Rising Stars: Meet Sharna Lee

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sharna Lee.

Hi Sharna, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi everyone, I’m Sharna Lee, The Pinup Magician. My journey as a photographer began when I was 12 years old when my dad handed me my first camera. It was a Kodak 110-film camera, and I remember using about 5 rolls of film the first time I photographed the family vacation. Then when I’d look at them in print, I’d often be disappointed at how far away everything was, wishing I could zoom in closer. I’d zoom with my feet if I could. I really enjoyed seeing the exposed images come to life though and I always wanted to do more.

Fast forward to 2006 when I got my first DSLR (digital camera) and the book “Understanding Exposure” by Bryan Peterson, I joined an online photography forum through Popular Photography Magazine. Pop Photo is what we’d call it. Every night I would reread the book, and it became the Holy Grail of and base for my photography knowledge. Then every morning I’d go out to the local parks to shoot the ducks, geese, and other things I found interesting, including a purple fire hydrant. I tortured my daughter, husband and my dogs with my camera too. When I filled enough of my digital card, I’d come back and view my work on my computer as instructed by some of the older more experienced photographers on POP Photo. I started on Auto, sharing my “best” shots on the forum for critique. This was important! Feelings got involved and I almost quit! Most of the people there were nice but there were a few that would leave negative comments. At first, I was mad, thinking, ‘How dare they say that about my pictures!’ Little did I know how much I would end up owing to those few people who took the time to critique my images. It made me go back out and try even harder – with great success! About 3-4 months in, I took my camera off auto.

Thus began my journey with shooting in Manual mode. I’d shoot AV (Aperture Value) one day and TV (Time Value) the next. I’d go to the same location at the same time of day. I’d change settings to mirror the auto settings, making sure my exposure meter was where it needed to be for a properly exposed image. This is what Pop Photo taught me. They also suggested reading my camera’s manual. I knew my camera’s settings and how to use them by reading the book and practicing what I learned. I took that little book to bed with me, and I read it through and through, night after night. I understood what Bryan Peterson talked about in his book because he not only told you what each camera function did in order to get a proper exposure or three, he also talked about reading your manual. That was huge!

In 2007 I went out with a group of bird photographers. I really enjoyed shooting the hawks & other birds they caught to put bands on them. They’d let a few photographers at a time take some pictures while they held them. I loved it. I absolutely love birds. While out on that adventure I heard a terrible ruckus to which I drove towards. It turned out to be Willow Springs International Raceway. I was intrigued. I had to come back! I asked the gentleman at the gate when the races were and how much to get in. I started going one weekend a month. I shot what I knew at first! I would shoot for an hour or so and get some tack sharp images of bikes standing still. I’d go back to POP photo and again get critics. Most of them would tell me my photo’s lacked interest. The motorcycles looked as if they were standing still. No motion. So, I changed my settings as instructed by the more experienced shooters. I took my monopod and my Canon 40D and started practicing my shooting. I shot skeet when I was in my 20’s so I knew how to “pan” so that helped with the racetrack a lot.

Sharna Lee Photography was created in 2008 at Willow Springs International Raceway. One day a racer by the name of Jamie Lenore came up to me and asked for some images of his races. He offered to pay me for the weekend if I would be his personal racing photographer. I agreed. I would head out to Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, Ca. every month to take pictures of the races. I would get to the track about 7AM on Saturday morning and shoot for the day, every practice, every rider, then get up and do it again the next day to photograph the actual races. Since the light outside changes from month to month, I’d always visit the location the day before just to get the feel of the light, where to stand, and what settings to use. I strolled around a lot on Saturdays because those were practice days, passing by the announcer’s booth, taking snaps of the racers getting ready for the next day. The track announcer used to call out “Sharna Lee Photography is in the house!” every time I walked by his booth. I’d shoot the racetrack corners to see where I wanted to stand the following day and where I’d move throughout the day. Once I got home each night, I’d load my card from the day onto the external drive and cull them for the entire week pulling bad ones and marking the ones I want to edit (my favorites). I did this once a month for about three years and I had fun and made a little cash but most importantly I made 100s of friends and stood on my own as my own entity.

