C. Family | Maternity | Hampton Roads Maternity Photography

Hi!

When Courtney contacted me about a session the very first thing she did was name drop (can you believe that?!). It's like she KNEW I would be begging to work with her if she sprinkled a little sugar and awesome networking in with her inquiry. ;)

 

KIDDING, of course! But really, in her very first note she mentioned that she was referred by an old High School classmate, Kristen; turns out this same Kristen is one of my sorority sisters from college! Is that not the NEATEST connection?!

 

(6 degrees of Kevin Bacon anyone?)

In the beginning of the session I worked really fast out of fear that little Emilia would get cranky and sick of me in her face- so family picture after family picture after family picture we snapped away.

 

Little did I know that working with Courtney's family would turn in to one of the best family sessions I've ever had.

 

Now, I have worked with some REALLY well behaved, polite, sweet kids before but to get through an hour and a half session with a 20 minute drive to first get to the location and have a NOT EVEN two year's old little girl not get upset ONCE?! Well, ladies and gentleman, that right there makes it my best family session ever!
 

Enjoy these images of Courtney's gorgeous family as they celebrate the nearing arrival of their FIRST BROTHER, Connor :)

 

Thank you so much again to you and your family, Courtney, and a HUGE early congratulations! Connor is one lucky little boy :)

Best,
Sarah

What I've Learned | Personal | Hampton Roads Portrait Photographer

Hi!

The title probably seems like I'm going to tell you all about how I am now, thanks to owning this business, really knowledgeable in tax codes (HA! I wish...) or how I'm now this guru at business license requirements or how to perfect business management techniques or I've mastered contract writing. And trust me- I wish all of those things were true; but frankly I am fairly certain I simply have to accept that someone with far more knowledge and brains in those areas is always going to have to help me figure out those aspects of business owning.

 

No, what I've learned from my business is that this isn't a business. This is my world. This is my family. I always refer to every single person I work with and every single person who follows the facebook page as my "Sarah Elle Photography family"-- and it's completely true: I view each of those people as a family member. I could not continue to nurture and grow my business without the mental and emotional support and encouragement of each person who follows me and books with me.

 

But even more so I am reminded on random Tuesday mornings (like this past Tuesday) when I open up my SEP e-mail account and facebook page just how much of a family you all are to me.

Tucked away in the e-mail inquiries and wardrobe questions and location ideas are messages from other SEP family members sharing a funny video they found that made them think of me, or a cute meme that reminds them of something that happened during their session, or simply a funny story about their day that they know I would appreciate. I have one SEP family member who moved right after their session (talk about a last minute, rescheduling is not an option kind of a day) and STILL e-mails me to tell me about the latest find in GMO research and eating organic foods (she knows I'm interested in learning more about that).

 

That's what makes this business not a business. That's what makes me stop and go: "Wow. I am SO lucky!" 

Sure, there are tons of those tax questions and business management "things" I'll never fully understand that *technically* makes Sarah Elle Photography a business (and trust me, come tax time i'm always banging my head against my desk wondering why it has to be this way). But having those personal relationships, having those family members, makes everything else completely worth it.

 

From the deepest part of my heart: thank you.

 

With love,

Sarah

 



Claire S. | Agent Spotlight | Hampton Roads Senior Portrait Photographer

Hi!

You just have to meet Claire! 

Claire is the newest addition to the Sarah Elle Photography Senior Agent model team and she is fabulous!

Claire is sweet, polite, energetic, and motivated-- pretty much everything an #SEPagent is; plus she is active in her school  and really close with her family. I mean seriously, anyone who sends a picture of themselves with their mom when asked to provide pictures is truly someone who views family as a big personal value-- ALL of my agents are like this! I love it!

Claire is one of those girls who really doesn't fit into any one box: she plays Lacrosse and is a swimmer; but she also is really interested in art as well as photography (yay!) and spends her time volunteering at the elementary school, too!

It's clear that Claire has been a Virginia Tech fan for quite some time-- and if she doesn't end up there for school in a year I'm not sure what her family (or ME for that matter) will think! ;)

Claire also sent in a picture of her and her dog, Chico, who she got for her birthday last year. I'm pretty sure anyone who includes a picture of their pup gets a gold star in my book. And i'm certain Chico and Charlie need to meet one day very soon, don't you?! They look like they would be fast friends :)

I am really looking forward to having Claire as an Agent and I know she will be a great addition to the model team! Welcome to the Sarah Elle Photography family, Claire!!


