Portait of My Home | Personal | Hampton Roads Portrait Photographer

Hi!

The other afternoon when I was home in the quiet, calm, anticipatory hours before my husband gets home from work I was struck by  how "lived in" our home looks. Granted, the majority of our walls are bare since I haven't quite figured out the whole decorating "thing" yet {sidebar: one time, after we had been in our house for about 15 months, a repair man asked if we "had just moved in"-- total fail} so I don't mean it has the lived in "homey" look but our house definitely looks like people are there. And almost always, if I'm being honest, it looks like we left in a hurry :p

We're not the most organized of folks, that's for sure, but we're not dirty. And the other day I was struck by the "lived-in-ness" of our space and felt this urge to capture it in its raw and real state.

This is definitely not my usual portrait format but I consider this a portrait of my home.

Even Charlie Dog leaves his things as if he left in a hurry....

I will leave you with this image. 

These cars are extremely important to me as every year my husband gets me one for our dating anniversary. 

When we first started dating back in college we were, simply put: poor; and for our first anniversary he wrote me a note explaining how one day we'll have enough money to take trips to Europe and go to day spas and buy expensive cars- but for now this will have to do: and sitting with the letter were my favorite flowers and my very first Hot Wheels car (an Aston Martin).

These cars will go with us wherever we go and are by far my most looked forward to and cherished gift every single year out of any holiday.

Best,
Sarah

Greer | Agent Spotlight | Class of 2015 | Poquoson High School

Hi!

Welcome to the very first addition of the Class of 2015 "Agent Spotlight" mini-series!
I am so excited to showcase my Agents this year that I am not even going to waste any time:

I am so very happy to introduce to you, Greer, who is representing Poquoson High School on this year's Sarah Elle Photography Senior Agent model team!

Of course, the first picture I have to share of her is of her and her mom. 

I asked each of my Agents to send me pictures that they would be willing to have me post on the blog {instead of me just scouring their social media to find the silliest ones I could ;) } and what is one of the few pictures she sends?! Her and her mom! LOVE it!

When I met them at Greer's Senior Agent meet and greet I could tell she and her mom were close but it melted my heart when I saw that she wanted to share a picture of them together in her "Agent Spotlight." 

 When I asked Greer's mom to provide a picture of Greer this is the one she chose ;)

As you can see, Greer is a cheerleader for local competitive squad, Fame Limitless. Greer has proudly been a cheerleader for the past TWELVE years and cheers not only for Fame Limitless but also Poquoson High School's sideline squad and their competition team.

One of the things that really stood out to me about Greer was that she is a really giving person. On top of being the assistant coach for the Poquoson Midgets Cheerleading and being active in YoungLife, Greer goes every single day to the elementary school to work with the first grade students!

 (Greer at YoungLife camp in NY)

Not only is she giving, but Greer is clearly the Chuck Norris of her generation because I KID YOU NOT she showed up to her Agent meet and greet WITH A CONCUSSION all because she didn't want to cancel! Is that determination or what? (or crazy... maybe a little crazy)

The "how" of her concussion story is still a little foggy....
(Get it?! foggy... concussions make your head foggy...eh? eh? hahaha I try...)

Regardless, Greer is one beautiful, giving, and determined gal and I am thrilled to have her on this year's Senior Agent model team!

Best,
Sarah

another one from mom that I just had to sneak in here because it's so cute!

Welcome to the model team, Greer!!
Stay tuned next week to meet another one of my Class of 2015 Senior Agent models!

Life: As it is Part III | Kondek Girls | Hampton Roads Portait Photographer

Hi!

As always, I think the featured individuals in the Life: As it is series always have a way of telling their story in just the most perfect way. Maybe that's because it's THEIR story.

Meet Melissa and her three girls:

"When I read about Sarah Elle's "Life: As It Is" project, I immediately thought to nominate all three of my amazing young daughters. My oldest, Alexa, 16 years old, and Olivia and Emma, my 12 yr old identical twins, have had to endure a lot of hardships, especially over the past two years, dealing with issues such as their parent's health disabilities, and watching the economy affect their family life to the point of losing the home where they had spent most of their childhood. These 3 girls have had to walk a difficult road full of change, sadness, insecurity and instability, but through it all, each day they woke up with a continual love and appreciation for life itself, they continued to laugh, and helped others laugh with them, and they love hard, and teach others to love right back. Alexa, Emma, and Olivia and their parents are now in a stable home again, and they have learned that they are strong, brave, resilient people, and their experiences have taught them that if they keep walking, keep loving, and keep their heads up, that no matter what, life itself is ALWAYS precious....just as it is."