One of my favorite parts was that this was my corner of the world. Everyone knew me as Sharna Lee Photography. I existed! Finally! I was no longer just “Kevin’s wife” or “Kaitlin’s mother”. I was Sharna Lee Photography. The track was an incredibly fun place to shoot. The thing that made it so much fun was learning to see the light and where to focus to make the images pop. Always making it seem like the viewers on the motorcycle with the rider. You could read every line on their bikes. I’d learned to blur backgrounds in the camera. Same basic concept, follow it with your lens. (Gun in skeet shooting). Getting my work published in Road Racing World Magazine at least 10 times AND getting paid for the submissions was a bonus. The official track photographer wanted to hire me, but I was having too much fun on my own. I did shoot for him once or twice. I also made my website for racers to view their images after a weekend’s races. I had a Canon XTi and a 40D and those were my go-to cameras for the track. About a year or two into that I got a 7D MKI for Christmas and used it until the track stopped having the races (2012). That’s when I began searching again for my place in the photography world. Searching again for who I was and who I wanted to be when I grew up, so to speak. I had a couple of decent cameras, and I was pretty good at focusing, but I had yet to find my true passion.

In 2014 my photography club put together a pinup competition on Lancaster Blvd, where I attended as a spectator. As a part of the photography club, I was invited to photograph the contestants in the underground bowling alley as they got ready for their pinup competition. A few more experienced photographers brought lighting gear and assisted the newer less experienced photographers in setting up the lights, setting their cameras, holding reflectors, etc. IT WAS A BLAST!!!

After the competition, I strolled the Blvd. with my camera photographing the old cars, people, and buildings. There on the Blvd. I met my muse, Ms. Tracy Anne. Tracy and I became close friends and so began the start of the business I have today. Tracy and I went out every weekend or every other weekend and shot multiple looks, multiple lighting setups, multiple locations around the AV, Car shows, pinup events put together by the LPA and anything else I could shoot.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
A lot of my struggles were with gear and lighting. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to shoot so I had a wide variety of equipment. I would buy a piece of gear that I heard about online or at a photography meeting and realize it wasn’t quite what I needed for what photography I was doing at the time. I learned that a good lens and a little knowledge goes a long way. Today I struggle with my own demons called insecurities. Even though I know my work is some of the best out there I still struggle with my fear of failure.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
In 2018 I was the VP of my photography club. It was my responsibility to find speakers for the meetings. I had already been in touch with Bryan Peterson the Author of ‘Understanding Exposure’ and we had already become online friends so I asked if this was something he could do for our photography club. He set his price for 10+ photographers and it was low enough so we all could pitch in and have the world-renowned photographer join us for an evening of presentation and introductions, and a photo adventure with him the following day. Everyone introduced themselves and their type of photography that first night and when it got to me, I said, “I am Sharna Lee and I’m a Pinup Photographer in the AV” to which Bryan replied, “And a damn good one!” I nearly fell off my chair. THAT WAS IT!!! I knew who and what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be Sharna Lee Photography, The Pinup Magician.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
The loss of my oldest and favorite sister in 2019, COVID in 2020, my mother-in-law in 2021 and my health conditions over the last couple of years has taught me a few very important lessons, GOD, MYSELF, FAMILY, FRIENDS AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST FANS. Don’t bite off more than I can chew, and always treat others the way I’d like to be treated. I like to treat others with kindness, you never know what someone’s day has been like and if you genuinely smile in another person’s direction more times than not you will get a smile in return. I think smiles are important. My 7th grade PE teacher used to call me Smiley because I always have a smile on my face.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sharnaleephotography.com/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sharna_L

Image Credits
All Images by Sharna Lee Photography except Image of me by Kasey Sherwood