Frozen in Time – Portraits by Shane Captures Precious Memories with Professional Photography for 30 Years

Portrait Palace – Portraits by Shane is located at 1415 Main Street in Great Bend. The business was originally located at 2008 Forest, and then at 1906 Broadway before moving to its current location in 1995. Portraits by Shane is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays. Most services are by appointment.

Even if most of us won’t admit it, we have given into the strong temptation to re-gift.

After all, we tell ourselves, it is better to give another deserving soul a chance to use the whatchamacallit that is cluttering up that corner in the basement. What a waste to leave it gathering dust, we figure. But there is one thing family and friends will never send along the route of re-gifting pit stops.

This perfect gift is a portrait of loved ones, said Shane Boultinghouse, owner of Portraits by Shane.

“It is a unique gift, a personalized gift,” he said. “And it is something they won’t re-gift. It is a moment in time.”

Shane and his wife, Jill, are enjoying one of their busier times of the year because many of their customers also understand a family portrait is an ideal Christmas gift.

Studio Stuff – Owner Shane Boultinghouse poses a member of his staff as he would one of his customers in his portrait studio. “We have all sorts of backdrops and photo props that we use to make our customers’ photos as personal as possible,” Boultinghouse says. “We have monochromatic backdrops for professional head shots and more colorful backdrops for kids’ photos. Sometimes we even take people out to the alley behind the building for a dramatic effect.”

“We do a lot of family sessions at this time of year because this is when they are all able to get together,” Shane said, noting gift certificates are available. “It is the best time to take pictures. And they won’t pitch it into the trash; it will go on the fridge.”

Jill elaborated, noting “it’s the gift only you can give, especially to grandparents. What thrills you more than pictures of your grandkids? And what is the first thing you grab in case of a fire or tornado?”

Family photos may be framed for hanging and they can personalize Christmas cards sent to family and friends.

Portraits by Shane provides ready-made and custom-made frames, or the Boultinghouses will order what the customer wants. The business also offers gallery wraps that do not require framing, as well as mounted and painted canvas backgrounds.

“The canvas makes family photos look like oil paintings,” Jill explained.

While Shane knows all the ins and outs of the camera, he has to call on a special, non-technical talent during some photo shoots. This talent is required when someone is not thrilled with the notion of smiling for the camera.

“We like to use humor to relax them,” Shane said, adding sometimes he plays music. “While we’re talking, I ask them what they like to do. This takes their mind off being photographed. If a guy doesn’t want to smile, we kid around a lot.

Photoshop Perfect – Owner Shane Boultinghouse makes corrections and adjustments to one of his digital pictures. “Digital photography leaves a lot more room for creativity,” Boultinghouse says. “Not only can you make changes and fix mistakes in the photo, you can also add lots of neat effects to the pictures, which is quite popular.”

“Once in a while you get a diehard,” Shane laughed. “I tell them ‘there is this thing called PhotoShop now, so be careful. If you don’t smile, I will give you a smile. And maybe do a head swap or an eye swap.’”

Jill added that “he’s got a way of getting them to relax. After leaving the shoot, they will say, ‘I’ll tell you what, we had the best time.’”

Another gratifying moment is when the customer picks up the finished product. “Just to see their excited faces …” Shane said.

It is not uncommon for challenging shoots to include kids, dogs or cats but one of the more unusual sessions involved a man, his guitar and his pet snake. Whatever the customer wants, Shane said.

Portraits by Shane was born in 1979 when the Boultinghouses bought Marge’s Photography from Marge McCallum Harrington. She worked with Shane for a brief time after the purchase, and the Boultinghouses partnered with Beverly Serle, and Charlotte and Grady Bolding for a while.

The business stayed at the original 2008 Forest location for 15 years and then moved to 1906 Broadway, which was rented for four years.

Wedding Watch – Co-owner Jill Boultinghouse looks over some of their latest varieties of wedding albums with a potential client. “Our new wedding albums have all the photos printed and mounted onto each page,” Boultinghouse says. “This makes the albums much more durable, and helps preserve the memories for even longer.”

Then the current 1415 Main location came along and the Boultinghouses bought it in 1995. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Most services are by appointment.

“We were looking for a career,” Shane recalled. “Photography seemed to be exciting, challenging and fun. I really think Jill’s mom, Phyllis Fredrickson, was instrumental in sparking my interest in photography. She was a very talented craftswoman in tole and china painting.”

Prior to selling the business, Marge Harrington trained Shane for a few years.

“I got in with Marge and was shooting for her on the weekends,” Shane said. “She was my formal training.”

To keep current on his education, Shane attends the Kansas Professional Photography School in Newton each year.

“It is hands-on,” he said. “We review new techniques in lighting, computers, backgrounds, equipment and posing. National speakers come in and talk with us.”

Framing Finish – Portraits by Shane employee Pam Jackson chooses the perfect frame for a customer’s photo. “We have lots of frames in stock for standard size photos,” owner Shane Boultinghouse says. “But we also do custom framing and matting, so we can create the perfect finished product for our customers.”

The switch to digital from the darkroom occurred in 2002.

With modern technology, Shane brings old photos back to life by scanning them and making reprints.

After the 2001 Hoisington tornado, Shane was able to scan some residents’ photos, but for others, he was able to go back to the original negatives that he still has in storage.

The photography firm also offers studio portraits for high school seniors; wedding photos; employee and advertising pictures for businesses and non-profit agencies; passport shots; and work visa photos.

High school seniors review proofs, but other products are put on slide show discs.

“Every family gets a disc to look at on their own computer,” Shane said. “That way they can look at their own convenience at 2 in the morning in their pajamas if they want. They can also use our computer.”

The Boultinghouses are involved in a variety of community-service projects. They donate photos of children who are up for adoption through Klicks for Kids, a Kansas agency.

“This raises public awareness for these children to help get them adopted,” Shane said.

Smiling Staff – Portraits by Shane owners Shane and Jill Boultinghouse stand with employees Pam Jackson and Cassie Niedens for a staff photo. “We all do a little bit of everything,” Boultinghouse says. “I shoot and edit the photos, and the girls do a lot of the customer service and sales stuff. We make a great team.”

They also donate time and talent to the Boy Scouts of America, the local Santa House and D.A.R.E., the drug-abuse-prevention program.

Jill is from rural Selden and Shane is from Oberlin. They met in junior high at Oberlin and began dating when they were teenagers. Shane went to Fort Hays State University for a while on a wrestling scholarship but “didn’t want to cut weight for four more years.” He then moved to Arizona.

“I was missing Jill, moved to Great Bend and a year later we got married in 1974.”

The business employs a total of five people and mainly covers a 60-mile radius. However, Shane said, “if they want to take us to Cancun, they can book that flight, I’ll grab a camera, and boy, will we get some shots.”