My name is Sarah Jean and I am a family and brand photographer in Irvine. I’ve been a photographer for over 15 years and over the last 8 years I have narrowed down my craft to focus on families and local businesses/brands in a fresh, new way.
When most people are looking for a photographer for their family photos, they expect to pick a location, wear matching/coordinated outfits, and then they may print their photos to hang on the wall or send them out in a holiday card each year. I’ve been in those photos with my family over the years and I don’t remember a whole lot from those photo shoots. I look back and I don’t have any memories attached to them, nothing to spark emotion other than “Oh man, I can’t believe my mom had us wear that!” or “Look at my awful haircut!” or “My brother never smiles for photos and always ruins it!”
The photos I do have from my childhood that elicit memories are the candid photos my parents took on disposable cameras and those 4×6 prints are in boxes in storage for me to flip through from time to time. When I look at the photos from one of my birthday parties growing up, I am transported back to that time and remember who I was friends with, what my interests were, what my personality was like, and what my relationship to my family members were. A problem with this is that my parents weren’t always in the photos because they were taking them.
So as I started to grow my business, I discovered the documentary/candid style of photography being applied to family photos and I was hooked! I decided that the goal for my business was to be a personal historian for my clients. All members of the family could all be in the frame but never posed and forced.
You may be wondering, why should I hire a professional photographer when I can take candid photos on my own? I can photograph your whole family in the frame, being their natural selves without stiff posing. I bring in a new perspective as a witness to your family dynamics which translates beautifully in photos. And finally, I bring the experience of over a decade behind a camera and an eager student who is constantly learning how to make my photographs better.
The two emotions I strive to capture in each session are Joy and Love. When my clients look back at the photos I took of them, I want them to see the joy and love they have for one another. You may not always see or feel those emotions but I can freeze those moments in time with photographs so that you may cherish them now and 30 years from now.
If you are looking for new family photos and want to try a new style, reach out! I would love to chat.
Find me on my website and on social media:
http://letspicturesomething.com/