“Every amateur with a camera thinks that they’re a professional now,” Shane Monahan said.
The Sioux City wedding photographer can’t criticize the snap-happy bunch too much. That’s how he started – with just a camera and a dream to capture life’s big moments while making a few bucks.
He was working as a manager at a local grocery store and taking senior portraits on the side.
When his mom died in June 2008, Shane realized life is too short to toil away at a joyless job.
“My mom, she died of breast cancer at 51,” he said. “I didn’t want to spend any more time doing something I wasn’t really happy with.”
A career came into focus.
Shane, 36, had learned the basics of photography selling cameras and equipment at Best Buy during his years at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, studying business and marketing. Admittedly, he didn’t know much about the apparatus at the turn of the century. Digital photography was just becoming widely available. More changes were on the way.
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Technology quickly democratized the medium. A decade later, it helped Shane launch his career as a full-time professional photographer.
What sets him apart in the field is a combination of natural creativity, formal education and continued training through photography workshops.
“My wife, Becca, she really pushed me to get education and train myself and do it properly,” he said. “She was a big encouragement in getting me to further my education instead of just going out like every other Joe with a camera and hoping to get lucky.”
Now, Shane specializes in wedding photography, plus he does engagement sessions and senior portraits.
While his wife works in accounting by day, she often helps him with the home-based photography business on weekends. “I am not the artist that Shane is,” she said.
Becca works behind the scenes and handles the little details that make all the difference.
“I always tell Becca – I’m a good photographer by myself, but you help me be a much better photographer when you’re with me,” he said.
When they got married in 2000, no one was talking about hashtags, selfies or photobombing. The advent of camera phones combined with social media gave rise to popular new ways of taking and sharing pictures.
“Photography has changed so much,” Becca said, adding that even the amateurs can fix up their photos with editing apps and software. “But being able to capture that emotion in someone’s eye, that’s something that can’t be faked.”
Outside of the technical skills required, Shane has to be creative and quick on his feet, especially with sites like Pinterest turning up thousands of images of “cool wedding ideas.”
“There’s definitely more pressure, but it’s nice to know what their expectations are and kind of what they’re looking for. I welcome that,” he said, adding some of the best shots aren’t planned.
Being the outsiders, the observers of numerous special occasions, Shane and Becca have gotten a glimpse of heartwarming and cringe-worthy moments at weddings when no one else is taking note.
They’ve seen it happen on multiple occasions. The church doors open and there’s the bride, dressed to the nines, donning a beautiful gown. Hair and makeup all done up. The processional begins to play. Everyone stands up.
Here come the camera phones.
“They’re supposed to be looking at her,” Shane said. “And they are, but they’re all really looking at the back or their iPhones or their iPads. We’re in an era where everyone wants to be able to upload it right away and say, ‘I was here,’ with Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.”
They miss out on the present moment.
But it’s not all bad, of course.
At some weddings, couples put out signs encouraging their guests to take pictures and upload them to Instagram with a designated hashtag. At the end of the night, the newlyweds have a searchable collection of photos taken by family and friends.
It’s the modern-day practice of putting disposable cameras on reception tables.
Shane wants to ensure that couples will have a lasting memory of their big day. His wedding photography packages promise staying power with digital files, a photobook and print credit.
“With technology, as quick as things change, right now they might get their photos on a disk or flash drive, but who knows what technology is going to be like in 10 years or 20 years,” he said. “If they’re not backing up their stuff over time with new media, they risk losing it. If they have a physical album, that turns into an heirloom.
“I want them to have something beautiful to hang on the wall, not something that gets lost on a disk or on a computer that crashes.”
He cherishes a wedding photo that shows him with his mom, step-dad and two grandparents. All of them have passed away since then.
“When you’re in the moment, it never seems as precious until you look back,” he said.
