I remember running around the desert with my mom’s tiny digital camera. I would sneakily follow road runners, bunnies, and other wildlife, trying to capture the perfect shot. I was only about 10 years old when I started taking photos of wildlife. My mom would always tell me “ You have the eye for it”. However, I never thought to take pictures of my mother and I. I was always running around eager to capture other moments, and besides she didn’t like her photo taken. I wish I would have taken more photos with her, and of her… My mom, Carole Elaine Kirkpatrick, took her own life on New Year’s Day, 2010, when I was barely 14 years old. She was mentally worn down and physically tried to her limit, and well, I don’t really need to get into it in too much detail, but needless to say, my life changed. It changed fast. My parents had divorced when I was three years old, and although I visited my father every other weekend, I had a very, very weak relationship with him. I only went to visit my dad to see my little brothers and sister. I wanted them to grow up knowing they could always count on me. I ended up moving in with my father, nearly a stranger to me, shortly after my mother passed away.
Christmas of 2009, the Christmas before my mother passed, was a small one. I knew we were struggling a lot for money. After all my mom was a single mom, working endless hours, and juggling being a mother when she got home. Still, selfishly and childishly, I had asked my mom for a pretty big gift that Christmas. I asked my mom for my own camera. It was a Canon XSI. I remember saying, “Please mommy! If it’s the only present I get for the rest of my life that’s okay!! Pleaaseeee!” However, that camera was far too expensive to become a reality for me that Christmas, but of course I understood, and loved my mom still.
Fast forward, and it had been a few months since my mom had passed when I received a random check in the mail. It was from my mom’s last job. The check amount was almost the exact dollar amount that the camera I wanted cost. I felt like this was a gift from my mother. Her last gift to me.
Thus, photography became an escape. Creating, finding, and capturing Earth’s beauties was a healthy outlet for me. It became more than just a calling, it became a mission. My goal? To make the world a more beautiful place by loving people one photograph at a time. That is how I began as a professional content creator. I picked up that camera when I was 14 years old and I haven’t put it down since.
What started as a desert adventure in my youth, has transformed into an aching desire to venture out into other cultures, landscapes, and destinations. To travel the world and create masterpieces of the masterpieces here on this planet. I don’t want to just watch documentaries and videos on other’s living the dream of being a travel photographer, no, I wanted to be a travel photographer. To be a professional content creator. Once I made up my mind and locked eyes on my dream I choose never to stop chasing it. And here I am.
No one in the world will ever be able to capture the photo that you capture. Moments are just momentary. They can never be repeated the exact same way again. They, like people, are meant to be cherished, nurtured, and valued. I love people, traveling, learning, this Earth, photography, and I love being a professional content creator. It brings me such a huge sense of freedom and pure joy. I find that after every photoshoot, and every adventure, I am that much more grateful for the beautiful gift of life that God has given me. Relationships are built through my photography and the professional content I produce for others. I have absorbed so much and learned an abundance of life lessons throughout my travels. Being a professional content creator, one of my favorite things is learning about the people I meet. Their experiences, their battles, their victories, their hurts, their dreams… We all have the privilege of being someone’s light or allowing someone else to shine light on us if we just slow down. I will forever remember all the faces and the stories that go with the moments that I have captured. Photography is a vessel in that truly allows to travel back in time.
I have now expanded my services to not only include professional photography, but to also include videography, graphic design, and even social media management. I have created seemless systems that go beyond what you may think a professional content creator does! I walk my clients through a full brand audit, create custom brand colors, unique graphic designs, mood boards, style guides, re amp their social media bios, website, and an overall ensure a seemless process because I KNOW how important it is for my clients to be fully present and truly authentic with their audience. What a remarkably challenging, but incredible thing being a professional content creator is! Entrepreneurship as a whole simply blows my mind. It pushes us to our limits, which are constantly increasing because we are constantly evolving. It demands us to acknowledge our strengths, as well as, weaknesses. To look them both in the eyes and decide what the decision will be. A decision that we, I, am only responsible for. I know my purpose and the light I was called to shine on this Earth. That is what gives me motivation to face these challenges with a smile because I, like you, are destined for greatness.
Reach Me – https://sarahnicolephotographer.com
By: Sarah Perez
