Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophie Crew.
Sophie, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I love babies! There was a time, years ago, when becoming a professional baby photographer was just a dream. Getting to hang out with these little cuties as a profession? Crazy talk! Yep, the expression ‘I love my job’ doesn’t even begin to explain it…
My photography career started when my first daughter, Ava, was born 11 years ago. I wanted to capture her perfect, tiny little newborn essence before it was too late. This was way back when I didn’t even own a ‘real’ camera or knew what I was doing in any way. With no photography education, I picked up my point-and-shoot pocket camera – you know, what we have now replaced with iPhones – took my sweet newborn Ava, placed her on my bed with her girlie-colored blankets, and started to pose and photograph this beautiful little girl.
I remember deciding with confidence ‘Ha, I don’t need to hire a professional newborn photographer, I can do this myself’…
Well, it turns out, I was terrible.
Lighting, posing, angles, details. Yuck. I mean, as a mom, those images were beautiful, and I will cherish them forever, but professional? Haha, no. I really should have not said the above line… with confidence, lol.
But that was my “click” moment. I was so in love with what could be created and captured forever in newborn photography that I decided to learn more. So I got a better camera, learned about lighting, exposure, posing, and handling, and began photographing my friends’ newborn babies. Then I photographed friends of friends’ newborn babies. As time passed, I gained the confidence to turn my passion and hobby into a profession.
And Sophie Crew Photography was born.
My career as a High School French teacher came to a halt, and I dove right into the most amazing, rewarding and sweet career ever… capturing your precious newborn babies, and beautifully freezing time just for a second, before they grow any older.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
My profession is more like a dream than anything. Imagine being able to snuggle newborns all day! Pretty awesome, right!? Ok, there’s a little more to it than that, but as a newborn photographer, my job is to capture those precious first moments, those tiny details, those curly, snuggly little bodies for my clients. Those first few weeks of having a newborn at home is crazy. Parents are so in love yet, so sleep deprived, and everything goes so fast. Newborns change so much within those first few weeks. These little squishy, adorable tiny humans begin to wake up more and more each day, and grow like crazy! My job is to freeze that moment in time.
What do you know now that you wished you had learned earlier?
Ahhh, there are so many things I have learned over the course of my nine years in business. I think the most important thing to remember is that we are always learning, growing, adjusting. Being self-employed can be challenging. For me, I do it all. I’m my marketing person, my human resources person, my accountant, my editor, and my photographer. It can get exhausting to juggle it all but keep sight of what’s important, what keeps you going. For me, it’s the passion of being able to create art for my newborn clients for them to keep and pass down through generations. Knowing that I have created this for my clients – something so timeless and precious – makes me realize how lucky I am to be able to do what I do.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
My portfolio can be viewed on my website www.sophiecrewphotography.com but to keep up with current work, with almost daily sneak peeks of San Diego’s newest tiny humans, follow the Facebook page at @SophieCrewPhotography and Instagram @sophiecrewphotography
Of course, I’d love to give you a personal tour of the newborn studio (by appointment), so feel free to reach out to me for a tour!
Contact Info:
- Address: Sophie Crew Photography
9730 Cuyamaca St.
Suite C.
Santee, CA 92071 - Website: www.sophiecrewphotography.com
- Phone: 619-742-9778
- Email: info@sophiecrewphotography.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/sophiecrewphotography
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/SophieCrewPhotography
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/sophiecrewphoto
Image Credit:
Sophie Crew Photography
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