Today we’d like to introduce you to Sherry Comella.
Sherry, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I never intended to ever start a photography business, I was the mom that always had the point and shoot camera in my hands. I took pictures of my kids, our vacations, and school activities-that was it. I kept my point and shoot for many years, however I decided I wanted a camera that could do more, although I had no idea how to use it. One day I placed my point and shoot on my counter, the strap hanging down, and my new puppy pulled on the strap and that was the end of my point and shoot. Blessing in disguise, I then purchased a “Big Girl” camera, I invested in a Canon T3. I had no idea what I was doing but refused to shoot on auto. I took a 6-week class through our city recreation program and learned how to shoot on manual.
I worked at the Special Education preschool at my children’s school. We had children’s pictures all over the walls so as I learned how to use my camera and the children in the classroom were my practice models. We had several kids in our room that had autism, so getting pictures of these kids was a little challenging, but I used my creativity to get those “looking at me” pictures. I never knew I wanted to pursue a business in photography until one day a child’s mom came in to the room and was admiring the pictures in the room. She stopped at the picture of her son; I noticed a tear rolling down her face and the biggest smile on her face. She then asked how she could get a copy of this picture, as she had no pictures of her son looking at the camera. She was overjoyed that I had captured his sweet beautiful eyes. It was then that I knew I wanted to start my business. I saw the happiness that a single photo could bring to someone and I wanted to give this happiness to others.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I would consider myself a Family, Senior, Newborn & Wedding photographer. I bring a lot of energy to my sessions. It’s not rare to see me dancing, singing weird songs, or simply making up my own lyrics. I talk a lot about poop, farts, etc. to get the little kids (and adults) to laugh. I believe in capturing “You”, I want those candid smiles and candid laughs so I do my best to get that out of you. I understand that photos can be overwhelming to some and create lots of stress, my overall goal is to create a fun and memorable experience. When you hang your pictures on the wall you will remember the fun and the laughs. From personal experience, I have had pictures taken where I was stressed out, my kids were fighting, my husband was mad, I was mad, and we were told to “SMILE”. Well, that photo didn’t stay up for long hung up in my home because I associated the negative feelings with it, I wasn’t happy. So, when you look at your photos I want you to associate HAPPY, ENJOYMENT, and FUN.
Probably my favorite sessions are my senior sessions. When I was a senior in high school my life was in chaos. My parents were going through a horrible divorce. I worried way too much during this time so I didn’t enjoy my high school years. Things were not happy for me. Working with seniors is my way of enjoying those senior high school moments. I love bringing out the best in my high school senior clients. I am overjoyed when I am able to show a senior who is very shy in front of the camera what I’m getting on the back of my camera. It is amazing to see them open up and that is when the magic happens! I want these seniors to feel and look their very best. I want them to see WHAT I SEE. I worked with a young man a few years ago, he was bullied for several years, and his self-esteem was very low. I had no idea about this when I took his pictures. His mom reached out to me about a year later and told me that I had changed the way he saw himself. He got his pictures back and saw a strong, handsome, and young man. That’s what I saw when I took his pictures. He printed one of his favorite images and kept in his room, as a reminder of who he was and what others said of him was not true. That’s what I want my art to do! This is my WHY.
The sterotype of a starving artist scares away many potentially talented artists from pursuing art – any advice or thoughts about how to deal with the financial concerns an aspiring artist might be concerned about?
Choosing to go full-time as a photographer was very scary for me. It was very routine and comforting to receiving a paycheck at my corporate job every two weeks, that was my security. I will honestly say it was a leap of courage for me to quit my job and pursue my photography business. While I was still working a full-time paycheck job, my photography started to grow, I couldn’t juggle both, so I was forced to pick between the two. I decided to go with what made me happy! As scary as it was it was, it made since for me to put 110% into my photography business and I have never regretted it. I truly believe that if you want something bad enough, you can and will make it work. So, my advice is, sometimes it is worth taking a chance on YOU, start small and work up to the type of business you want.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sherrycomellaphoto.com
- Phone: 6236956886
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/sherrycomella_photography/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/sherrycomellaphotos
Image Credit:
Headshot by AceFannning Photography
Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
