We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Price recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sarah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I have a project that is very near and dear to my heart called: Tatum’s Tales. It features the stories of children whom have rare genetic diseases, syndromes or other special kids on my blog. Each family receives a complimentary photo session of their child and their family if they choose. The family shares their story to go along with the photos. This project has been on hold due to COVID but I’m hoping to relaunch in 2023.

Tatum Leigh Harbin was born, on August 8, 2014, a healthy baby girl. Two months later she was diagnosed with SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy). Six month later, February 15, 2015, she passed away.

SMA is a rare genetic neuromuscular disease that affects the part of the nervous system that controls voluntary muscle movement. It is the number one genetic cause of death for infants.

I had the honor of taking Tatum’s newborn pictures with her precious mom and dad, Kayla and Gary. I will always remember her three month photo session. Even though she was not able to support herself to sit, she was still so smiley and happy. Her precious smile was contagious. She even got to meet Santa when she was almost 4 months old. Unfortunately, that was the last photo session we had together. We had her 6 month session planned, but we postponed it because she had a cold and couldn’t be around more germs. A day or two later she ended up in the hospital and never came back home.

Tatum’s family dedication to finding a cure for SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) is the inspiration for “Tatum’s Tales.” Several years ago I asked Kayla (Tatum’s mom) to write a blog series about Tatum’s story and how they got to where they are today. There are two parts to the story and part 3 is coming soon.

My hope is that through this series families will find support and comfort knowing they aren’t alone.

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 was a kindergarten teacher turned photographer. My love of children and families has carried over from my teaching into my work today. I’m passionate about capturing important memories in a family’s life—everything from engagements and milestones for couples, maternity, and newborn photoshoots, to seniors and families. I gravitate towards shoots that incorporate natural lighting and the outdoors.

I have had a camera in my hand for as long as I can remember! My parents got me my first Canon Rebel film camera in high school. I used it to study abroad in Europe for three months my sophomore year in college and used over 30 rolls of film. When my oldest daughter was born in 2007, I wanted to take my own photos of her. I got my first Canon Rebel DSLR and I was hooked. After my middle daughter was born in 2010, I knew I needed to take the plunge! I found a photographer willing to do a mentor program, watched a lot of YouTube videos, read a lot of books and took a lot of photos! Here I am 12 years later running my own photography business.

My three girls and two goldendoodles are my inspiration and models for many of my photoshoots. I wouldn’t say that they are always willing to cooperate and often times I am dripping sweat by the time we are done but one day they will thank me! I hope they will look back and remember all the fun we had making these memories together.

I have my “Tatum’s Tales” Project that helps spread awareness and hopefully provide support to parents/families dealing with the same things.

This summer I launched another fun project: Girl Hero. It features everyday girls doing what they love. Since I’m a mom of three girls I want my girl to always know that girls can do anything they put their mind too. Girl Power!!

I love being a photographer!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When the world was slowly shutting down due to Covid19 in April 2020, we did our first of many front yard birthday celebrations. One of my favorite personal sessions so far was a photo I took of my girls and their aunt and uncle. My oldest made the chalkboard sign and we didn’t let me sister or brother in-law see it. I posted it on social media the next day for my sister’s birthday. A company that was looking for photos for mass mutual found it and loved it. It eventually ended up on a mass mutual commercial. I love that it’s my girls celebrating the heroic efforts of their aunt and uncle.

During Covid, the photography world pretty much shut down. We weren’t allowed to take photos for our business. I saw on social media that Kristen Collins and Cara Soulia started the “Front Steps Project” in Needham, MA. I loved the idea! I started my own version in my town of Spring Hill, TN. Instead of taking donations to donate to one place I asked that each family make a donation to their favorite charity. It was so much family. Families thanked me for giving them a reason to get dressed up for the day! Some families did family photos dressed up on their beautiful porches and some did funny photos with things they’d been doing over and over for weeks. I never knew what I would walk up to and it was so much fun! Some of my photos were featured in our local monthly magazine.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Memories preserved in photos! I love that I’ve been able to capture so many memories for so many people: new babies, adoptions, birthdays, soccer goals, etc.

My girls have always driven my photography business. I am so thankful for the endless memories I’ve been able to capture of them throughout the years. I hope that all of my clients have the same feelings.

The photos I have included with this are all photos that I’ve captured of my girls and doodles recently.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sarahthompsonprice.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stpphotog/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stpphotography

Image Credits
The headshot of me was taken by my daughter, Marlie Price. The other photos are photos I have taken of my girls and doodles.