We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sarah Cofer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sarah below.

Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I’m going to go with the biggest risk I’ve taken here. The biggest risk I ever took was walking away from my old life, and betting it all on myself to succeed. I went to school, majored in Photography, took the first job I could find out of college working for a small eCommerce company, and after a few years I left to do what I thought was start my own photography business. I ended up having my daughter soon after, and staying home with her while picking up the odd photography job here and there. I never truly found my niche, but I was happy enough at the time.

2021 brought so many changes and challenges to me. It was one of the hardest years I can remember, I faced things I never imagined I would have to, and at the end of it all – my marriage ended. I found myself on my own, a single mom, without much work history for the past several years, and no desire to take a corporate job. So, I did the only thing I could do: I risked it all and I bet on myself. I had to make it work, there was no other option – so I sat down and poured everything I had into building my business from basically scratch. I had a small portfolio, I had the skills, but I had no experience to back it up, and I felt so out of my element starting my own business – I really felt like I was putting it all on the line.

As for how it worked out? It was tough for a while, but I kept at it. I took every job that came my way, I started to branch out into content creation as well as photography, and I learned how to really market myself, my skills, and my business. After a year I can truly say it was the biggest risk I ever took, but it was the most rewarding. I found myself again, I finally took the faith and the dedication I gave to everyone else and turned it inward, and today, I have a successful creative business that I am truly proud of.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I always knew I wanted to be a photographer. Since I was really young, the idea and the process of capturing meaningful and beautiful photos was pure magic to me, and I dreamed of making it happen for myself. I went to college, because that’s what you do, right? Art school was fabulous for me, but it taught me to hone my craft, and not much about turning that craft into a lucrative career. I think maybe as part of my BFA I was required to take one business class? Business Practices In Photography, I think it was called. A little bit stuck, but at that point, at that age, it was all abstract to me.

When 2022 came around, and I was faced with starting my own business in order to succeed, one of the first jobs I managed to lad was with Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta running their social media accounts, & being the staff photographer. It was part time, but it was something! It renewed my belief in myself that I belonged in this world just the same as everyone else did, hell, I was even qualified to be here. I shot concerts, food photography, staff portraits, band promos, interior and lifestyle shots, whatever was needed – I did it.

I realized along the way that it’s not just about what you can do, it’s about showing people what your skills can do for them, and how they can benefit and impact their business. I always saw myself as a photographer – I love taking photographs of people, of their special moments, capturing them authenticly and as they are. I still do this every time the opportunity presents itself to me – but freelance photography is such an over saturated industry. I had to find a way to set myself apart.

Once I realized that simply dealing in portraits wasn’t the way I was going to make my living, everything changed for me. I began to offer more services in the form of content creation and social media management. It’s about building a brand and telling the world who you are – I try to give my clients that. I turned my business into a package deal – I give people more than just photos, more than just content – I give them a way to help continuously grow themselves, their businesses, and their brand.

My photography is about so much more than just the photo itself – anyone with a camera can take a portrait, but I want to give people authenticity in my images. I want to see beyond what’s in front of me, and capture the truth of someone or something. I want people to feel something when they see my photography. I give everything I have to each and every project I work on. I have shot almost every kind of photography you can think of. I shot a catalogue for a company that makes planters, I photographed Peachfest ’22 in downtown Atlanta, I’ve photographed baby showers, engagements, concerts, corporate events, and menus for restaurants. I try to find the energy underneath everything I take a picture of. It’s there, and you can capture it, but you have to be able to look beyond what you see. That’s what I try to bring to the table.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist and a creative is what I’m able to give to people. No matter what I’m photographing, or what kind of content I’m creating, I give it everything I have. When I’m able to bring someone true joy, when they see the work I’ve been able to create for them, or their business, and they can see the magic in it. Have you ever pictured something in your head, and when it finally comes to fruition it’s just..not the way you imagined it would be?

I want to capture what I photograph the way people see it in their minds. When a restaurant owner imagines how their food should look in a photograph, how just seeing the image might make people hungry, I want to give that to them. I want to take the best photos possible, and bring to life what they saw in their mind. When someone gets engaged, and they spend months or even years planning it, imagining that moment, what it’s going to be, visualizing it – I want to capture it just as beautifully as they saw it in their head. There;s magic in everything, even the mundane, you just have to know where to look to see it.

Seeing that recognition in people, getting to hear that joy from them, that it’s exactly what they pictured, that’s the most rewarding thing for me. There’s no feeling quite like it – and every time I manage to do that for someone it renews the drive and the passion I have for what I do.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson I’ve had to unlearn is one I internalized for myself: that I am not as good as everyone else, and that they have it all figured out. The imposter syndrome. I still wake up some days and feel like I’m out of my element, and that the people who hire me are going to realize I have no idea what I’m doing. I get nervous before every job I take, because I care so much about what I’m hoping to give people, and before I press the shutter button for the first time there is always a moment where I ask myself: can I really do this? Am I really good enough to be here?

But the truth is people have seen my work, they’ve spoken to me and put their trust in me. They believe I can do it, they hired me as a professional in my field based on the work I’ve already put forth. I remind myself of this, I push the button, and it clicks (ha). I am just as capable as others in my field. I know just as much as other professionals in my field. I am always striving to make myself better, to learn more, and to keep pushing.

And the more I talk to other creatives, the more I realize most of us feel this way. It always looks like other people have it figured out from the outside looking in, but we’re all just trying our best to make it, and we’re all full of the same doubts. The difference between someone who makes it and someone who doesn’t isn’t skill, or knowledge, or luck. It’s just the refusal to quit. The refusal to give in to those thoughts that tell you you aren’t good enough to be here. Just keep going.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sarahcofercreative.com
• Instagram: @scoferphoto
• Facebook: facebook.com/sarahcoferphotography