Best,
Sarah

Senior Agent 007 | Hampton Roads Senior Portrait Photographer

Hi!

If you follow my facebook page you have seen me go on and on for forever about my Senior Agent program and my super fabulous #SEPagents! It's no secret I love this program and I am over the moon excited when I have a Senior portrait session on the books. But I realized that no matter how many times I use the hashtag: #SEPagent, everyone who follows the page may not know what exactly a Sarah Elle Photography Senior Agent actually is (or more importantly what they DO).

When I was in High School I didn't have my Senior pictures taken (except of course the formal one that went into the year book). To be honest with you I was completely ok with that. Senior pictures were taken and handed out to friends in wallet form (for the record there are TONS of new and BETTER products to pass out these days-- I'll be doing a product spotlight soon so stay tuned) and a few images were *sometimes* displayed at graduation parties-- but all in all it wasn't a huge deal in my area.

Working with my Seniors and Senior Agents today I'll tell you: my area was missing out on a LOT.
 

Senior portraits today are a BIG deal and are an incredible way to not only highlight what each Senior is about but also really pull out their creativity and create something...well...magical. There's hair, makeup, props, outfit changes, sometimes there's even a theme (these ones are the MOST fun!). Senior portraits often times even include specific locations- sometimes they are so elaborate that they take an entire afternoon/evening to shoot! I would even go so far as to say that Senior Portrait sessions today, at least for my gals, are pretty much like personalized modeling sessions.

 

 

See why I say my hometown missed out on a lot?!

Because of the high volume of interest today in Senior Portraits and the amount of work that goes in to each session I have found that it is REALLY helpful to have specific girls, hand-picked by yours truly, representing Sarah Elle Photography in their school. By having a Senior Agent model team that I know I can trust and who I feel are a good representation of what Sarah Elle Photography is all about, I can feel confident that they will encourage other Juniors/Seniors who would also be a perfect fit for my approach to Senior Portraits.

  

Each #SEPagent's job is to encourage their friends to book their Senior Portraits with Sarah Elle Photography. By hand-picking my Agents I know the folks they will encourage to book Senior Portraits with me will be the type of people who LOVE what I offer and LOVE the full glamour treatment.

 

My style of shooting Senior Portraits is to give my gals (and guys) the complete rockstar treatment [except fulfilling requests like having a bowl filled with JUST green M&Ms...I'm not that nice ;) ]. Remember how I said a lot of Senior Portrait sessions today are personalized model shoots? That's what I give to my Seniors. And that means whomever represents me likes that approach and will have no trouble talking about their experience with their friends (who, in theory, like that, too).

  

So, in short, the purpose behind my Senior Agent program is to find the perfect fit for Sarah Elle Photography and what my Senior Portrait experience represents and in turn, hopefully, connect with others who love that, too! Working with Seniors is about giving them the best experience-- one they never forget-- so finding a photographer who gives you what you're dreaming of is the goal-- and it's my goal to be that photographer.

  

So, if you're a current Junior or Senior in High School who wants that type of Senior Portrait experience be sure to get a hold of one of my #SEPagents to learn more about the Sarah Elle Photography Senior experience! And while you're at it give them a big high five for being so totally awesome as one of my Agents-- because seriously they are a fantastic bunch!

Best,
Sarah

 

 

A Call to Action | Hampton Roads Business Owner

Hi!

Earlier this week I had a mini wake-up call. One I have not, admittedly, completely ingrained into my psyche yet-but I'm getting there. (Did I say "psyche?!" Yes.... it's that deep of a wake-up call I guess *sigh*)

 

On Monday my mentor pointed out a glaring issue in my business approach.

I have no long-term, purposeful, planned, movements.

Meaning I do what I want, when I feel like it, when I want to do it.

Don't get me wrong: I most certainly think things through before I do them and think long and hard before I commit to stuff. If you've met me you know I'm a control freak (which for the record I think is harsh title to carry, mkay?) so I never just JUMP into decisions and I usually need like 17.5 people's opinions and "okay's" before I commit to big things.

