Life & Work with Sarah Reeves of Gardner, KS

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Reeves

Sarah, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started becoming interested in photography when I was a kid. My parents had an old Minolta film camera, and any time we would go to my grandmother’s farm I would wander around her property and take photos of everything! Her flowers, the wheat growing in the fields surrounding her farm, the chickens pecking at feed, random barns, etc. I loved the idea of taking photos and then waiting for them to come back from the lab. It sparked an interest in me. Fast forward to high school and Myspace became a thing. That was honestly where the spark turned into a flame. I got my first DSLR camera, a Nikon D50, and the selfies and photo shoots with friends started flowing out of me. I loved editing the images, and of course this was when I was going through a very emo phase of life (iykyk), so there were a lot of images with selective color editing going on. The first real paid photo shoot I ever did was for my best friend’s senior photos in 2007. After that, I started photographing my sisters’ families as they started growing, and then next thing I knew I was shooting weddings. Everything kind of just fell into my lap at that time, and the experience grew over time. I made a lot of mistakes and hardly knew what I was doing at first, but I knew I loved it and started finding more experienced photographers to help educate and mentor my growing business. Eventually my husband joined in and we were shooting weddings together full time. We loved that season of life, but once we started having our own children my perspective started to shift, and I desired a much slower pace of life. Fast forward to today, I am shooting for a few local publications that highlight local businesses, which I find so fun, and I adore photographing growing families! I’ve spent a lot more time shooting for myself, and creating work that really sparks joy! I love how photography always grows alongside you, and it will be a part of me for the rest of my life!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have definitely been several struggles along the way. When I started shooting, Instagram and smart phones were not a household product yet. It was very easy to stand out and feel creative and separated out from the masses, but as social media grew, my pride grew and my self worth diminished. I had such a hard time comparing myself to other photographers that I lost site of who I was. I would get crushed when other photographers got more likes than me who seemed to just start their journeys, or had “prettier” sessions or events than I did. I cringe even thinking about how much that used to effect me. If I could go back, I would have told my younger self to keep pushing through, keep posting work that makes me proud even if it didn’t follow the trends, and know that above all else someone trusted ME to photograph them and that is such an honor!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I specialize in portrait photography, but I don’t really put a limit to that. If a new photography opportunity arises and I feel called to do it, I will. I feel like I am really more known for my effectiveness and gentle presence brought into each session. I try so hard to come into a shoot ready to read each personality from baby to adult, do my best to make them feel comfortable in whatever way they may need, and then shoot second. The photos come much easier when you have trust built first, and it is my absolute favorite thing to receive praise from the client after the shoot saying how much they enjoyed our time together! I also love when they receive their image gallery and cannot believe the diverse amount of images we were able to capture in such a small window of time! I am really most proud of how I make people feel during a shoot!

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My mother let me have her Minolta film camera that I first started on, and she helped me buy my first DSLR camera. She was the first person to really believed in me from the start! She gave me the tools and the freedom to be creative, and I am forever grateful for that! My husband has always been a huge part of this journey as well. He educated me on the business side of things (all you creative people out there will understand!) and he has always been the person that gives me my greatest confidence. He has literally been alongside me in so many different ways since I very first started and continues to be my voice of reason when I lose mine from time to time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://reevesphotoco.com
• Instagram: reevesphotoco