Meet Sara Baurley | Freelance Photographer & Photo Assistant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sara Baurley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
When I first started assisting on photo sets, a photographer I was assisting at that time told me, ‘”Not every day can be a success, but we still have to try.” I think at the time, these words for more for himself because of the tricky photo brief we had to tackle that day, but I have since repeated these words to myself every day for the past year, and I even have it written on a sticky hanging in my bedroom as a constant reminder. Being in any creative field is a total roller coaster; on difficult days, it can be easy to forget why we are doing what we are doing. Quitting seems so much easier than trudging onwards. However, it is vital to reject this mindset and remember that just showing up and trying counts for a lot; it puts you one step closer to your next success. Be proud of yourself for trying, regardless of the result.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Most people who have not known me since high school may not know I started as a painter. I still love working with watercolors and paint commissions for pet portraits. However, in the summer of 2016, I took a road trip with my aunt in her RV to the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. This was my first time ever leaving my home state of Florida. My perspective of the world suddenly became bigger. I vividly recall hiking at Mount Mitchell State Park, where it smelt like Christmas trees in the air. I photographed every moment of it with my iPhone 6. Following that summer, when I returned to school, I showed my friends the photos to accompany the tales of what I did over the summer. Then, I realized these photos were not half bad, and I really enjoyed the process. I asked for a camera the following Christmas and got a tiny Canon PowerShot. Hiking is what brought me to photography, so that is what I continued to shoot up until college when I applied to major in photography with a concentration in documentary photography. I did not know what exactly documentary meant until I began my concentration classes, where I discovered my love for photojournalistic style shooting and telling photo stories. I also picked up a passion for food photography in a studio lighting class I took, which led me to the photo fellowship I did at Dotdash Meredith Food Studios, which shoots for many brands like Southern Living, Food & Wine, and Eating Well. At the studio, I thoroughly learned strobe lighting, which altered how I look at all light when photographing inside or outside the studio. Today I love when I can photograph a story that combines people and food, especially if any kind of outdoor landscape is involved too. Recently I have had several people tell me some of my food photos and landscapes look like paintings, which all go back to my roots as a painter. I have begun to emulate this painterly quality more intentionally in my recent work because it is what sets my work apart from others.

To revisit the part of the question regarding if it was easy to get to where I am today professionally, yes and no. Most of everything I just told you about my journey happened so naturally; however, it was a lot, but it did not feel that way at the moment. I still have just begun my career, and it is wild to think about all that is still to come. It can seem exhausting because most of the photo industry is just who you know and searching for the next best opportunity, but I have been fortunate with the way most things have just fallen into place. I do not come from a family of artists and had zero connections to the photo industry when I started.

The biggest lesson I have learned along the way goes back to my best advice: “Not every day can be a success, but you still have to try.” It is easy to get discouraged in this industry between comparing your work and success to others or being constantly told no. Just keep showing up, trying, and consistently producing work, even if not for a job. Personal work is so healthy for the creative process as a photographer and artist. Personal work also helps attract clients for new jobs and commissions. Creating brings joy, and overall, it is just good for you. Lastly, there will be a lot of nos, but you keep trying and exploring new avenues until you find the yes. How you react to the nos is more important than getting the yes.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
So I moved to my current city of residence, Atlanta, not too long ago, and I am still trying to discover my favorite places, but this is what I have found so far. I really love Piedmont Park, there is a spot in the park where the skyline reflects perfectly in the water, and it is so gorgeous there at sunset. I also really love Downtown Historic Marietta, which is just outside Atlanta. My favorite restaurant, Stockyard Burgers and Bones, is located there, which may sound weird to those of you who know me because I am a vegetarian. Still, the restaurant has a really great homemade veggie patty burger called “The Bohemian.” Not far around the corner is Sweetreats Marietta, my favorite dessert place so far; it is similar to Cold Stone’s style, where you mix your toppings with an ice cream base. I love to get the chocolate ice cream mixed with Nutella.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Multiple people have contributed to my success in each season I have walked through in my career thus far. In high school, it was my AP art teacher Mark Merrill; he taught me to always find joy in Jesus, others, and myself. He also introduced me to the golden section/ratio, or, as he calls it, “divine design,” which forever altered the way I create. While I was in college, I volunteered on the photo team at the church in my hometown, and their staff photographer, Justus Martin, really pushed me to go out of my comfort zone, from pushing my camera settings to entering and photographing various social settings I would have never entered on my own. He helped me gain confidence as a photographer in the field. During my photo fellowship at Dotdash Meredith Food Studios in Birmingham, Alabama, the year after graduating, I learned so much from working with all of the studio’s staff photographers. I am so grateful to each and every one of them. However, I must admit one photographer in particular, Fred Hardy, became the closest thing to a mentor I have ever had. He was always my biggest fan, pushing me to create new work and try new things and cheering me on when I did. He also showed me so many technical things that they do not teach you in photo school, from changing strobe lightbulbs to shooting silos. Lastly, I would not be where I am today without my relationship with Jesus.

Website: photographybysaramichele.com

Instagram: @sarabaurleyphoto

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-baurley-4593561a8/

Image Credits
Sara M. Baurley