Biography

The way I see it, my key role as a portrait artist is to create an environment where the personality, beauty and individuality of my client is expressed without reservation – and then, in that moment of vulnerability, captured for all time.   – Cherie Phelps

Local and national award-winning photographer, Cherie Phelps, is founder and owner of C.Phelps Photography located in Gretna, Nebraska; a small town just outside of Omaha. Cherie’s interest in photography began as a teenager when she worked as a photographer’s assistant which included everything from painting and setting backgrounds to doing hair/makeup and winding film (that was forever ago, in ancient times). She was then trained as both a photographer and photo processor for the Air Force and later worked as a photographer’s assistant, occasionally shooting ads for a local well-known department store.  She opened a thriving and successful home studio in 2003, specializing in senior and fashion photography. She is a contribuiting writer, teacher and photographer for SeniorsIgnite – a national group of photographers who’s goal is to provide a fresh alternative to business as usual in the senior photography industry. And finally she is also a professional hair and make-up artist, has freelanced as a fashion photographer, and can ride a bike with no hands.

Cherie’s  fun and uniquely artistic approach to capturing the true emotion and essence of her clients has earned her several awards including PPofN’s prestigious Senior Photographer of the Year in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and SPA’s Judge’s Choice 2011, among several others.  Her goal in every session is to keep it relaxed and simple by shooting with very little equipment and uncomplicated set ups. Utilizing the natural surroundings, she is able to elicit the vibrancy of her subject’s personality and capture it in a moment they will cherish forever. In her spare time, Cherie tries to brush up on her Pig Latin while painting and enjoys starting home renovating projects she never intends to finish. She’s lives in a farmhouse built in the late 1800’s and is the proud momma of three amazing, spunky teenagers.

The next way is to be sign-up for one of Cherie’s Learnshops.  There is nothing like being able to talk personally with another photographer, ask questions, get insight, and bounce ideas off them.  However, many photographers try to ‘save money’ by doing things by trial-and-error.  Unfortunately, this method wastes time, money, and the vital support of those you love.

Cherie’s teaching approach is pretty simple: give honest, straight-forward, useful information that will help increase your knowledge in all aspects of the senior portrait business. To make this happen, she tailors her teaching for each client – covering anything from shooting and editing, client and business workflow, packages and pricing, portfolio review, to anything else her client needs help with.

mentoring learnshop

Together we will analyze your business, set goals and create a plan for success.  This one-on-one mentoring session is a great way to re-energize, get inspired, and take your business to the next level!

$995

• 3-month committment
• 3 hours of phone mentoring per month
• up to two emails per week
• homework to keep you on-track 

personal learnshop

Want to take your a personal, hand-on learnshop gives you an exciting opportunity to learn creative, fashion-inspired senior photography. We will spend a fun, informational, and productive day together – covering everything from image review and instruction to a hands-on photography session and workflow management that works for YOU.

$1295 – 10 hours of instruction

• intensive 4 hour one-on-one instruction focusing on high school seniors, image review, branding, marketing, pricing and a discussion on studio success
• 2 hour hands-on photo shoot with Cherie where she will explain lighting, posing, composition, her shooting process and answer your questions along the way
• 2 hour post-production workflow, as well as image editing tips and tricks
• 2 hour image review by phone from the edited images you took at our session
• beautifully created images by you to update your website or blog