We were lucky to catch up with Shane Adams recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shane, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

My main goal/mission is to eventually have my own film/skate shop and teach classes to mainly AA kids who can’t afford the start up of photography. I want to help educate them on the business side of things as well. I would like to throw more events where I give free headshots to those AA artists, photographers, entrepreneurs, etc. I was raised on giving and I’ve been blessed to have great people who did that for me outside of the photography industry, but for me it all goes hand and hand. Also, leaving a legacy so that one day my kid can have something to call hers is the ultimate goal.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Shane Adams and I was born in Sioux City, Iowa and raised in Nebraska. I moved to California in 2018 to further pursue my photography/skateboarding passions. I started shooting photos in 2015 with my main interest being skateboarding. I got into the photo side while on a trip to California in 2017 while being injured my friend had a camera on the trip and that’s really what kicked everything for me. I bought a $250 camera a month later and with the help of places like The Bay Skatepark in Lincoln, Nebraska that gave me the freedom to shoot contests and just use the facility to practice whenever I wanted. I instantly made it a goal of mine to want to be good enough to shoot a Street League Skateboarding contest and also be featured in respected skate magazines in the industry. With previous contacts I had made in the industry I was able to shoot my first SLS contest in October of 2015, I made $125 from that contest but that honestly was a million dollar experience for me. Fast forward to now I have shot 8 stops coast to coast and I’m still working on getting my photos published in the 3 magazines I respect in the skateboarding industry. I offer photography with light video services, social media management, photo editing, artist media coaching, production work, photo assistant and gaffer services. I try to keep myself flexible cause I have been thrown into different situations and being able to adapt to them in their own way giving the results needed for the project. I think what helps my clients most and why they do business with me is that I just listen and don’t make it all about me but about us working together to get the same results. Also, being a good person goes a long way as well.
I want people to be able to place themselves as if they were holding the camera and get that feeling I had while shooting the photo they are looking at.
I would say my biggest accomplishment has been knowing that my daughter(who has no interest in skating or photos haha) looks at what I do as cool. Can’t really top that feeling right now.
I offer photography with light video services, social media management, photo editing, artist media coaching, production work, photo assistant and gaffer services. I try to keep myself flexible cause I have been thrown into different situations and being able to adapt to them in their own way giving the results needed for the project. I think what helps my clients most and why they do business with me is that I just listen and don’t make it all about me but about us working together to get the same results. Also, being a good person goes a long way as well.
I would say my biggest accomplishment has been knowing that my daughter(who has no interest in skating or photos haha) looks at what I do as cool. Can’t really top that feeling right now.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think for me there isn’t too much that people don’t understand about my journey, I feel I get the opportunities I have gotten cause of being a good person who was in the mix and just provided people with good energy and being available to be helpful. Example i got my start shooting sls contests cause I gave the someone a ride from the skate shop to the skate park a few years prior and come to find out he managed a lot of pro skaters and companies social media accounts, we just were friends before I even thought about taking photos and when I started he was the person who I contacted first and the rest is history. Another example I rented a lens to a friend who was going overseas for a trip and while picking it up from the music studio he was at he then said hey also The Game’s(rapper) brother come in and shoot some photos while you’re here. So I just believe good things happen from being available and not knowing the outcome of anything until the opportunity comes.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I think because my background is in skateboarding that taught me a lot about failure early on in life so I just applied that same mentality to my photos. For every 10 tries you gotta at least get 1 right? So repetition eventually you’ll get 4,5,6 out of 10 it’s just all about how do you want that improvement or not if for yourself for the clients you serve. Another example is when I first moved to LA I worked for another photographer under the impression it was supposed to be a paid thing and that changed, I wanted that to work so bad that I sacrificed everything I had just to be at that job, smiling everyday on sets or in production meetings. I ran myself crazy around the city that first year I moved to LA just using things like bumble business to get clients outside of the work I was doing and finding friends I could shoot with every other day cause I just wanted something to stick. I was just grinding and it was the first time I actually had a photo job so I felt all of this was normal starting out minus the pay. I wouldn’t take back that first year for anything cause it gained me the clients, friends, motivation, and just awareness of what being in big city meant in terms of the “industry.” I got to work on the red table talk series, worked with wilhelmina signed models, a Japanese clothing brand, music artists ranging from rap all the way to country and pop, and non profits that work closely with at risk youth and mental health professionals who provided free services down on skid row and other areas. So, again I think for me it was just about being available and open enough to not let my everyday situation keep me from working towards the main goal.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.inshanephotos.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/inshanephotos
• Facebook: Facebook.com/inshanephotos
• Twitter: Twitter.com/RWTB_
• Other: Instagram.com/Runninwiththeblicky

Image Credits
@camthemac