I love photography

Feeling pretty technically unsavvy right now. I'm new to this bogging world, and learning as I go! I've thought about starting one of these up for a while now, but (even though I talk a lot, just ask my husband!) I think I might not have too much to say...
Hopefully, that will change as I get settled in here. So, since I have no idea what I'm doing, anyone got any pointers for me??

Well anyway, here's a little bit about me:
My name is Sabrina Stanford. I worship an awesome and powerful God. I have a beautiful family that I'm very proud to be a part of. I love my job and hope to share some of that love on here. I love to learn and hope to also share some of my trails and errors and learning experiences as well.

I studied art in college and have been addicted to it ever since high school when I had the best art teacher ever. I wonder if she knows the effect her teaching has had on my life. Photography is the perfect outlet for my addiction since it's a comparatively quickly satisfying media and is actually marketable. I've tried to sell everything from paintings to ribbon belts (don't ask), but nothing I've tried so far has as much market value as the blessed media of photography.

In art school, they make you read a book called "The Art Spirit," which is a wonderful read, but in which the famed art educator Robert Henri says “I am interested in art as a means of living a life; not as a means of making a living.” But that was written before photography was around and people wanted family portraits done at Olan Mills every year. Photography as an art form, is a little more market friendly than costly and time consuming oil paintings. So, against the advice of Robert Henri, I'm giving it a try and so far, it's been SO exciting and fulfilling and absolutely wonderful for me. "Henri is right. Making art is a tough way to make a living, I can already tell how much other (non-artsy) work is involved, blogging for example.. also, SEO and advertisement and website upkeep and print ordering and customer service and computer maintenance... the list goes on. But, Henri also said that “Art is, after all, only a trace – like a footprint which shows that one has walked bravely and in great happiness.” So far, with my little business, I've been trying to be very brave and I've certainly had some great happiness. This is a picture that seems like a "trace" to me. It just makes me happy, too. This reminds me of those little moments in life where beauty just seems to bubbling up and overflowing everywhere and all I can do is sigh and think "ah, this is life." Does anyone else have those??

This is another BIG reason why I love what I do: My sweet, 22 month old baby girl. Being a family photographer means that I can stay home with her during the week and can leave her at home with her wonderful dad for a couple of hours on the weekends to do photography sessions and I can get the rest of my work done during her naps times or those rare and wonderful times when she's playing by herself without getting stuck under a chair or testing out what a mascara brush feels like on various parts of her body. It's extremely difficult to try to balance running a business (small though it may be) and juggling the home/wife/mother responsibilities. When I need to work, it's tough to focus if I know there's a sink full of dishes in the kitchen or when the mommy guilt is full force because we haven't done a weekly craft yet and it's already Wednesday (gasp!) And when I want to stack blocks and listen to Audrey's version of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," it's hard not to think about the people who are waiting to see how their photographs turned out. But, enough complaining... it's truly rewarding to see this little spiky haired thing smile at me, trust me, snuggle with me, and let me nibble on her little toes everyday. We have a lot of fun together. And come on, I know I might have mommy goggles, but how can you resist those beautiful eyes?? I love the textures in this picture too...

One last reason why I love what I do: the people! My clients blow me away. I believe that every person we come into contact with is in our lives by Divine appointment. God sets up the meetings! He matches the personalities and life experiences so we can learn from or encourage each other. When I grasped this wonderful concept, I realized that for every person I meet, there is either something I can give or something I can learn from. I strive to never let an appointment be in vain. Aside from that, I love that I get to share in the exciting things in people's lives. These engagement pictures were a birthday present for the bride to be from her fiance. Double celebration! I'm kind of a dork when it comes to celebrating, for example, color coordinating my wardrobe with minor holidays. I'll never forget the sarcastic tone in my best friend's voice as she commented on the fact that I was all decked out in green for St. Patrick's Day. "You should be an elementary school teacher." Anyway, the little landmarks in our lives are special and intimate, and I feel privileged to be part of memorializing those precious things in people's lives. Photography offers a unique way to get to know people and to appreciate who they are, and I've certainly enjoyed getting to know my clients thus far.

So, that's it. A little bit of why I love my job. There's lots more, but maybe I should take this blogging thing step by step! I know photographers are a dime a dozen nowadays, but I'm living, loving and learning so we'll just have to see what happens against the odds.

And I thought I wouldn't have anything to say....

check out my website: stanfordphotography.photoshelter.com