Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Easter.
Sara, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started doing photography when I was in high school (way back in the days of film and darkrooms) and absolutely loved the storytelling aspect of it. When I went to college, I stuck with it as a major for a while before feeling called to social work. Long story short, I got a Master’s degree in Social Work and used it up until I had three kids under five at home. At that point, I decided to make my long time hobby and side gig of photography full time, work from home opportunity.
Originally I did the typical family portrait that everyone was doing. I did well and even got to the point that I regularly had more work than I could keep up with (or wanted). However, I was originally trained in photojournalism and that’s where my interest really was. I was taking documentary-style photos of my own family and those were the ones I’d get the best feedback from online. I decided to start offering “Day In the Life Sessions” in 2015. I would go to a client’s home and just hang out while they went about their normal lives. I’d capture them doing all the “regular “ stuff that was part of their lives, but they never thought to document. The end result would be a type of time capsule that they could look back on and see what that period was really like. In 2018 I decided that this style of work, Documentary Family Photography, was what I truly loved and started offering it exclusively.
I also started a photo project in 2017 entitled Sheltered. The project combines my background in Social Work with photography. The project documents families living in local area homeless shelters from the perspective of documentary family photography. To date, I’ve been able to follow three families and the project is ongoing. It has been featured by GoodmorningAmerica.com, InsideEdition.com, MSN.com, and in Fort Worth and Click Magazines.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s taken me a little while to find my style and place in photography. I started doing what I saw everyone doing and it honestly worked for me. However, it never felt right. Once I made the switch to documentary-style photography, it all felt right. I work less, I don’t shoot as much, and the truth is I don’t make as much as when I did regular family portraiture, but I love that I feel more connected with the work I do make and I am free to work on personal projects that I feel called to.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I think what I’m most known for is capturing the beauty in real life. I’m drawn to moments that make me laugh or cry. I try to find the things in the mundane that you may take for granted until you see them from someone else’s point of view. This may look like a mom kissing a scraped knee, a dad wrestling with kids after work or the family’s bedtime routine. I try to document things that will change over time as families grow and change. Lots of families get portraits taken (including mine), and they are wonderful to have, but I pride myself on offering families another option as well. I hope that when they look back over their session with me, they will see just how beautiful their real lives are and how much they deserve to be documented as well.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
For me success is if my work makes me happy if I can’t wait to get home after a session and go through my images. I want to feel challenged and I love that no session is the same with this type of photography. And honestly, if a family has at least one photo from their session that they absolutely love and feels captures who they are then I’m happy!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.saralizphoto.com
- Phone: 8274541754
- Email: saralizphoto@yahoo.com
- Instagram: @saralizphoto
- Facebook: SaraLizPhotography
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