Meet Shannon Griffin | Shannon Griffin | Creating a custom experience, resulting in commissioned art for her clients homes

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

Hi Shannon, what do you attribute your success to?
Staying true to who I am as a person and how that plays into my artistry. I care deeply for other humans and how they see the world. I love how I can document their stories while implementing my voice. We create the art together. It’s a process of trust and tension. The beauty of these sessions is that it’s not all beauty. It’s raw and there is realness. I want them to see themselves in ways they hadn’t thought about before.

I want outrageous promises and to ask for outrageous demands. I want to create magic not for, but with my clients. I don’t want limitations based on past experiences or beliefs. I want to live in a world where we create our own, unique experiences. I’m not just offering an end product of art on their walls, I’m demanding we go on a journey together where there is no option other than growth and being uncomfortable at times. I want vulnerability that leads to courage. I want richness that we feel in our bones when we create together.

“A creative business is when you get paid to get lost.” – Sean Low

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I was asked if I’ve always been this confident and sure of myself and my business.

I thought about it and responded: “When I’m photographing a woman it’s the only place where my mind is quiet. I don’t think about anything else in my life. I don’t think about my child, my husband, laundry that needs to be done, bills that need to be paid, etc. My mind is quiet and it’s the only place in the world where I can truly let go. The women that I photograph have no idea how much they are therapy for me, so my ‘why’ is to give that therapy back to them through documentation and experience.”

What’s interesting is I was reflecting on it this morning and my why of starting boudoir was because I was in a marriage where I felt invisible and unwanted. I started photographing women to give them what I couldn’t get from myself or my marriage.

Now, it’s evolved into helping mothers feel seen, validated, and to find themselves in their new skin. My clients went from being in their 20’s, early 30’s to now being mid 30’s to 40’s.

It’s amazing to watch my why change. I also think it’s important to talk about my why in my messaging because just like back then, women who are going through what I’m currently going through (or similar) are finding me. We’re holding spaces for each other and building that trust so that we can create true art together.

Art has a way of healing and that’s been the common thread throughout my years of this work. While my reasons for being passionate about it might change and take new shape, my voice has always been for women.

We need places to go where we feel seen.

We need others to tell our stories so that we don’t get lost. We need gifts of silence in the day-to-day chaos.

We deserve pockets of refuge in this vast existence.

What about your passions in life? Has your why transformed over time?

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?
We would definitely be eating at Rose’s Daughter (Delray) and Food Shack (Jupiter). Those are my two favorite restaurants in South Florida. We would also be going to local diners for breakfast and grabbing some donuts from Dandee Donuts. If you can’t already tell, everyone who visits me goes on a food tour (as my mother calls it). My husband and I love dining out and it’s something we love to share with those who aren’t in the area.

I also have an almost 3 year old, so we would be visiting a lot of playgrounds.

We usually spend a lot of down time at home, as it’s where we love to be. We would order in or cook meals and just hang out.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Big inspirations for my business have been:

Kat Braman (https://www.lorrenandbraman.com/)
Kim Box (https://www.kimboxphotography.com/)
Sean Low (http://www.thebusinessofbeingcreative.com/)
Matthew Wengerd (https://afinepress.com/)

My husband has also been a huge support.

Website: https://www.shannongriffin.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannongriffin/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannongriffinphotography/

Image Credits
Shannon Griffin