Lily Shea’s Camera Around Town

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Lily Shea

Lily Shea

Lily Shea is a Milwaukee photographer you can count on finding just about anywhere. Whether she’s shooting live music, marches for social justice, community events, portraits or locally made products, Shea has cemented herself as a factotum with the camera around town.

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Shea began photography as a hobby in high school.

“I’d take pictures of things that I thought were pretty with an iPhone,” she explained. “A lot of times the pictures wouldn’t come out in the way I’d see them and I’d get frustrated. Plus, my parents always took me to see live music growing up and I’d get to the front row for most of the shows, and the only ones closer than me would be the people with cameras. So, if I could get good at taking pictures then I could be even closer to the action.

“That drive to be as close to music as possible really fueled my interest with photography. I got a Canon camera and started learning, and then I got a Sony after that, which was great in low light. I’d go to the Up & Under open mics every Monday and take pictures of my friends playing music and they wanted to start hiring me for things, so it kind of snowballed out of necessity because I’d need different lenses and learn how to use flash. Eventually I was able to quit my job, and here I am.”

A pivotal event for Shea’s career has been the Underwear Bike Ride. 

She said about the ride, “It’s so much fun and a really good opportunity for people to let their hair down and get over some body insecurities. After a few minutes when you show up, you realize that we’re all just people here having a good time in the summer. There’s the bike ride and then there’s the show that happens afterwards, so when I started shooting that event it’d be a challenge for every skill set; I was interacting with people, shooting the show, and also shooting on my bike during the ride. It was something that I really wanted to do justice to because it’s such an important community event. After that I started getting attention from more bands and businesses that saw how fun the pictures were.”

Street Photography

Shea has a passion for street photography as well, which she’s done not only in Milwaukee but in Cuba and New York too. Not having a car until she was 25 had her traveling around on foot or bike a lot, which became a main catalyst for her to digest the local sights and sounds. She compares it to shooting live music, saying, “You’re kind of a wallflower for both. You start predicting peoples’ movements or the movements of the setting around you.”

Live music is where she gets to marry both passive and active types of photography, which is something she enjoys most about her work. “Milwaukee is such a dynamic place,” Shea said. “We have so many different kinds of music and people are really doing it for the heart of it. That energy is unmatched; I just love being around that creative spark.”

Additionally, she’s begun doing product shoots and has worked with businesses such as Indeed Brewing and SA.Braai Chutney. On what’s driven her to branch out to different subjects, Shea said, “I want to always be engaged and find new challenges. If I find myself doing the same thing every day then I get bored (laughs).”

Struggling Humanity

Social justice is significant to Shea as well; in 2020 she was prominently in the streets shooting the historic Black Lives Matter uprisings.

She said about that experience, “I have a deep love for humanity, and when one of us is struggling then all of us are struggling. The disparity between classes is everywhere you look; growing up here in Milwaukee it’s been very obvious how separated different parts of town are. I grew up in Riverwest but went to school in Shorewood, and those places are a mile away but the environment is totally different. None of it quite makes sense … like, it doesn’t have to be like this. When I was at the marches, it felt really important to tell the powers that be that enough is enough. We can’t keep watching Black and Brown people being murdered by the police and it’s pretty straightforward, yet we keep running into these issues as a community. A lot needs to change.”

Lately she’s been working with the organization PEARLS for Teen Girls. “They’re exactly who I want to work with,” she said. “They invest in young people and are a beautiful support system for teen girls all throughout Milwaukee.”

Shea just got a studio with House of RAD and plans to focus on artist portraits in the coming months in addition to shooting more community events. 

“I want to shout out Samer Ghani for being so supportive; he’s helped me with so much advice,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to do any of this if it wasn’t for the people that have supported me and encouraged me to keep going. I make mistakes just like anybody else, and the fact that people have given me grace and allowed me to get better is a really important thing.”

Visit lilysheaphotography.com to view her portfolio or book a shoot.