Business Spotlight: Shanell Lamere Films

People often discover who they are and what they want to do with their lives at college. Shanell Lamere was no different, but her journey of self-discovery started away from the classroom.

“When I was supposed to be studying, I was watching how-to makeup videos on YouTube,” Lamere said. “Makeup tutorials turned into a hobby for me.”

While Lamere began making videos to express her love for the art of cosmetics, she also fell in love with the craft of filmmaking and the way videos can tell a story.

“I realized I enjoyed editing – all the transitions and cool things you can do with video,” she said.

As Lamere worked to further develop her film skills, she gave birth to her son, something that entirely changed her perspective on her work.

“I realized I needed to film all of these moments,” she said. “I did a gender reveal, a video letter to him and a baby shower. Then I packaged it up into a highlight reel for my friends and family to watch.”

Upon showing her work to them, Lamere’s loved ones instantly wanted her to do the same for them. Over time, word of mouth brought more and more paying customers her way.

“I thought I should start growing this,” she said. “So, I started to become a storyteller.”

Initially, Lamere supported her passion with her commercial cleaning business, which she had built up before she started film work. Eventually, she was no longer content splitting her time between her two projects and needed financing to help make Shanell Lamere Films a full-time gig. Fortunately, a conversation with a friend pointed her in the direction of the Neighborhood Community Development Fund and loan officer Denise Graham-Shealey.

“I realized I only wanted to focus on film,” Lamere said. “Miss Denise from NCDF took me under her wing and got me everything I needed.”

Securing financial assistance allowed Lamere to focus all her attention on building her client base, as well as brainstorming creative new ideas for products and services. In addition to the wedding and baby videos she built her network on, Lamere started work in the marketing field, helping various organizations tell their stories in a compelling and engaging way. On top of that, she began making films to help tell the stories of people who have passed away.

“I love being able to tell someone’s story from their point of view, taking different photos and footage to make a forever film, something like an heirloom,” she said.