Allow me to reintroduce myself — my name is Shelby and I’m more than just a photographer.
For all my life, I’ve never felt like I actually fit in anywhere. I’ve always felt different, like I somehow missed the day in school where they handed out the “how to human” handbook. Like other people knew some secret that I didn’t. So my entire life, I’ve observed and picked up cues on what I was “supposed to do.”
I thought I was supposed to graduate college, that I was supposed to get married, that I was supposed to own a home, that I was supposed to have kids, that I was supposed to have the car and all the material things. And if I did all these things and checked all the boxes, I would be happy.
Well, it turns out, checking all the boxes and having a seemingly picture-perfect life doesn’t automatically equal happiness. I struggled with not feeling fulfilled and felt guilty that there was something wrong with me.
Why couldn’t I be grateful for this life? Why wasn’t it enough?
I felt this deep loneliness inside me, and for years and years, I attempted to fill this vast hole with alcohol. And it served as a bandaid—until it didn’t. It only made my anxiety worse until my body just couldn’t take it anymore.
I was having multiple panic attacks a day, and it got to a point where my body would physically not allow me to keep going down the path I was on. I had reached a tipping point. I was more afraid of what would happen if I stayed on this path than I was of the unknown.
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#healingjourney #startingover #divorce #selflove #selfportrait #spiritualawakening #sobercurious #coloradophotographer #longmontphotographer
When you surrender to the universe and open your heart to what’s meant to come into your life, absolute magic happens. Also, manifestation is real 💫
Last fall my former husband and I sat down and talked about what it looked like when we started dating other people, and how we wanted to navigate that with the kids. I jokingly said, unless Jason Mamoa is available, I’m really not interested in dating. We had a laugh about it and he said “get in line!” 💀🤣
Fast forward to December when I attended an ugly sweater holiday party hosted by my apartment complex, shout out to @southmainstation 🥰 I see this man from across the room coming toward me and he asks to sit at an available seat right next to me. When I tell you my soul left my dang body! Apparently I played it pretty cool and didn’t reveal the internal WTF!? I was feeling on the inside 😆😅 We ended up talking for 4 hours, long after everyone had left the party when we realized it was 9pm and we were starving. We ended up going on what would be our first date that night, (thank you @jefeslongmont for staying open for us to enjoy our first date! ☺️🌮)
From the moment we met It was like our souls recognized each other and said “oh, there you are” 🥹
If I have learned anything over the last year and half is that life has a way of working out exactly the way it’s supposed to. It’s like there has been an invisible string bringing us closer and closer to each other while we lived parallel lives all these years until we ended up in the same apartment complex. There are so many other wild synchronicities that have brought us to this moment in both of our lives but I will leave you with this for now…
Everything you desire desires you too. Trust in the divine timing of the universe. And magic is so, so real 💫🧞♂️🧚✨😉
4th picture was the first night we met 🖤💖💫
@prideofgypsies I feel like I owe you a thank you 😜
Two perfectly imperfect, not entirely human humans, born worlds apart, decades between them, brought together by invisible forces, forced to face their darkest shadows and explore their depths. Two souls that ached for growth and expansion, reminding and reflecting each other’s light, rising to their highest calling, remembering who they are, separately and together. ☯️💫🧿🧞♂️🪢🐚🌗🪐🕯️🔮❤️🔥
#healingjourney #afterdivorce #cosmiclove #consciouslove #couplesportrait #divinetiming #synchronicity #spiritualconnection #spiritualawakening #shadowwork #lightandshadow #coloradophotographer #longmontphotographer
13 things I’ve learned along my healing journey✨
🔹 Your body always knows before your mind does—listen to it. 🔹 Peace is a thousand times more valuable than keeping up appearances. 🔹 Saying no is self-care. Saying yes to the wrong things is self-betrayal. 🔹 Magic happens when you stop fearing the unknown and start trusting yourself.
🔹 Just because something feels familiar doesn’t mean it’s right for you.
🔹 Healing isn’t a straight line—it’s a spiral, and you’ll revisit lessons until you truly learn them.
🔹 You don’t owe anyone the version of you that makes them comfortable.
🔹 Choosing yourself isn’t selfish—it’s the foundation for everything else.
🔹 Everything you want is on the other side of fear—lean in.
🔹 Discomfort isn’t a stop sign; it’s a signal that you’re stepping into something bigger.
🔹 The version of you that you’re becoming requires you to let go of who you used to be.
🔹 Growth feels like breaking before it feels like expanding. Keep going.
🔹 The unknown isn’t something to fear—it’s where your next breakthrough is waiting.
What’s something you’ve learned on your own journey? Let’s talk in the comments! ✨
✨shel🐚
#healingjourney #startingover #divorce #selflove #selfportrait #spiritualawakening #sobercurious #coloradophotographer #longmontphotographer
Wow. I don’t even know where to begin, except to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Stepping into my truth and sharing my story felt like the scariest thing in the world… until I did it. And now? I feel free. I feel lighter. I feel like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.
The outpouring of love, encouragement, and support I’ve received has been beyond anything I could have imagined. Your messages, your comments, your stories—you have no idea how much they mean to me.
To those of you who have been here for years, quietly following my journey, and to those who are just now finding me—thank you. Thank you for holding space for me. Thank you for seeing me. Thank you for sharing your own stories with me.
This space is shifting. I am shifting. And I am so grateful to have you here with me as I fully step into the person I was always meant to be.
Here’s to truth. Here’s to healing. Here’s to stepping into our own light.
With love, gratitude, & all the magic, ✨shel🐚
#healingjourney #startingover #divorce #selflove #selfportrait #spiritualawakening #sobercurious #coloradophotographer #longmontphotographer
The urge to completely burn down my business and rebuild from scratch has been so real 🤪 okay maybe I won’t burn it down, but completely pivot because why not? I was able to completely pivot my life so why not my business?
One thing that has been, I’ll say “annoying”me, is my follower count. Why have a significant follower count if insta only shows your content to a fraction of those people?
Has anyone had luck going through and deleting inactive followers? Let me know because I would like to do some house cleaning 😜
#selfportrait #coloradophotographer #longmontphotographer #moodyportraits #healingjourney #selflove
Reluctantly pulling myself out of social media hibernation, why is instagram not a vibe anymore?
#selfportrait #coloradophotographer #longmontphotographer #moodyportraits #healingjourney #selflove
✨ That first image is what I consider one of my “aha!” moments in my photography career. It marked the beginning of my in-home newborn offerings, and over the years, I’ve had the honor of recreating that image for so many families 🥰
There’s something uniquely special about capturing this fleeting newborn season in the comfort of your own home. I briefly offered studio sessions, but I quickly realized that home holds a different kind of magic—one filled with love, warmth, and the memories you’re building right now. Plus, let’s be real: no one wants to pack up and stress in those early days 😅
“But Shelby, my home is just not a magazine-worthy space—will the photos even turn out like the ones I see on your website??”
I get it! And here’s the thing: I don’t need perfection—I just need a window ✨🪟✨ I’ve created magical, timeless images in the most chaotic spaces (seriously, that first image was taken on the floor of my bedroom with toys and laundry all around 🤪) I don’t see the mess; I see the light, the shadows, and the love that fills the room. So please do not let that stop you from investing in an in-home newborn session!
These early days are fleeting, but your memories don’t have to be. Let’s create something beautiful, raw, and real—something you’ll cherish forever 💛
I’m currently booking in-home newborn sessions, DM me to book yours now 🪄
