Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Cofer.
Sarah, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I picked up a camera for the first time and fell in love – I’ve been taking pictures for as long as I can remember, but how I got to where I am today has been a long road. When I graduated SCAD in 2015, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted photography to be at the heart of it. I photographed everything from products to weddings, enjoying it all but not knowing where I truly fit in in the industry. I started my own LLC, Sarah Cofer Creative, but I was still taking pictures of anything and everything that came my way.
In 2018, I did my first food photoshoot – it was for a local spot in Tucker, and it was so much fun that I knew I needed to add food photography to my list of services. Fast forward to last December, and I decided it was time to settle into a true niche with my photography and put all of my time and effort into the thing that brought me the most joy. And wouldn’t you know it – it was food and beverage photography.
I completely rebranded, and I haven’t looked back. I’ve found so much passion in food photography that I just didn’t feel when I was taking every job that came my way. There’s so much to explore in the world of food and drink, and the work I put out now really feels like art. I think that was the missing piece in the past for me: the creative spark.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Building a small business is always challenging. I really started out on my own and put all of my time and energy into my business in at the end of 2021. I wanted so badly to be able to be there for my daughter while still making a living, and I never saw myself in a 9-5 job. There have been months of absolute struggle, and there have months where things have been great. New challenges are always popping up, and when you work freelance, it’s usually finding clients. As much as we all wish our websites would have perfect SEO and our inboxes would always be full of work inquiries, it’s just rarely, if ever, the case. There’s a lot of hustles that go into maintaining a small freelance business – lots of emails, phone calls, networking, and in the end, you just hope you’ve done enough to stand out from the competition and be the one who gets a callback. It’s still a struggle some days, and there are still days where I question if I made the right choice for my life, but I can definitely say nothing else has brought me as much happiness or been as truly fulfilling as what I do, so I wouldn’t change it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As I mentioned before, late last year, I threw everything I had into a rebrand and complete overhaul to market myself solely as a food and beverage photographer. It’s been amazing, and I haven’t even thought of going back. I truly, truly love shooting food, and there’s a real artistry that lives in food photographs. You can be creative in ways you can’t with other kinds of photography, and playing with composition, light, and props is where the magic lives.
It’s amazing how much work can go into a single photograph sometimes. I have a studio filled with lights, props, backgrounds, plates, cups, wood, fabrics, paintbrushes, florals, any and everything you can think of. It’s been a lot of fun creating a huge catalogue of things to pull from to create the work I really want to make and be known for.
What sets me apart from others in the industry? Probably my passion. My dad was a chef growing up, so I have a keen understanding of food and the way it’s prepared and presented that a lot of people probably don’t. I’ve spent most of my life in kitchens, watching food be made into art. Beyond my technical prowess, I just absolutely LOVE what I do. I want to tell my clients’ stories, not just take a beautiful photograph. I want feeling, emotion, and passion to live inside of one stunning shot.
I’m so proud of how far I’ve come in my business in just three short years – I went from being kind of lost and shooting anything and everything someone was willing to pay me for just to make ends meet to finding what I’m truly passionate about and building a business for myself around that.
What makes you happy?
Being able to create makes me happy. I love helping a client see their vision come to life and help them to showcase their food and drinks in a way that they’re proud of. I’m happy that I get to work in a field where I can be creative and make work that I’m proud of while still allowing me the time and flexibility to spend time and be there for my daughter and my partner. As happy as my work makes me, the fact that my work allows me to be present with my family is even an even greater gift.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sarahcofercreative.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scoferphoto/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-cofer-644529233/
Image Credits
Sarah Cofer
