Today we’d like to introduce you to Sabrina Fattal.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My story is kind of strange whenever I think back on it, I originally hated photography with a burning passion. I personally never felt comfortable in front of a camera and I hated to have my picture taken due to self-image issues.
Back in my freshman year of high school, my best friend at the time got super into it. She had received a camera for her birthday and was constantly taking pictures everywhere we went. It was honestly super annoying haha! Well, one night we were rummaging through some old Halloween costumes and she pulled out a fairy crown that I had made and plopped it on my head. Next thing I know she started taking my pictures and I snatched the camera out of her hand. I looked down onto the viewfinder and saw the very first image that ever made me feel beautiful. I really think that is the moment that started all of this for me. In that moment, I realized that I could make a difference. I wanted to make others feel beautiful and capture their stories in a photograph. So that is what I did. That night I took pictures of my best friend, which seeped into the morning, then shortly became a weekly activity eventually turning into a daily occurrence.
About six months later, I saved up all my money and ended up buying a crappy little point and shoot. I remember running home from school so excited to grab my camera and go create something. It was magic to me. I then started posting my photos all over social media, mostly Facebook, believe it or not. I started to get a lot of attention from my photos, which definitely surprised me. It was mostly positive but some were negative due to the fact that when I was first starting out I was really into dark and creepy photos, which can be alarming when it comes from a fourteen-year-old haha. I started getting messages and requests for photos, which was mind-blowing to me, I was just doing it for fun, I never expected to get paid for it! Then with all the extra money coming in I saved up and purchased a better camera, which helped me get more jobs.
I joined my high school yearbook staff as a photographer which was an incredible experience. I applied for internships all of the Atlanta area to work with other photographers and by my senior year I was juggling six of them, along with school and being promoted to photo editor of my high school yearbook. I was living the dream, I would go to school in the morning to work on the yearbook, run home and shoot a portrait session at night and my weekends would be filled with shooting weddings and events.
College was a big question mark in my life. I always assumed it was something I would have to do, in this day and age the importance of college is nailed into our brains as soon as we start elementary school. I originally wanted to become an actress before I found photography. My plan was to go to SCAD for my theatre major and then move to New York, crazy right? Well over the four years of high school, theatre slipped away as my love for photography grew. I was sitting on the couch one night looking over pamphlets that I had collected from the college fair with my mother and she looked at me and said, you know you really don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I was definitely taken aback. I had always assumed that I would have to go and my parents would make me if I tried to fight them. But my mother was right. I had never taken a photography class in my life, I taught myself everything. I never learned much from sitting in a classroom staring at a board. So we decided to see how it went for me to just do it on my own.
That was about a year and a half ago. So now here I am haha!
Has it been a smooth road?
It was definitely smoother than I had anticipated, but there were some hardships. One of my biggest passions is fine art photography which involves a lot of darker and creepier elements in them, which doesn’t always get the best reaction from my audience. I had a lot of negative comments coming from the parents of one of my models which deeply hurt me, but it ultimately made me stronger and made me more wary about what I posted.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Sabrina Fattal Photography – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
For me, my business is all about my clients. When I get hired for a job I am thinking about my client’s story. What are they passionate about? What makes them happy or what lights that fire inside them. I love to get to know my clients on a personal level so we can both be comfortable around each other and make some beautiful art.
I have three different branches of my business, Portraiture, Weddings and Fine Art.
I am the most known for my portraits and wedding pictures but my biggest passion would have to be my fine art photography where I have conceptual outlooks on my stories.
I am most proud of my ability to connect with those I am shooting with. I think it is so important to be close with your clients especially when you are shooting something as important as their wedding day. I want them to be comfortable around me so they aren’t super stiff and scared the whole day.
What I think sets me apart from other photographers is my passion for my craft. I truly do live and breathe photography. I couldn’t possibly imagine not doing it or having another job. I get to wake up and do what I love every single day and I am so thankful that I am able to do that.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I absolutely adore living in Atlanta. I love that you can get in the car and drive thirty minutes and be in a gorgeous field and then get back in the car again and drive to the city. I love how close everything is and the amount of diversity we have here. The people here are beautiful and come in all different colors, shapes, and sizes. The buildings we have here range from different types of architecture, colors, and textures. I look around Atlanta and I am constantly inspired by everything going on. Our wonderful city is always buzzing and full of color and light! The only negative I can really think of would be the traffic haha but I think after a while of driving in it you get used to the flow of it and you know when you can and cannot drive to a certain place.
Contact Info:
- Website: sabrinafattalphotography.com
- Phone: 770-710-2941
- Email: sabrinafattalphotography@gmail.com
- Instagram: @sabrinafattalphotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sabrinafattalphotography/
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