We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah Cummins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

Vacations are essential. While sometimes I travel to awesome locations for shoots and weddings and it feels like a vacation, my husband and I always make sure to book at least 2 trips a year. One for just the two of us and one for our kids. Sometimes we have more if possible. I believe it’s important to take breaks to reset your mind and body and we love making memories without our two young daughters.

Sarah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

A little about the business: I always loved the idea of photographic memories. When I was little I would sneak old photos of family members I had never met into my room and just stare at them: wondering about the person in the photo. It was so fascinating to me, even as a kid, that there was this paper memory of this person who wasn’t on the earth any more and the only way I could see them was by looking at the photo. My mom always had (and still does) lots of photos on the wall of me and my 3 sisters and now even more of her many grandkids. When I was in middle school I always wanted disposable cameras so I could take photos while at school or during special events. The anticipation of getting the film developed was like Christmas morning every time, so exciting.

Fast forward to the 11th grade (2006) I was on yearbook staff at my high school. I also played softball and tennis and was in multiple organizations so the yearbook teacher would let me take the Canon Rebel out to events to take the photos for the yearbook. That is when I realized I not only loved the photos themselves, but I love capturing photos on my own. I would sit at a tennis match and not only get the photos I needed for the yearbook, but I would also practice with my friends, kids playing on the playground, plants, trees, etc… My best friend and I would go to the library every afternoon and one day I told the librarian that I wanted to be a photographer. She proceeded to give me multiple books on wedding photography that no one ever checked out. (I still have those books almost 20 years later!) Thus started my “training”.

I devoured all the information I could. My senior year I followed a wedding photographer and his two assistants at a wedding and then after graduating I worked for another photographer in my home town. I learned a little photoshop while working for him behind the scenes in his studio. Then in 2010, my high school tennis partner asked me to do her wedding, and I did.

I continued my education into college, studying studio art and taking a few photography classes as well as getting some practice in taking photos for friends. I went full time in 2015 and have continued to grow in my knowledge of all things photography. I can honestly say that I love my job. I love making new photographer friends and learning and growing with them as well. There is always room to grow and I am so eager for it all and so excited to see where this road continues to lead me.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being creative?

The people. Meeting new people who are in all walks of life and getting to capture their special moments. I love them all. All makes and models. I have captured everything from couples celebrating their engagement, new parents holding and feeding their newborn in the hospital or in their home, 50th birthdays and 50th wedding anniversaries, and weddings. So many weddings. I have witnessed weddings of many different religions and cultures, I have flown across the country to photograph an elopement. I also flew to Utah recently to capture an amazing maternity session for a friend. Each person I have the honor of photographing is so special and unique and it is absolutely amazing to be chosen by so many people to capture such joy and sometimes sadness in their lives. They open up their world and let me in. I become part of their family and sometimes friends for life. Seriously, I don’t say it enough. I love this job.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

For a lot of people the past couple years have been super hard. The pandemic put a damper on a lot of things and a photography business was certainly one of them. 2019 was my peak year. I did 37 weddings and it was amazing. I was on top of the world. When the world shut down in 2020, not only was no one booking, I actually had couples requesting refunds because they had changed their plans. Although I did have a few weddings and sessions that year, it hurt financially. We were not alone in this burden. Tons of people were affected by it, and even though my husband was able to keep working his remote job, we ended up having to make the sacrifice of moving in with his dad, just to relieve some of our financial burdens. Things slowly got a little better and we were able to purchase a house and shortly after that we welcomed our second child. In May of 2021 my dad became very ill and moved in with us so we could care for him. We lost him in July. It was a very difficult time for me and I really struggled juggling my grief and two very active kids.

I still struggle a little with my emotions, however, 2022 has brought so much joy. We were able to purchase our dream/forever home and business is booming again. I have gained a new outlook on life and can only describe it with a very well known acronym. YOLO.

I am getting inquiries for sessions and weddings almost on a daily basis and it feels so good to be active again and doing what I love. I have a very supportive husband and we believe that even though we are a married couple, we still are individuals and have different interests. He loves racing cars and going to heavy metal concerts, and I love going to new exciting places to take pictures and am sometimes gone for days. That’s why we make sure to take those vacations I mentioned. Life is good.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sarahdillerphoto.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sdphotographs/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahDPhotos