that would usually be spent split up on practice fields somewhere. My kids spent this spring night(and many more) all together playing in our backyard and soaking up the sun while my husband and I sat back and cherished every second.

What speaks to you about this image? What specifically made you press the shutter?
This image speaks to me because of the connections between all my children. My oldest holding my youngest, my girls gabbing to each other. All was right in our lives.

What was your composition technique with this shot?
I used center composition for this shot. I wanted all the weight distributed as evenly as possible within the frame.

Did you have any lighting challenges/How did you light the image?
This image was backlit with the sun dropping down behind the neighbors house.

Did you use any special techniques – freelensing, prism, etc?
Nope.

Was this photo happenstance or did you visualize it prior? If so, how did you envision the image and set up for it?
This image just came about. My kids were scattered everywhere throughout our backyard doing different activities. They then all kind of gathered at our swingset. I ran into get my camera because getting all four of them in the frame is such a rarity. I will treasure this picture forever.

Did you use a preset to edit this image, your own selective edits or a combination of both?
TVP The Gold Pack.

Do you have any addition information you would like to share with our readers?
My biggest tip is to just keep shooting no matter what light source is available. In the past I only shot when I knew the light was pretty. I missed so many moments and connections because of this mindset. I now shoot whenever there is a connection no matter what light is available. My photography has grown so much since I made that change!