We recently connected with Sarah Maria and have shared our conversation below.

Sarah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I began my creative endeavors as a freelance model with no goal for fame, followers, or money, but instead to heal from things I have been through by creating beautiful, emotional art and seeing for myself the magic of light manipulation, styling, makeup, and angles to achieve very different results. It didn’t seem very serious to most who witnessed, but I didn’t care. It was for me. Ten years of being in front of the camera taught me things that cannot be learned in photography classes. I am so grateful for my experience because it is why I do things the way I do. I do not post photos without permission from the subject, which may seem minuscule to most, but is a huge foundation of respect in a professional, creative relationship. It means we can make things that are outside comfort zones, with shared trust and intention. I take my job very seriously, and it is an honor to be a safe woman for any human to work with and achieve the depiction they deserve and desire.

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?

I provide film portraiture for a wide variety of purposes- weddings, families, maternity, holiday, engagements, birthdays, but also for self-expression, for the sake of art itself, for models and influencers, those who have modeled for 10+ years and those whose first photography experience is with me. I am big on meeting people where they are. Energetically, physically, spiritually. It allows for the most authentic moments. Consent is why it feels so good to look through my body of work. The subjects and I both are proud of these images, it is a true team effort, and I could not do this without the support and trust of those I work with.

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

The most rewarding part of being an artist is the meaningful connections that otherwise wouldn’t exist. When anyone goes out of their way to support me, whether it be a recommendation, speaking highly of me in a room I am not in, commenting or sharing encouragement to me publicly or privately, it means the absolute world to me. Word of mouth is really all we have at the end of the day. Yes, some people do go viral overnight, but I prefer steady building, so each person gets the attention to detail they deserve, giving me the ability to give 110% at all times, instead of stretching to thin from desperation, and giving each person different levels.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Something I had to learn by doing is that I have to schedule rest. Because I own my own business and schedule, I like to push myself, be creating almost every single day, and it brings me great joy. What I’ve learned is that if I do not schedule time to sleep and recover from my long road trips and flights to various places for my clients, I hit a brick wall and instead of planning the time for myself, it is forced upon me. To keep my mental health where it needs to be, I must schedule a day off, even if it can only be once per month. Scheduling my work time has been a learning curve also. I can’t be trying to work while spending time with family and friends, it’s just rude and not fair. The theme here is balance.

Contact Info:

• Website: nvrheardofyou.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/fuckthatnoise
• Twitter: twitter.com/nvrheardofyou

Image Credits
models: @lunaverse, @agotakumdit, @softsproutstudios, @cassandrathegreat_, @officialautumnn, @_mackjo