Inspired, A Very Special Project | a bit of SAS photography

Sally has such an amazing creative eye. I found her one day on Facebook and have been hooked on her work since. Her bold, rich tones and the emotion she captures is sublime and I am incredibly honored to show her off here to you all! Get ready for lots of inspiration!

Name Sally Stone

What is your Business Name?
a bit of SAS photography

What is your Facebook Fan Page?

www.facebook.com/abitofsas

What is your Camera Body?
Nikon
Website http://www.abitofsas.com
What inspired you to become a Photographer?

There’s really two answers to that. The first is the old cliche’; my children. We tried to have children for almost 5 years before we were graced with my son. Those years were filled with so much sadness and heartache for me. When he was born I knew that I absolutely HAD to document his life. Then my daughter was born 2 years after my son and she became just as important as subject. They don’t even have an adjective to describe my happiness and I wanted to be able to keep these moments forever. The second part of the answer is my father. He worked tirelessly his whole life at a job he never had any passion for. He was really an artist at heart. I knew he wanted me to live my life on my own terms so when I had the opportunity (thank you hubby), I took it and ran…

If you could only keep three things in your camera bag at one time, what would they be and why?

Besides my camera body?

1. Sigma 85 1.4 lens. It is just spectacular. I like to really open up a lot and the bokeh is creamy, the focus is tack sharp and has really low distortion. My go-to portrait lens.
2.Lens pen. I have at least 10 floating around. Nikon makes one, and there are all kinds of off-brands that work just as well. http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-7072-Lens-Cleaning-System/dp/B00006JN3G

3. Candy. Because well, I bribe.

If you are a Professional Photographer, what was your first paid session like?

Oh wow, that’s a hard question. It was exciting, nerve wracking, and frustrating. It was a newborn (eek) and I only had a short amount of time to work. Baby was awake the whole time, I brought ALL my lights and modifiers to this house (giant mistake), and my brain wouldn’t communicate to my mouth what I wanted to tell the mom what I wanted. And that’s really odd considering I am really hardly ever nervous and I am known to always speak my mind (for better or worse). But hey, mom liked the photos. 🙂

Jump in a time capsule. What would you do differently if you could? Do you have a cautionary tale?

I would make sure I had ALL clients sign a VERY detailed contract. This would include financial requirements, online galleries, time frames, number of people in session, etc… You want to please your clients but you also want to help put food on the table, so it’s a hard lesson to learn that not everyone wants to pay what you are worth. Don’t sell yourself short and do NOT give away your work! I once gave away a full CD just to make someone happy. But in the end, I was the one that wasn’t happy.

What’s in your camera bag?
Nikon D800
Sigma 85 1.4
Nikon 35 1.4
Nikon 50 1.8
Nikon SB 910 Speedlight
Off-camera shoe cord
Dust puffer thingamabob
3 Lens pens
Mini cleaning kit
Collapsible 22″ 5 in 1 reflector
Candy

Above all, what inspires your art the most?

Emotion. The good, the bad, the ugly. Give it to me. I want to see LIFE.

Do you have any personal projects in the works?

I’ve been working on a freckled children project for the past 6 months. It will probably take at least another year to complete (if ever). I adore freckles! When I was a child I would paint them on my face with my mothers eyeliner, I wanted them SO bad. Now, with photography, I can photograph these amazing freckle patterns and edit them so there is a ton of contrast to really highlight the interesting patterns of the freckles.

Any one token piece of advice to someone that has just picked up a camera for the first time?

Do it for yourself. Enjoy yourself and PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. P.S. and please turn off your on board flash

What is one thing you will never get tired of photographing?

Here we go again… My babies. Oh, how I love my beautiful babies. They are magic, they are love, they are my soul.

If you could sit across any one photographer with a cup of your favorite warm beverage, and talk shop for an hour, who would it be and what would you talk about?

Elena Shumilova. Arghhh… the light in her work makes me swoon! I would WANT to talk about light because I am always looking for that perfect light (aren’t we all?). But we would probably end up talking about our kids because you know, that’s what us moms do.

Favorite Snack to Edit to:
Pickles

Favorite time of Day to Shoot at:

The golden hour, hands down.
Favorite Quote:

Photography helps people to see. Berenice Abbott
One thing you do NOT like to Photograph is:

Families in matching shirts, lol
If you could Photograph Anyone, who would that one person be?

My father. He passed away when I was in my 20’s. I wish I had a fabulous portrait of him hanging in my home.

One thing no one knows about you?
I’m very much an open book.
Best Photography Investment you ever made:
Waaay back when… Someone told me to buy the book “Understanding Exposure” by Bryan Peterson

Photoshop or Lightroom?

I started with Lightroom now I am exclusively PS.

If you could live anywhere it would be:
On a small farm here in Pennsylvania. I want room to roam.
Pants or No pants?

Pants
Natural Hair Color?

Natural to my childhood, you betcha.
Last Book you Read was?

The Atlantis Experiment. Sci-fi or Fantasy girl here. Nerds unite!
Can you sum up your Photography in just four words?

Emotive, moody, whimsical and fun
If your Photography had a theme song, what would it be?
U2’s I will follow
Favorite Non Photography Related Website is:
Zulily. Shh.. let’s just keep my shopping addiction for my kids a secret.