End of Year Greetings from the New Studio!
If you’ve not been following along on my journey to portrait photographer, you can start here.
Greetings Friends!
Not long after receiving my first dSLR Camera and teaching myself to take photos of flowers in my homemade studio, our kids all flew the nest. My husband and I decided to pack up and move to SF so that I could study and immerse myself in all things photography. Immerse I did!
In 2005 I started Sweet Light Studios and found myself “Living in the Dream”!
Wait, what?
Yup, we got a live/work loft when we landed in SF – super high ceilings, huge northern light window, the perfect space for a photo studio. We built a super tall background stand to roll down the seamless paper with the touch of a button, hung lights and projectors up to use in all kinds of photoshoots downstairs, and lived upstairs in a tiny little “apartment” bedroom (with our cat – that hardly anyone knew existed).
My husband must really love me.
While there I was able to study with loads of photographers, tried out almost every genre available, and got my “piece of paper” (ie I graduated from the New York Institute of Photography).
Doing everything I could to gain experience included working for museums, assisting on commercial photo shoots in media studios, practicing and photographing everything I could in my home studio.
I shot everything from cupcakes and cosmetics to shoes and electronics, toys, commercial still life, models, and chia pets for clients and magazines.
I even had the honor of photographing a couple of celebrities along the way.
When it came time I even did a quick stint at the JCP Portrait center to learn all I could about flow posing & family portraiture, “holiday rush” style, while studying makeover portraiture with Sue Bryce — Wow, I learned so much along the way!
Well, that couldn’t go on forever. After ten years of residency in our Live/Work loft, the slow realization that I could not escape work set in.
There was little downtime unless we left the apartment for the day. I was burning out from the pace of city life and work.
Serendipity came along one day just when I needed it, and a friend said “hey, I know this really nice space down the hall from me here in SSF you might like”. There you go, I landed the space & with the help of my new “studio mate” we moved the studio to SSF, and magic was made.
Not living in the space I worked was really liberating, I could focus on other things in my world and started “Living the Dream”.
Not long after moving the studio out of our home, we decided to leave the big pricey city and move house to Oakland. We found a detached single-family dwelling with a yard and a garage so I could work from home, allowing my studio mate to have time in the studio while I shot product at the same time!
What I did not realize at the time was that the commute was going to be such a drag – 1.5 hours in traffic to get 25 miles? Eesh!
Apparently, I have no temper for traffic, people who cut in line or cheat, and rudeness.
I’m a smart girl & not really one to give up easily, so, I tried taking the BART. While I didn’t have to drive, I was still stressed from the commute, always having to look over my shoulder to be safe, crunched in like cattle. Little by little, session by session my work became not so fun.
I started promoting my product photography more and more in order to stay home.
I was kind of miserable from that “Oakland way of life”.
The good thing about Oakland was living in our own space with fresh air & a backyard that allowed me to take up gardening again. We grew radishes, lettuces, green beans, tomatoes, and flowers. I had given all that up when we originally left home for the Big City. Watching the seasons change, the birds sing and dance in the comfort of our own backyard was so lovely.
My Grandma always said, “Look for the Good – it’s in Everything.” I’ve learned so much!
What I learned from living in the big cities:
- Always secure your wallet before leaving a payment area
- Walk with your head held high, be observant of the folks around you
- Keep your dream in your heart and hold your agenda as a prioraty
- Listen for the scilence between the sounds
Dream as if you’ll live forever. The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams
Oprah Winfrey
My goal is to work with you to create amazing images!
Call today for a consultation on working together to create your powerful new images and let me help you “See Yourself in a New Light, in a Sweet Light”.
Wishing you a Sweet day!
XOX,
She
Schedule a Session of your own at Sweet Light Studios at your site. Contact Shelah today!
Phone: 1+415/409.9389 | eMail: Shelah@SweetLightStudios.com
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& BTW, We’re Right Nextdoor, too!
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