Don't give up your day job!

A dilemma a lot of people in my position face is how to balance setting up a business with other commitments. Family, a day job, relationships, concern that the hobby you enjoy may get boring or creativity stifled, personal insecurities - they all play a part.

It's quite common for new businesses to start up in your spare time. It's reassuring to balance doing something you enjoy with a regular paid 'day job'. This is what I've been doing since setting up my business in 2008. I've had a nice steady stream of portrait work to build my confidence and experience, but never really had the time to devote to building the business further. Well, here's some Exciting news!

As of 1st June Photography will be my only 'work'. How great is that? A 'job' based on something you love so much... This was always part of my 5 year plan, but redundancy has helped me to make the leap now!

So, here's a little introduction for those of you who don't know me.

What defines you as an artist?
That's a difficult one. I guess it's my obsession with capturing the most magical moments in life. I'm rarely without my camera & in my spare time, I'm either photographing, editing photographs, planning days out to photograph or reading about photography.

Where do you live?
East Anglia

How does your place of residence influence your photography?
It's such a beautiful area of the country - surrounded by fields, rivers, beaches...what more could you want?

How did you get into photography?
I've always enjoyed taking photographs, but it wasn't until I got my first DSLR camera around 3 years ago that I got more serious about it. I've also spent the last 10+ years working in marketing where I spent a lot of time briefing photographers & shortlisting the best photographs for our advertisements etc. I think my experience from the client/business side helps me a lot with composition and to visualise not just what I see through the camera lens, but what I want to achieve with the final photograph.

Where did you learn about photography?
So much of this is about trial and error. Developing your own style, not just being taught someone else's way of doing it. Practice, practice & more practice.

In addition to this, I studied photography through the OU and Open College of Arts in my spare time, read a number of photography magazines regularly and spend a lot of time on flickr (where you can get support, advice and critiques whenever you need them).

Where do you get your inspiration from?
A smile on a child's face, the sun glinting through the trees, the sea washing up on the beach, a bird or flower in the garden... any moment of beauty can make me rush for my camera.

But most of all my own children.

What is your most treasured object in your studio?
My camera - A Canon EOS 5D.

What do you like best about your studio?
Plenty of room to develop it into a 'real' studio in the future. It's also quiet as the children rarely come in here.

What would you change about your studio?
It needs clearing out and organising. We moved here a year ago & we still have moving boxes in this room. A proper studio will mean I can take on more product photography work, too.

What role does your family play in your photography?
They are everything. The photography business should enable me to balance spending time with my children and generating an income doing something I love. If it wasn't for them, I would still be sitting in an office 5 days a week craving some sort of a creative outlet.

What other craft would you be interested in learning? Why?
I'm not sure. I've tried painting, drawing, design, jewellery making and don't really have the patience to knit. I'd love to do something with my hands - maybe clay sculpting? I've always wanted to try creating a large mosaic too.

What are your goals in respect to your business?
To make it a success without compromising my creativity.

What has been your most rewarding experience regarding your craft?
The smile on a mums face when I deliver her prints.

Anything else you'd like to add?
This blog entry marks the formal launch of Sarah Leigh Photography. I'm looking forward to the challenges ahead & hope that no-one says 'don't give up your day job', because I already have!

Wish me luck...

http://www.sarahleighphotography.co.uk/ a photographer based in East Anglia specialising in natural portraits of families and children. Feel free to post comments on this blog or contact me via my website. Any feedback about my blogs/website/photographs is gratefully received.