One Of My Favorite Photographers: Shannon Brooke

I often joke that one of the reasons I became an escort was to have reason, money, and time to do the photo shoots of my dreams. When I seek out photographers to work with, I am looking for a certain je-ne-sais-qoui. It’s a vibe, a mood, a style and I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is. Whatever you want to call it, Shannon Brooke has it. I drooled over Shannon’s work for years. She is an amazing photographer with a studio in Sacramento, CA whose work focuses on all femme-presenting people.

Her body of work brings together pinup, retro style, horror, quirkiness, eccentricity, offbeat style and all sorts of things that will make you look twice paired with an amazing technical eye and perfect photo editing. I also love that Shannon shoots some digitally and some film.

There is something so aligned about her style with mine. When we shoot we both bring some wacky ideas to the table and we are always down for each other’s musings. To me, the mark of a great photographer is someone who can almost reach inside my head and create what I’m thinking in the real world, and Shannon does just that.

When I shoot with Shannon I always go all out and get a wardrobe, hair, and makeup person because the shoots are so stylized, and I want everything to go well together. With other photographers, I often do my own hair and makeup because I feel like their styles lend themselves well to the makeup looks I know how to do on myself.

Delphine in a too-small sports bra that says Juicy on it, pink velour track pants, and white pleaser heels. She is wearing pink metal rim sunglasses and is posing on a red floor in front of a brick wall. This photo is by Shannon Brooke. — I call this look “It’s Me, Your Early 2000s Ex GF And I Want My Pink Razr Back.”

Delphine in Leopard print bra and panties. She has her hair in loose braided pigtails. She is looking at the camera like she wants to eat you seductively. She is laying on a faux white fur rug with her booty popped in the air so you can see every curve. This photo is by Shannon Brooke. — Rawr 🐆

When I finally decided to jump into a photo shoot with Shannon, it almost got derailed by the pandemic! We first shot in early March of 2020. It was right before things were shutting down, but people were starting to be cautious. We decided that it was probably fine and kept our shoot date. It ended up being lucky for everyone because as we were shooting, we were all getting messages that our following gigs were canceled and the world was starting to shift online. I received the photos back from the shoot deep in the pandemic. Focusing on something fun and creative was such a bright spot for me in that time.

Delphine in a green plaid shirt and white tank top. She has a silver padlock necklace on. She is holding two creepy dolls in each hand. Her fingers have "fuck you" written on them. This photo is by Shannon Brooke. — I listened to a lot of Nirvana that summer.

Delphine in a leopart dress with black marabou heeled slippers on. She is holding a banana like a phone. The cord of the phone is coming out of the crotch of the person next to her. The person is wearing jeans and a leather coat with creepy fake hands. You can not see the head of the other person. They are both against a leopard back drop. This photo is by Shannon Brooke. — The banana phone look!

The next time we got to work together was 2022. I had an idea for a Peggy Bundy and a grunge look that I wanted to do, and I figured, why not do more while I’m there? In addition to the grunge, we picked out this intensely cute leopard dress. Shannon had this adorable banana phone idea, and Dani from Nanometer Vintage, the wardrobe person, had brought these creepy prosthetic hands, and thus, the crotch banana phone was born. Dani starred as the phone! Shannon also came up with this whole housewife set for the Peggy Bundy look that included me half heartedly working out with bright teal equipment and drinking Coors Light out of a crystal glass. This is what I mean about Shannon having ideas that go with me and my vibe. I just love the quirkiness of what we come up with. I was so unbelievably honored that Shannon put some of the photos from the grunge look in her 2023 calendar!

Delphine in a pink fishnet dress with silver pasties on underneath. Her arm is raised so you can see her armpit hair. She has a bundle of flowers in her hands. She is laying on a silver background. She is looking away from the camera as if she is staring at her beloved. This photo is by Shannon Brooke. — Someone told me they thought this pic was reminiscent of “Hairy Barbie.” I’m not sure, but I think it was a compliment!

Delphine in a silver skirt with silver pasties on and a silver necklace. She is wearing a pair of sunglasses called "boy watchers." She has on silver fingerless gloves and a glass bowl over her head. There is a pile of money at her knees and she is kneeling on the ground. She is in front of a silver background. This photo is by Shannon Brooke. — Just a robot girl in a human world.

In 2023 I had an idea for a robot look that I wanted to do. I loved what we did with that, but the look that ended up being my absolute favorite from that shoot was this one on the left with the pink fishnet dress. Dani had brought it and when I tried it on they were like “WE HAVE TO.” I wasn’t too sure about it because at the time nudity was a big no-no on social media, but I did love the way it looked. Now I am really glad I did because I can post more risque things here on my blog and on BlueSky.

Delphine laying seductively next to a pool. She is wearing a leopard print robe and shiny black bathing suit. She has on tons of gold jewelry and big hair. She has a pair of sunglasses and a red cocktail glass next to her. Her butt is poppes in the air so you can see every curve. She looks like she needs a pool boy. This photo is by Shannon Brooke. — I just need a pool boy…

Most recently, over the summer, I wanted to do a look in the shop of the property where I have been doing some woodworking. So, Shannon and a crew of a hair artist, makeup artist, wardrobe person, and an assistant made it out there and we shot several looks all around the property, including this one by the pool!

I feel so honored to work with Shannon and her team, and I can’t wait to see what we will create next!

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