MEMBER STORY
Sarah Simmons is an NIZPP Accredited Professional Photographer and the owner of “Charlie Horse Photography” she is based in the Wellington Region of New Zealand.
Hi Sarah! Can you please tell us a bit about yourself? I grew up in Lower Hutt, Wellington. I’m still in Lower Hutt with my husband Aaron and my three children Khya, Charlie and Beau. I have always had a passion for photography and wanted to be a photographer for as long as I can remember! I have suffered with terrible self doubt forever so it took me a LONG time to finally get the courage to actually do what I had wanted to do for so long! It wasn’t until I turned 30 that I finally had the guts to take the leap and start Charlie Horse Photography, and once I had I was so mad at myself for not taking that leap a lot sooner! What type of photography do you do and where do you get the inspiration for your work? I do mostly newborns, maternity and family photography. Maternity is my absolute favourite thing to photograph. Photographing women is really special to me, I know how hard it can be to put yourself in front of a camera but watching a woman’s self confidence grow in front of my eyes is by the far the most rewarding part of my job! There is so much inspiration out there! I am inspired everyday from all of the amazing work that pops up on my social media everyday! I follow a lot of incredible artists and a few of my favourite newborn photographers are right here in NZ! Who has influenced you the most? Is there another photographer or artist that you consider as a kind of Idol? I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today had it not been for Sue Bryce. Sue has been the biggest influence on me in every way, business, creativity and personal growth. I was so fortunate to be able to do a workshop with Sue when she was here in NZ in 2018 and it was truly amazing! Richard Wood is definitely my creativity idol! Richard’s images blow my mind, I always think he couldn’t possibly come up with new different creative ideas but he just keeps doing it and his images just get more and more beautiful! Amber Griffin and Kelvin Gilbert are also bloody amazing and totally inspiring!..and how cool that they are all Kiwi’s! We have such incredible talent here!
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PRO Report / Magazine of the NZIPP
