Jill Emmer was a stay-at-home Edina mom with a minivan and an iPhone. Until two years ago, on a family road trip, when she decided on a lark to create a public Instagram account called @shineonyoucraydiamond (Pink Floyd might have been playing in the car). She posted an “artsy” picture of a deer on the road—#deer—and when she got her first “like” from a stranger, she was hooked. Thousands more likes later, Emmer still drives that minivan, but now her kids share the backseat with signature props: a rainbow umbrella, red boots, and, occasionally, the living room furniture, which Emmer photographs in glorious outdoor settings around the cities and state. The Airport Dog Park is a favorite spot. Also, Afton State Park and Lake Nokomis. “I like to find little hills where you can get a person with a lot of sky behind them.” Her infectiously charming Instagram feed is followed by more than 125,000, and these days, Emmer barely ever stays home. She’s become a professional photographer, a social media consultant, and the official shooter for this month’s Art Shanty Projects. Her photographs are sold on cards and canvases, available locally at Equation and Piccadilly Prairie. Now if she could just find the time to learn Photoshop. #goals. shineonphotos.com 

Full Article