Shawn Keehne’s dramatic images reveal people genuinely. Working almost exclusively in color, Ms. Keehne utilizes light and hue to capture authentic moments with her subjects. Stylized settings reinforce the concept that “realism” is not just what we see with our eyes, but what both subject and photographer bring to the experience. Time of day, mood, and personal revelation add as much to the portrait as the tactile elements in the shot.
Her initial training as an illustrator and graphic designer informs Ms. Keehne’s compositional style and aesthetic. Her work draws the eye into the image, guiding it across the work with technical precision. The layers of separation—first by the camera, then the computer, then print—allow the viewer unlimited time to gaze at the subject, gradually getting to know them, perhaps with more intimacy than a face-to-face meeting would allow.
Ms. Keehne is not a “photography purist” and makes no distinction between what is captured by the processor in a camera and what a computer adds post-process. Both camera and computer are simply tools to create a finished image, just as natural lighting and artificial lighting are simply light sources to create a photograph. In fact, it is this very juxtaposition of intellectual technicality and artistic creativity which originally drew Ms. Keehne to photography.
Shawn Keehne is a Los Angeles-based portrait photographer, designer and educator. She lives and plays guitar in North Hollywood with her lovely wife Heather and two amazing dogs, Mando & Leia.