SAM SULLIVAN, NEW YORK PHOTOGRAPHER We spoke to New York wedding photographer, Sam Sullivan. Creating moody, romantic imagery through New York and the Hudson Valley, Sam’s work stopped us in our tracks (and our feeds!) and we had to get to know who was behind the work a little better.
HOW DID YOU START ON YOUR PATH?
I don’t have one of those stories about how I took photography classes in high school or college, or I studied graphic design. I work for an insurance company and I live a pretty modest life. My story started in 2018, while my husband and I while planned our wedding (should I say just i) haha. People would often ask me if I’m stressed and how I’m holding up. The answer was always “no, I’m not stressed at all”. In fact, the answer was always “are you kidding me?! I love this!.” when our wedding was over, I knew I needed to find a way to immerse myself in this creative environment. I reached out to my own wedding 60
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photographer, Dawn Honsky, for advice and she asked me to tag along with her whenever I wanted. My husband had a Nikon d3400 sitting on a shelf collecting dust. So I picked that up and literally took photos of anyone that would let me! Eventually, I started to book clients for things like maternity and holiday cards and before you know it, I booked my first wedding at Gather Green! What a dream. It was then, meeting Jackie and also working with vendors like tammy from Hudson Valley vintage rentals, that I finally felt part of this. Part of this wonderful community of creatives that push one another towards success and seeing their dreams come alive. I feel so incredibly blessed, honestly. If you would have asked me two years ago, if this would be in the stars for me, I would have laughed and called you crazy. But I’ve learned that nothing is crazy if it serves you. No one can ever say to me that I didn’t give it my all. Now, this version of me would say to the version of me two years ago, you are crazy if you don’t try.