When first coordinating their Life:As it is session it was a bit difficult to find a date that worked for everyone; and, in fact, we ended up changing the date 4 different times before finally nailing down the session- and even then their dad was out of town for work and we ended up pushing forward anyway. This IS their Life: As it is after all, right? ;)

When I finally had the chance to meet these ladies their faces were full of excitement, a little apprehension (they were about to step in front of the camera after all!), and pure appreciation for the opportunity. It was evident the amount of love they have for each other and the simple appreciation and kindness they bestow on everyone they meet.

 

(How stinking sweet are these two?!)

These two have been a duo the longest so I couldn't help but give them a bit of time to themselves. :)

 

Thank you VERY much to the Kondek girls for allowing me to feature your Life: As it is. Your family is filled with some extremely beautiful souls and I am honored to have gotten to capture some of that on camera.

Best,
Sarah

Life: As it is Part I and II

Snow Day Session | Cady E. | Hampton Roads Portait Photographer

Hi!

With the impending yucky weather this evening {again} I thought I would feature Cady's images from the impromptu snow day shoot we had last month. This shoot was a LOT of fun. Maybe it was the random spontaneity of it; the fact that we had beautiful pieces of furniture in the snow; or the fact that I got to meet and hang out with some super neat folks that day thanks to the networking powers of Luke and Ashley Photography.

Regardless, I cannot want to do it again! So every time we get a "winter weather warning" I say: BRING IT ON!

Thanks again, Cady, for your awesome willingness to play in the snow!
Best,
Sarah

Planning a Styled Shoot Part IV {Group Shoot} | Hampton Roads Stylized Portrait Photographer

Hi!

I made a mistake. I have been so caught up in my own shoot and how I like to do things that I completely forgot to address an alternate (and very popular) form of styled sessions: the group styled shoot.

Collaboration, especially in a creative community, is super important. You've heard me go on about networking and collaboration in Part I of this series so I cannot believe I didn't mention the "group shoot" before now! But here it is!

 

The shoot that I have been planning and blogging about is a solo styled shoot. This means that I am planning it; I am designing it; I am developing it; I am paying for it; and I am going to be the only photographer shooting at it. There are a lot of benefits to doing things this way; including:

1. All of the images from the shoot will be unique to  my portfolio.

2. Less people to worry about the day of the shoot (which means less contracts that need to be signed and less approval for persons on the property depending on your location).

 3. No one to work out schedules with to be present at all portions of the planning process.

 4. The ability to bring to life a vision exactly as you see it - without the influence or input of other creative minds.

 5. The freedom to publish the images wherever and whenever you want (if that is a goal of yours).

There are also a lot of negatives to making your styled shoot exclusively yours:

 

1. No friends to collaborate with and bond with over the ups and downs of the planning process.

 2. It severely decreases your networking abilities if you do not open the shoot up to other photographers.

 

3. You have to pay for every single piece of the shoot on your own (hair, makeup, props, costume, furniture, cake, paper goods, gas for your cars to haul the props, location deposit for the shoot, etc.)

 4. No one to help boost your creative visions with their own.

 5. The possibility of someone else having their images published before you get a chance to submit yours.

 

Creating a styled shoot in a group format {whether it's being developed as a group or simply being opened up to other photographers to use for portfolio work} can be a great benefit to your business and your growth as a photographer.

 

But you're not doing a group styled shoot, Sarah; why should I be listening to you?

GOOD POINT!

Planning a group styled shoot is also NOT FOR EVERYONE. To speak honestly: Planning a styled shoot is HARD. It is a lot of work and for someone {like ME} who has never done one at this scale before, planning a styled shoot is also very intimidating. I personally chose to keep this shoot exclusive to me so that I could really get my feet wet in the planning process and get a good feel for the kinks and wrenches that get thrown into the mix with this kind of project {I'll tell you there are more than a handful of them!}. Have I been DYING to talk about it with every person I know? Heck yes I have! It's been eating me up not to be able to get opinions and guidance from my friends in the industry but {secretly} it's also been kind of fun being able to tease them with hints ;)

Whatever your decision for how you create your styled shoot (solo? Plan it with a pal? Open it to others for portfolio work?) be sure to recognize that there are lots of pros and cons to each way of doing it {far more than listed above}. Just be sure to figure out what your end goal is for yourself and the shoot and PLAN accordingly! ;) (get it?! "plan..." planning a styled shoot...hehe it's funny)

 

Best,
Sarah

Read Part V here!

Sneak peek number 4 ;) This is an actual piece I plan to use for the shoot. So be on the lookout for it on the set!

In case you missed it: Part I, Part II, Part III