Founder and director of De Soto Gallery, Shelley De Soto developed a twenty-year program centered on contemporary photography and photo-based practices, presenting exhibitions in Los Angeles and at art-fairs in the U.S. and Mexico. The program later focused exclusively on art fairs, and in 2020–2021 exhibitions moved online. Since 2021, activity has centered on online sales, artist collaborations (including book projects), and institutional placements.

As an art advisor and consultant, Shelley continues to focus on photography and photo-based works. She works with private collectors, corporate teams, and designers on collection strategy, acquisitions and sales, commissions, and exhibition-driven projects, and partners through r+d studios for large-scale production—including site-specific commissions, hand-painted murals, photo-based graphics, and video/installation.