If you look at my username on Instagram and Facebook, you might have noticed a slight change: I’ve removed the word “photo” and “Photography” from my respective usernames.

Of course, if your next thought was “is she giving up photography?”, let me quickly dispel that notion: Absolutely not! But I have been thinking lately, and my thoughts have looked a little bit like this:

Someone who uses paint to create their art is a painter. Someone who uses pen is an illustrator. And yet they’re also artists. And if you think about it, painters and illustrators (or any other type of artist) don’t typically use names like Madeline Shayne Painting or Madeline Shayne Illustrations. They just use their name… and so I’ve decided to do the same.

 

From a recent client shoot. To schedule your own personalized portraits, click “Contact” in the menu at the top of the page.

 

I know, I know… maybe I’m making a big deal out of nothing, dedicating the first blog post of the year to this “announcement”, when really all I did is remove one word from my username. But it’s something I’ve been mulling over for quite some time. About three months now, actually (you could argue that I am incredibly indecisive and take FAR too long to make a decision). But I’ve finally decided to go ahead and just make the change, because I want to be seen as an artist, not just a photographer. And since the media I use to create have now expanded beyond just a camera and a photograph, it felt like it was time.

 

(Plus, I’m a sucker for the whole “new year, new you” thing…. )

 

So from now on, it’s just Madeline Shayne, because I believe my name alone is all I need.