We were lucky to catch up with Lacey Sombar Curtis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lacey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

When I was 16 years old I learned how to use my mother’s Nikon 35mm camera while in high school. We worked only with film and developed it ourselves in the darkroom. Once I was in the process of earning my BFA in photography at the University of Georgia, I was taught a lot more of the in-depth and complex components of photography, like photoshop, light meters and strobes, and film development processes like creating contact sheets, color correcting using dials on a darkroom enlarger and printing with a C41 machine. These fine art features of my undergraduate courses only solidified my love for photography.

After graduation I took on a part-time job photographing newborns in hospitals while simultaneously living my dream working as an assistant with professional interiors photographer, Emily J. Followill. A combination of the two of these jobs built my professional foundation, enabling the start of my career. I worked on learning the basic mechanical parts of a camera while shooting for families in labor and delivery wards, and learned how to control larger lighting equipment such as power boxes for strobes and softboxes while on shoots with Emily. She also taught me how to interact with high-end clientele and the fundamentals for how to shoot a room by hiding distracting things like lamp cords, blinds, and faking depth of field by moving furniture and accessories. Less exciting, but very important, she taught me how to set up and break down equipment without scratching nice hardwood floors or tripping over laptop stands!

The most important lessons I learned were how to handle expensive equipment and how to interact with affluent clients and their property or products. There isn’t a lot of room for error because photo equipment and accessories are expensive so they must be handled with care. I always treat the things around me on photoshoots with extreme caution because most likely they are out of my price range if I scratch or break anything. I always had the eye for photography but needed a lot of training on the technical aspects of shooting. Knowing camera basics and how to light your subject matter is critical for expanding your career because it allows for a wider variety of shooting environments.

The only thing that stood in my way was myself. I had a huge amount of anxiety and fear of failure and lack of confidence in my skills. If I was less fearful of the field I probably would have reached for bigger jobs sooner, like studio or corporate work for catalogues and websites. Although my fears held me back, they really only made me a little late to where I was going all along. God has walked alongside me in my journey and I can say I have learned A TON so far and my career is just beginning to blossom.

Lacey, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was always on track to be a photographer, I just didn’t know it! I was in school for fine arts beginning at the age of 12 and it was through UGA that I was connected with several professionals, including photographer Emily Followill. I interned with her as a photography assistant and then she offered me a part-time position after I graduated. I also worked part time with a company who photographs newborns. Through these two avenues I made lifelong friendships in the photography world and established long-term clients in the home interiors world. 100% of my work was established through word-of-mouth and on location connections.

A lot of the time I am shooting products for textile designers and shop owners and when my interior design clients are finalizing projects I photograph those homes for their portfolios and potential publication opportunities. Sometimes there is lifestyle work mixed in because my clients need portraits of themselves for their published features or someone may model jewelry or hold objects for scale.

I am fortunate enough to work with insanely talented artists who specialize in fields like graphic design, drawing, painting, interior design, and marketing. They carry the vision for what it is they want to create and I help them portray this by capturing a photo of their hard work. They have done all of the developing, storytelling, and production but they need me to advertise their product to be able to sell or display it to others. On my end it is not as simple as shooting it and it’s done. My job is to make sure their work of art still looks like art in a photograph. I ensure it is not dull, flat, uninviting, plain, distracting, or even an afterthought. My job is to glorify their product by enhancing it with light and color – make it magical, make it captivating, make it stand out. Color and lighting can make people feel all kinds of ways so I direct them to feel excited, intrigued, and happy about the client’s work.

I am extremely proud of how far I’ve come because when I first started I felt like a baby giraffe that didn’t know how to walk on its own stilt legs. I wobbled through the first 10 years of my career and am just now beginning to walk more confidently in my knowledge of how to light subjects properly and how to make authoritative decisions on what I need to make the shoot successful. Another huge achievement has been paying down debt that I collected over the last decade. It was a ball and chain for me and really held me back from investing in my own business. It wasn’t until recently (the last 2 years) that I’ve been able to fully fund my equipment and not take on additional debt. It’s truly liberating!

For anyone interested in having work or property photographed, it is most important for me to share that I have an extensive background in fine art so my approach and process to work is based on this. Even though this is a fast paced field, I give my best work the most detailed attention. I study the environment, I ask questions, I learn about the owner and how they wish to be portrayed . Every detail of a project is important to me – the character, the process in which a product is made, and the function are all critical. My preference is to shoot everything as naturally as possible and only incorporate lighting to enhance the setting. Yes, photoshoots are made to perfect an image but I also like to capture things in a cinematic way, making the viewer feel as if they are in the moment and that it feels good. I also do not enjoy quick and dirty work. Even though I work for lots of artists, I myself am an artist and I like to work in such a way that encompasses my values and work ethic.

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

Looking back, there were several jobs that I did not enjoy but they were critical in my growth and development. My very first professional photography job was shooting in hospitals for families with newborns. I was and still am an introvert so knocking on door after door and advertising my services as a newborn photographer was painful! This 100% commissioned based work was also challenging because I was not the most comfortable handling babies. It was my job to swaddle and position them and hope that they weren’t starving or gassy! I had to shoot with a hot shoe flash which is a speedlight attached to your camera. I had no idea what I was doing and hospital rooms are notoriously dark and lit by fluorescent lights. I was required to do the same tasks repeatedly every day for two years. I hated this job but it truly formed the foundation for my career as a photographer. It forced me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to learn the very basics of cameras and how to use them quickly. I did not leave this job until I had new work lined up. I had no idea that I needed two years to solidify these skills but I stuck it out anyways and realized later the importance of that journey.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish that I had reached out for help from local photographers with more experience but I also wish that more Facebook groups had existed back when I started because they have been very helpful and supportive in understanding technical issues and inspiring me to do more personal work. I’ve been able to see the breadth of photography enthusiasts – people desiring to leave their desk jobs for a view behind their own lenses and people shooting products for major ad campaigns. I have learned that I am not the intern I always viewed myself as because I have outgrown that chapter of my life and moved forward. Being a part of Lightroom, Product, and creative business groups online has made my world feel less small and scary. The online creative communities are a great resource for lots of things!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.laceysombar.com
• Instagram: @laceysombar
• Facebook: Lacey Sombar Photography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lacey-sombar-curtis-0835a737/

Image Credits
All photos have been taken by me except for my portrait which was taken by Shannon Sombar.