Shannon Burke is an Arizona based photographer who specializes in births, newborns, and cake smashes. Her style is more on the moody side, embracing all the shows in her studio work. She has been in business for over four years, and has a home based studio in North Phoenix. She has three kids (7, 5, and 2) who originally sparked her interest in photography in 2014.

We are happy to say that Shannon is also an instructor for us in the Academy with a lesson on Cake Smashes and Setup!

For more inspiration:

Website | Instagram

Here is Shannon, Unraveled..

What inspired your art?

There have been several artists over the years who have sparked my art, however, most of them are newborn and birth photographers. Cake smashes have always been my creative outlet for myself, I really enjoy customizing the set how I want - and the majority of the clients who book with me give me creative control on the sets.

What do you shoot with?

Camera body and favorite lens? I currently shoot with a Canon 5D Mark IV, my favorite lens is a 35 1.4

What other ways do you express your creativity?

I express my creativity mainly in the way I design my cake smash sets. I have an entire bucket list for cake smashes that give me entire control of the sets from the setup all the way down to the outfit.

How do you de-stress at the end of the day?

I don’t de-stress I’m a mother of three and a business owner, haha. Totally kidding, I love going out to dinner with my husband and having a drink and just discussing our week/day or whatever! I’m a pretty laid back person, so it takes a lot for me to get stressed out.

What kind of music do you listen to while editing?

It totally depends on my mood, I’m a sucker for country and pop - I love a good podcast too!

What is your favorite book?

Any books from Nicholas Sparks. I don’t really ever have time to read, but when I do that’s what I go for.

Name one movie that inspires you.

An inspiring movie… I’m terrible at these kinds of questions! I would say probably The Bucket List.

How do you handle self-doubt or creative slumps?

I feel like this is such a common thing with photographers, when I’m in a slump I love to do model calls to do whatever I want, and use colors/themes that aren’t commonly chosen. Having total control definitely helps. I also really like to shoot my kids at home. The documentary style is a nice change of pace.

What has been the most difficult part of your creative journey?

Navigating being a wife, mom, and business owner. I feel like there’s always a constant battle of where to direct the attention, which means something else is being neglected.

Who is one of your favorite photographers?

One of my favorite photographers is Krystal Sandefur- she doesn’t do cake smashes, but her work is great!

What is your favorite pizza topping?

Pineapple, yes it does belong on pizza.