Life: As it is.

Hi!

I have a new project; maybe you’ve heard of it? It’s called “Life: As it is.” This project is very close to my heart as it attempts to illustrate my philosophy behind portrait photography.

Photography, to me, is about capturing life’s moments- carving out that moment in time and documenting the way you smile, your chosen hairstyle that year, the way Uncle Bill crinkles up his nose when he laughs after telling a joke, or the way your daughter stands on her toes to be bigger than her brother. It’s about truly capturing your life as it is in that very moment- a moment we never get to relive- except through those photographs we took to capture them.

Almost 100% of the time I get inquiries for portrait sessions from individuals and families who want to document a particular milestone (an anniversary, a birth, a homecoming, etc.). Don’t get me wrong, I think these are fantastic reasons to hire a photographer and I hire photographers when I have a milestone, too (we take pictures on our anniversary every single year and I’ve already planned out who I want as my homecoming photographer and my husband doesn’t even have orders yet to deploy!)! But with these inquiry’s I also often hear that people “haven’t had pictures since [their] wedding” or “I’m always the one taking the pictures; it will be nice to be in front of the camera for once” or even “oh no, I’m only interested in pictures of the kids;  I don’t like to have my picture taken.”

 The goal behind Life: As it is is to encourage people not to wait for milestones or wait to “lose a few pounds” before they get in front of the camera. Life is now. This is a moment you will never get back…it is who you are and is a part of who you will become. Don’t wait until your hair grows back out or you fit into those jeans from high school or you wake up and realize it’s been 7 years since you last had photos. Today is your life. Today is your chance to capture it exactly as it is and keep it forever.

With that mentality I have set out to document the life of individuals and families in the area who deserve to be reminded that this part of their life is worth capturing on camera. My hope is to do a segment of Life: As it is every season and in doing so document different portions of life as it is in this world. To do that I needed help….

So, to get the project rolling I opened it up for nominations and I was extremely humbled by the response. It was great to see others nominating people they felt deserved to be featured and it was even cooler to see people nominating themselves and admitting that perhaps it was time to get back in front of the camera. I am so very pleased to announce that the chosen nomination for the first installment of Life: As it is is...........


 actually it's two people!

In one case it is a mother nominated by her daughter and in the other case it is a daughter nominated by her mother. So join me in my excitment as I am honored to announce that Mary Tigner (nominated by daughter Rebecca) and Lauren (nominated by her mother Marie Banner Lewis) are the first two individuals who will be featured in Life: As it is. I am sincerely looking forward to getting to know them both and am eager to document their life as it as and share it with you all this Fall.
  
Stay tuned to the blog because I want to make this project into something BIG and I hope to be able to showcase each individual/family that was nominated.

Best,
Sarah

p.s. new to the blog? be sure to check out my first "welcome" post here or my crash course to Sarah post here!

*for the first installment featuring Lauren, click here !

New Beginnings.

Hi! 

And welcome to the brand new blog! Since today is the first day of a brand new month I figured it was the perfect day to break in the blog! I am so excited to begin to be able to share my sessions and thoughts with you on a regular basis :) Yay for the new blog!

If you follow me on facebook (and if you don't you totally should- really...go to the page and click "like"- you won't regret it!) then you already know how important this new phase of Sarah Elle Photography is to me. With this new beginning comes a lot of different emotions. First and foremost I am definitely EXCITED! :) But I'm also nervous and on completely new ground; which can be scary! But you know what else comes with all of those emotions? Growth. I am growing. I'm growing as a photographer, as a business owner, as a person. And that in itself brings with it a sense of peace and hope and determination. I know that through this growth I will learn and continue to carve my way into the photographer I want to be- the best photographer I can be!

 But if you've gotten this far with me then I know already that you're behind me- and that's the best thing I could ask for! There's nothing better than having the peace of mind knowing that you're family supports you in all that you do. So, with this new chapter of Sarah Elle Photography starting to unfold I want to say hold on tight, Sarah Elle Photography family, it's about to get fantastic! Stay tuned for the great unveiling of the brand new website (the link above is the old one-couldn't release the new one early, you know), new session guide(s)-yep, more than one!, and new business focus. First up? A self-developed project that is dear to my heart called "Life: As it is." But more about that in the next post ;)

 And since a photographer can't have a post without images I thought I'd leave you with one of Charlie Dog. :D

 

Charlie Dog is always trying to come on the shoots with me and thinks hiding in the camera bag is the way to get a free pass to come along.... silly puppy.

Best,

Sarah