Inspired, A Very Special Project | Sunshine Lane Photography

I am a mom, wife, hopeless dreamer, eternal explorer, and like to think of myself as a student at heart, forever learning. I have a passion for books, writing, and photography. My idea of a favorite day would be spent reading and writing at a cafe, wandering around exploring a new city, and photographing what I come across.

I fell in love with photography many years ago when I was in high school and picked up a friend’s DSLR because she wanted some pictures of herself. It was her dad’s camera, and he must have had the settings on aperture priority, because I got a blurry background right off the bat! I just fell in love with it from that very first click, and it’s been an on-and-off love affair ever since.

I shoot with a Nikon D700 and a variety of prime lenses, including a 135mm 2.0, 85mm 1.4, and 35mm 1.4, among others.

My very first film camera that I got when I was 17 was a Canon AE-1 Program, which I adored. My first digital was a Nikon D200.

Probably the 85mm 1.4. It has a great focal length for portraits and delivers beautiful bokeh. It’s my favorite go-to lens for sessions and shooting my children outdoors.

I would tell them (and tell myself frequently) that it is not a race. Take your time to really learn the craft and also how to run and market a business before you take on paying clients. I might have rushed into business myself, but luckily I live overseas and was not able to easily start a business here. I say luckily, because that has slowed me down and forced me to focus on my own learning, documenting my family and shooting for myself rather than starting a business right away. Ironically, the more I learn, the more I see the value in taking the slow road. My biggest growth also came after joining the Clickin Moms photography forum – taking workshops and being able to learn from and establish friendships with my peers and those I admire was invaluable.

Sarah Cornish :),  Jinky Art and Jose Villa.

I love taking pictures of my children. I try to keep a camera on hand as I go about my day, because there are so many pockets of beauty, meaning and joy when you are with children just going about normal life. I love just watching the light on their faces or little things they do that I love to capture. But I also love to hire models for shooting my own personal work. I’d like to work more with models and styling as I go forward in my own journey.

My aunt. She was a book editor in New York City and raised two children by herself as a widow. She was beautiful, a strong character, and she did everything with her own unique style. She taught me by example to live on your own terms and to celebrate the small things in life.

Romantic, soft, natural

It gets really hot in Mauritius and when I shoot a session, for some reason I sweat — a lot. I am dripping by the time a session is done, which I’m always really embarrassed about. So, unfortunately, I keep repeating my embarrassing moment!

I think my biggest challenge is that I’m always very aware of my many faults and my intense desire to be better, to keep growing. So I have to get out of my own head sometimes and focus just on where I am now. I remind myself to feel blessed that I have learned all I have even if I’m not perfect, to just keep shooting, and to have faith that tomorrow will take care of itself.

It depends on where I am. In a lovely spot for filtered backlight – the golden hour. At the beach – 10 minutes before the sun goes down until 15 minutes after it has set. I also adore shooting at the beach at dusk just before twilight when the light has almost completely disappeared but still lingers on the water.

I’ve had a few careers, from managing marketing/PR for companies to teaching, but my favorite thing to do besides taking pictures, is to write, so that’s my other dream and creative outlet.

I’ve taken photography courses at various colleges and majored in it for a short time, but it was in the film days before the more modern style of portraiture took hold. I knew I wanted to shoot portraits in natural light, but I didn’t see where I fit in. I thought I wanted to be a fashion photographer, but didn’t feel inspired by studio photography or working with large format cameras that was emphasized in the school I attended. I switched my major and always regret not giving it more of a shot.

I chat with them and ask them questions. I like to give them feedback about how well they are doing and act as confident as I can so they trust they are in good hands and can relax. For families and children that seem awkward or shy with the camera, I usually get silly, I probably sound ridiculous, but I just try to get them to laugh naturally. I try really hard to get them to interact together, especially if they are standing stiffly with a deer-in-the-headlights look. So I’ll ask the parents to tickle the kids, ask the siblings to kiss, have dad throw someone in the air, anything to let motion and connection to give natural expressions. And I’m always on the lookout to capture those in-between moments.

To just keep getting better. We are moving back to the US so I am planning on finally opening for business mid-year and am really excited about the opportunities to come.

This past year I realized that no matter where we are on our photography journey, we will always have doubts about ourselves and our work. We will go through periods of not wanting to shoot or being in a rut. We just have to accept these feelings and realize they are a natural part of our journey as artists and photographers. The only danger is if we let those feelings stop us working daily to improve our craft and our vision.

I alternate. When I shoot to produce a technically “perfect” image , I fear it lacks my vision or soul. But often when I produce something that really speaks to me and doesn’t follow certain established “rules,” I fear it not being technically sound enough. I want to balance the two in a powerful way, but I know this is a long journey and this will only come with time and a deep knowledge of the arts.

Digital. But I will be embracing prints more this year.

I believe every working photographer has a unique style and story to tell about what they have to offer. I think the best way to set yourself apart is to just focus on developing your photography, your brand, and the way you market. I can’t change what others do. But I can work to improve myself.

A macro lens – the 105 mm 2.8, hopefully this month.

Besides a fabulous camera/lenses? 🙂 I love my lens pen. Makes cleaning my lens so quick and easy.

My children

Fun stuff:

Favorite Color: Teal

Favorite Season: Spring or Summer (can’t pick just one)

Biggest Guilty Pleasure: Champagne or any wine that sparkles

Pet Peeve: Mean people

Favorite Pandora Station: Unfortunately I can’t get Pandora in Mauritius where I live

Studio or On location: Definitely on location

What did you want to be when you grew up? A writer or photographer

One thing no one knows about you is: My lips are sealed. 🙂

Pc or Mac: Mac

Lightroom Or Photoshop: Both

Film or Digital: Digital, but my heart is in film

Props or No Props: No props usually

If you could travel anywhere it would be: Greece

Glass Half Empty or Half Full: Half full

Favorite photo ever taken: I haven’t yet. . .

Raw or Jpeg: Raw

Favorite Music to Edit to: Silence during the day or TV at night

Favorite Quote: Just about every sentence of Julia Cameron’s in her “Artist’s Way” books. I keep them everywhere and have reread them so often – the book is completely dog-eared and underlined.

Most valued material possession: My camera

Processing Style: Soft, natural, and slightly filmy

Coffee or Tea: Coffee

If you could photograph a Celebrity who would it be? I don’t have a specific one, but any celebrity mom with a wonderful bond with her children would be fun. I love photographing moms and kids and documenting that special bond.

What kind of Camera bag do you rock? Kelly Moore Boho bag in gray.