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

 



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

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

My First Time | Hampton Roads Personal Blog

Hi!

It's 8 days in to the new year and with all the holiday's and family time and irregularity of my schedule I realized it's been way too long since I wrote a personal blog post to you all! (almost three weeks too long, in fact! In case it's been too long to remember my latest personal post can be found here.) So I started thinking about what I could write about and what was going on with me that anyone would want to hear about. It hit me that maybe what you wanted to hear about was a little less on my mind than what I NEED to get out into the universe. So here goes...

 

You see, over the holiday's (right before we left for Christmas, actually)we learned that my husband's car is... how do I put this gently... on its way out. :(

 

The day before we were set to leave to see family for Christmas my husband took his 16 YEAR OLD Honda to get an oil change. That's how these things always start you see.... it's something normal, and every day, and nothing unusual and then BAM they tell you that you need $1200 worth of repairs or you have to give up your first born or something dramatic like that. The catch here was that back in July/August my husband's car needed $1,000 in repairs and at that time I made the FATAL MISTAKE of saying "Ok, we'll fix it this time but if it needs another large repair like this I think it's time to just buy a new car."

 

WORDS. OF. DEATH!

 

So here we are, 4 months later, and I'm eating my words.

 

Dislike.dislike.dislike.dislike.dislike.

 

The realization that we will be buying a new car triggered some MAJOR ANXIETY in me- anxiety I haven't felt since ooooh maybe my wedding day? Haha Yes, it was that momentous of a feeling for me. We haven't had a car payment in a number of years- since college, I think- and to be honest with you I have NEVER purchased a car in my life. My first, and only, and CURRENT car was my grandfathers and was handed down to me when he passed. So to think about 1. Financing a car and even worse 2. PICKING a car felt like just too much for me.

 

Picking my husband was easy. There was no choice in my eyes- he simply is and was the man for me. No question (some anxiety, sure, but weddings and marriage hold a lot of pressure and that's a lot to put on yourself...but I digress). But buying a car? PICKING a car?! There's a bagillion and two options out there and once you narrow down which KIND you want (SUV vs. sedan vs. GIANT TRUCK) you then have to choose which size you want. Four doors? Two doors? Butt warmers (totally want those, by the way!)? Navigation? Chrome wheels? V6? V8? (Who even knows what those mean???) Mid-size SUV? Giant, take-the-whole-soccer-team-to-tryouts SUV?

 

The. Options. Are. ENDLESS.

 

And, at least for me, that's completely nerve-wracking. I don't know enough about the car world or car parts to truly understand everything I'm looking at and that makes me nervous. Nervous because when talking to a sales person I don't know enough- I'm not knowledgeable enough- to refute or agree with what they're telling me. So I'm not a fan of this whole process.

 

My husband loves it. John is all for researching and all for going for test drives and all for ME being a part of the process. We've already been to two dealers and we're nowhere near finished. Don't get me wrong: I absolutely appreciate that John wants me to be a part of it and wants me to be involved in this big decision but let's face it: I am not a fan of this! Haha

 

So, if anyone has any SUV's they LOVE (yes, we've at least determined we're headed in the SUV direction) and absolutely would encourage their mother to buy, let me know! And even more important: if you see me out at one of the 1,000 dealerships in the Hampton Roads area, STOP BY AND SAVE ME!

 

Wish me luck!
Best,
Sarah

p.s. I'm sorry, for some reason the internet doesn't want to let me post a picture with this blog today :( So lots of pictures next time!

We Might Not Have Kids | Hampton Roads Personal

Hi.

 John and I have been married for over two years now and all around us friends and cousins and friends of friends and cousins of friends etc. are having kids. Some are having that magically exciting first baby and some are having that incredibly blessed 2nd or 3rd or 4th child. And, like asking "how are you" when you see someone on the street, we, as newlyweds, always get asked "when are you having kids?" We get asked together, we get asked individually, and even our families get asked.

It's a natural progression right? First comes love...then comes marriage...then comes... Sarah with a Yorkie in a sweater?! Well that doesn't seem quite right ;)

People are not being rude when they ask it. It's a natural question like asking if you want a drink with your meal: when will you have kids?

But here's the truth that shocks almost everyone who asks: WE MIGHT NOT HAVE KIDS.

