Meet Sharna Lee | The Pinup Magician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sharna Lee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sharna, what do you attribute your success to?

I think the most important factor behind my success is the images I take are tack sharp and properly exposed! Also, my editing skills are top notch!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I am Sharna Lee aka Sharna Lee Photography, aka The Pinup Magician! A few years ago, one of my girls started calling me “the magic maker” and another girl followed with “The Magician” and I guess it stuck. I knew who and what I wanted to be!!!
The magic I create with my #sharnasgirls is outstanding! Creating images that are properly exposed, crisp, clear and super sharp is what sets me apart from most other photographers. I’m meticulous when culling images only saving the sharpest images. Another thing that sets me apart from other photographers is my editing skills. Usually, a shoot takes me a week or two to go through, then I let the girls pick their favorites and I edit them for the magazines.
I am extremely honored to be one of the most sought-after photographers in the Los Angeles basin. In 2014 I got my first cover of Delicious Dolls Magazine; I was over the moon excited for that!
One of my biggest obstacles is pricing my work (still is). My prices are set to give everyone an opportunity to look and feel as if she just stepped out of the past.

One of the biggest lessons I learned is I’m only responsible for my own images. I can’t change the way people are, but I can make them look and feel as if they just stepped into the past!
My brand came later, I always admired the work of Rene from Delicious Dolls Magazine and from the start he’s guided me in the direction I needed to go in order to be successful. I owe a lot to him as well.

Was it easy? Heck NO!
I struggled with pricing, over shooting, and over working. My biggest struggle I think is self-doubt! Even though when I shoot a typical in studio shoot with 1 girl, I take anywhere from 100-200 images and out of that I’ll delete 5-6 images and I still don’t think of myself as a pro.

One of my biggest setbacks came in June of 2022 when I fell in my kitchen, and the next morning I woke up to both my hands being numb and tingling. Over the next few months my pain and numbness worsened. By October when I finally got Cervical Spine Surgery, my hands were completely numb, and it radiated to both my arms as well. I was super clumsy, I couldn’t walk straight, I was wobbly and unable to care for myself very well at all.
I had to take time off!!! That was so hard for me seeing everyone doing what I love without me. Thank God for my husband and my surgical team!! Day 4 following the surgery I had feeling back in my hands and arms!!! I’m 3 months post op and I feel brand new!!!! I am back to doing what I love and I’m super excited for some new images and new girls this year!!! #sharnasgirl

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

First, I would take her to the beach where we would spend the morning just watching all the people, snapping pics along the way. Then we would head inland to one of my favorite sandwich shops, Berge’s in La Canada! There I would suggest the Corned Beef on Rye and get extra pickles because there’s nothing like a fresh Deli Pickle. Next, we’d return home where we would spend the next few days shopping at the mall, running errands, and maybe go to dinner at the best restaurant in LA, Canter’s Deli! I guess I’m a foodie. 

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

I’d like to take this opportunity to give credit to the man who started it all, my husband, best friend & biggest fan Kevin Lee – @doggiestile65. In 2004 when I suffered a career ending back and neck injury, I needed something to occupy my time, so I asked him for a camera and a book by the world-renowned photographer Bryan Peterson. I read that book religiously, I took it to bed with me, reading it over and over. I went out on weekends to practice what I learned in the book. I started shooting motorsports in 2006 just for fun, that turned into a little side hustle for me until the racetrack closed in 2012 when I again went looking for my niche. In 2014 I found again who I wanted to be! I started shooting pinup and loved how beautiful everything was, quite different from motorcycles on a racetrack.

I’ve been doing pinup ever since and loving it. 

Website: sharnaleephotography.com

Instagram: @sharna_lee_photo

Twitter: @sharna_L

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharnalee65

Other: https://linktr.ee/SharnaLeePhotography