But what I realized (thanks to it being pointed out to me with a huge HELLO road sign convo with my mentor) was that I am listless. If I have free time I work. If I have 30 minutes I spend it planning out things on Pinterest (sometimes things I have NO date set for yet). If I have an afternoon I'll work on packaging or website or blogging or editing or or or or or. If I have 10 minutes I'll check in on facebook and try to respond to messages.

If I have time I will ALWAYS sit down to work on SOMETHING.

 

But I shouldn't be working on SOMETHING. I should be working with purpose. I should be working with direction and an end-goal.

 

Sure, editing a session has an end goal: when I send the images off to the smiling happy face of my client :)

But I do not set boundaries on myself with my work hours and I do not prioritize my work tasks.

This is changing. NOW.

With set time frames to do work I will be FORCED to prioritize my tasks.

Owning a business and being the sole employee for that business means there is ALWAYS something that can be done (hence why when I have a free second I have always been able to fill it with things for the business). This also means there is ALWAYS room for improvement on something or growth in some aspect of the business. Which translates into me ALWAYS thinking about what I can do with the few minutes I have waiting on my husband to be ready to head out the door (and what can you really do with just a few minutes?). 

 

But without direction it's like walking your dog in a field full of squirrels-- nothing gets done and you're off on this chase trying to keep your dog in line where in the end you're just tired and didn't accomplish anything (except maybe the dog had fun...).

  

So here I am. Committing to myself and my business that I will be purposeful with my time. I will be organized and goal-directed with my tasks. I will have planned out work time with specific tasks for those times each day (these planned work times will also include planned breaks-- because SURPRISE I also have trouble telling myself to breathe). And I will be intentional in my planning and execution of all things in my business.

First step: Purchase a year long wall calendar (dry erase because I don't like to be wasteful) so that I can plan out my business goals WAY in advance and therefore have every piece of work I do be purposeful towards that goal.

 

The time has come to get my act together and let my act(ions) have purpose! Here goes!

(Wish me luck!)

Best,
Sarah

Any ideas you have for staying focused and being purposeful in your actions? I'd love to hear them! Share them below in the comments!
 

What I ordered :)



A Very Special Bea-A-B-Y | Personal | Hampton Roads Portrait Photographer

Hi!

Last week I had the absolute pleasure of traveling to Long Island, NY for a shoot. Yes, you read that right, I had a session in Long Island. For a portrait photographer in Virginia traveling to New York for a session is, at least to me, a pretty big deal.

I cannot tell you how excited I was to officially become a "traveling photographer!" 

Even more exciting? This session was the first time I would also meet my newest niece, Bea.

Yep, the people who requested MY services were my very own family (my step-sister to be exact). That is a huge compliment to me- they could have easily hired anyone in their state (or even a state next door!) but instead they requested me :)

I tried to explain that there were VERY capable people in Long Island and across New York city who could EASILY fulfill their newly-born photo request- someone perhaps who even SPECIALIZES in newborn photography and family portraits.
 

Because, as you all know, I am not one of those people.

But they insisted. And I, of course, couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet and capture 6 weeks new Bea, on camera.

Congratulations you guys and thanks bunches for making me a super cute niece ;)
It was well worth the trip through the city :)

Love,
Sarah

"Alice" | Stylized Shoot | Hampton Roads Senior Portrait Photographer

“There is nothing so very remarkable in that;
nor did Alice think it so very much out of the ordinary to hear the Rabbit say to itself
'Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!'

...but when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat pocket,
and looked at it, and then hurried on,
Alice startled to her feet...."

 

“If I had a world of my own everything would be nonsense.

Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn’t.

And contrary wise: what it is it wouldn’t be,

and what it wouldn’t be it would.

You see?”

 

"There is a place.
Like no place on Earth.
A land full of wonder,
mystery and danger!
Some say to survive it:
You have to be
MAD AS A HATTER.
Which luckily I am."

THE BIGGEST THANK YOU to....
Paper Goods: {Paper} Dolls Design

Dress and accessories: Bridal Boutique of Gloucestor

Cake and table design: Sugar with Vanilla

Cupcakes: Sweet Bite Cupcakerie

Chairs and Vintage Props: Folk Art by Christine

Tables: Southern Belle Custom Furniture and Decor

Hair: Markia Nicole MUA/ Hair Stylist
Makeup: Makeup by Vega

 ...and my good friend Tiffany, of Tiffany Joyce Photography for her unending help the day of the shoot and for helping me trudge all the furniture from here to the moon and back.

Best,

Sarah