 The answer we always give in some form or other to the question of "having children": we're not sure yet and frankly we haven't decided yet if we are going to have them at all.  Most folks try really hard to avoid the next question but without fail it finds its way out: But WHY?! Why wouldn't you have kids? How could you not want them? Or how could you just not have them?

 I always giggle a little at this point because by now I know it's coming and it's almost as if I'm a mind reader (which is why i laugh).

 But here's the truth: We're selfish. We really really enjoy taking trips together and buying each other useless ridiculous things (like the tablet John bought me for my birthday or the drum heads I'm buying him for his birthday). We like to be able to go out to dinner or take an overnight to Cape Charles at the drop of a hat simply because we "feel like it." We like being lazy and simply not doing laundry or going grocery shopping today because we're tired (definitely can't be neglectful with a kid to care for). We like building our life together as a DUO. And the whole truth? We're still figuring each other and this whole "marriage thing" out.

 We haven't completely counted out the possibility of children and frankly I know deep down that knowing (or believing) I have that choice is extremely important to me. I like being in a place in life to choose if right now is the time I want to bring a child in to our world.

 Being a mother is a LOT of pressure. Raising someone and having only yourself to blame for their upbringing and their well-being is super scary to me! I don't want to mess that up! I SINCERELY and HUGELY applaud all moms and dads out there- serious kudos and props and applause and encouragement to you for taking on that incredible and selfless life choice- I am truly humbled by you.

 But we're simply not there yet. We're selfish. I've said it. You can say it too-- it won't hurt my feelings if you feel that way based on our choice. But I'm happy I know that about me- happy I know that about us- happy WE know that about us. John and I are fortunately on the same page with this and maybe one day... in 3 or 4 or 5 years we'll have turned a few pages and found ourselves on the chapter entitled "Our Crazy Beautiful Life with Kids." Or maybe we'll never find ourselves at that chapter- I simply don't know right now (sometimes we joke about getting to be the cool aunt and uncle who spoil our nieces and nephews).

 But until then I fully intend to continue to enjoy our life as a duo (with Charlie Dog in tow) and appreciate the beautiful, patient, loving, supportive, and amazing man I get to call my husband- a man I get to learn more about each day I wake up next to him.

 I hope to one day be "ready" to raise a child (however ready someone can be for that) but today is not that day. And for now... I'm happy with that.

Best,
Sarah

Not What You Think | Hampton Roads Little Known Facts

Hi!

The other day I was talking to a fellow 'tog friend about photography business names and it came out that "Sarah Elle" is, in no way shape or form, my actual name. Cue the: tires screeching, cars crashing, heads whipping around whaaaaat?!

It's true. My name isn't Sarah Elle. My last name isn't "Elle." My middle name isn't "Elle." My maiden name isn't even "Elle." 

Truth:

I MADE IT UP.

Ok ok ok before you STONE ME for being an imposter let me explain:

As a lot of you probably already know my background and formal education is in clinical mental health counseling. When I was working with clients I was encouraged to change my online presence to anything but my first and last name so that it limited the ability for clients to "find me." Not a bad decision considering the goal of counseling is to help others through their own life struggles without bringing your own personal stuff in to it.  (And, truth be told, I have had clients find me on some of my other social networks; like LinkedIN)

So, years ago as I thought about changing my "online" persona to my real middle name, Elizabeth, I decided that was too easy and too boring and that I was going to be "more creative." I finally convinced myself that "Elle" was short for "ELizabeth" and thus Sarah Elle was created.

When I opened my photography business I liked the idea of a creative name and since I had already "created" one I decided to go with it! Lots of folks assume it's my middle name or even my maiden name but in reality it's just me with a twist ;)

So, there you have it. It's true, I'm not who you think I am. I mean, well, I'm still ME but my name isn't what you think it is. But it's not meant to be a secret- just...no one has ever asked before "WELL, WHY SARAH ELLE?" So I decided I'd just tell you myself!

There it is; the big mysterious history behind "Elle."

Best,
Sarah

And since we're talking about history and where Sarah Elle came from I thought I'd dig up this rockin' picture of me and my sister and show you a bit more of where I came from.
 I'm the ham on the right ;)