Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Partain.
Sarah, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
At the core of who I am, I’ve always sought to create and capture art – as a little girl, if I wasn’t at gymnastics, then I was painting, coloring, drawing, writing plays, filming “movies” with my mom’s old tape recorder, anything I could get my hands on. As I grew up, I developed a love for oil paint, mimicking the brushstrokes, soft highlights and luxurious tones of the renaissance and impressionist works. We moved to Marietta my junior year of high school, and I chose intro to photo as my second art elective. I shot for the yearbook senior year and eventually took portraits for a few pals needing a cheaper option, and it kinda snowballed from there.
I attended Auburn University and minored in studio art with a focus on photography. Studying art history and film photography, I learned to marry the techniques and compositions I loved in classical painting with the malleability and availability of photo. Going back through 35mm, medium and large format film, and color film deepened my understanding of digital photo and introduced totally new ways of creating with the physical. I continued pushing myself creatively in personal projects, but also began shooting weddings, senior portraits, family photos, live events, concerts, sports, and a lot more. Honestly, if something needed pics, I was there. Senior year, I worked for Fox Sports shooting Auburn athletic events and literally had the time of my life – that’s something I would really enjoy getting into again. I also did photography, videography and social media for my church, Auburn Community Church.
After graduating in 2018, I moved to Los Angeles to volunteer with The A21 Campaign, an international NGO that works to fight human trafficking. I was assigned to the comms team and worked as a photographer shooting merchandise, content for socials, live events, and a range of other needs. Also while in LA, I assisted wedding photographer Haley Ringo, and my experience with her was truly invaluable. She not only became one of my dearest friends but invited me into every aspect of her personal and professional life. I traveled around the country second shooting for her and made a massive list of incredible connections. Haley taught me almost everything I know and use today about business and wedding photography, and I just adore her. My year in California cultivated such a foundation of entrepreneurship, creativity, and boldness in pursuit of dreams. I was published in my first magazine, booked a few solo Cali weddings, worked with incredible artists, and witnessed so many mind-blowing experiences.
I’ve been back in Atlanta for the past few months, where my strongest client base is, but this fall I will be moving to the UK to attend the University of the Arts London! As a largely self-taught artist and communicator, I realized that I was reaching a plateau and wanted to establish a larger depth of knowledge so that I can impact the maximum audience with my work. I’m incredibly excited and honored to be able to study what I’m passionate about and hone my craft with higher education. I plan to use my time abroad to greatly expand my personal portfolio and explore my potential as a fine-art photographer since I won’t have to focus on the business side.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I think one of the most difficult elements of being an artist is comparison. Working in a highly subjective field forces you to constantly reevaluate and redefine what you believe to be successful. Just because I create in this way, does not devalue how someone creates in another way. I recently read an idea that basically said another artist’s success is not taken out of my bucket. It can be easy to feel threatened by the promotion of people around you, even though that doesn’t directly affect your value and worth as a creator. With the expanse of social media, I often question if I’ll ever “make it” if I haven’t “made it” by the time I’m 19, or 24, or 30, or whatever age the other people are. Culture loves a viral sensation. But no overnight success is actually overnight. And if I work towards my goals and dreams every single day, that develops a bank of experience that will eventually get me where I want to go. My timeline is my timeline and that’s the correct timeline for me – if I’m constantly counting down other people’s timelines, eventually I’m going to miss my own. And if I can celebrate myself and my art in the now, then I will be celebrating the rest of my life, whether I never book another job again or if I’m the most famous photographer in the world.
Sarah Partain Photography – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I don’t know that I necessarily specialize – I can and have shot just about anything you can think of. Majority of my business does come from portrait photography and wedding photography, but I personally prefer creative editorial projects. I enjoy one-on-one shoots so I can really draw out the core identity of my subject and explore capturing their depth of personality and character.
I often explain my work as a combination of elements from classical painting, art design, pop culture photography and old-school film like Sally Mann. I think my work stands apart because I can create true art with the mundane, or situations not typically seen as something beautiful. I see it as painting with the physical, creating 2D sculptures with the subjects in front of me. Even when I was shooting sports, I still approached it as if I was painting, which I think created an interesting juxtaposition.
I had a recent friend tell me that they could recognize my work whether I was credited or not, no matter the subject, or where it was posted, because of my quality and unique editing – I was pretty proud of that!
As a photographer, I seek to capture images that reveal life in all its fullness. Each picture contains a world of stories and the challenge of narrating them is exhilarating. Honestly, being alive is exhilarating. This is what I hope to translate into my work.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I believe that true success is complete contentedness. We can absolutely drive ourselves into the ground measuring markers, or criteria, or comparing to someone who’s at the “top.” But who defines what the top is? I don’t believe there are any limits to what we can achieve in this life, or where we can go, but if I’m not content with my work now, I will never be content with it. And discontentedness is a thief of joy and life. And I think the “top” scale is ever moving upward. I’ve gotten to do things today that, 10 years ago, would have been my “I’ve made it” moment. So, the things that I’m striving towards now, in 10 years, will be blips on the radar. Which I find so exciting and encouraging.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sbpartain.com
- Email: sbpartain@gmail.com
- Instagram: @sbpphoto @sarah_partain
Image Credit:
Sarah Partain Photography
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