About Serra
~The Artist
As an artist, I strive to offer focused photography, using an observant eye, to create exciting results. I specialize in photographing people in all stages of life. Every time I attempt to choose a favorite I fail. I love it all. I love the interaction and emotion that comes with couples, the innocence that comes with children, the wonder that comes with newborns and babies, and the light that comes with maternity sessions. I also love working with people to document important milestones like engagements and weddings, and working with students to create beautiful art that helps them to authentically express who they are for their senior portraits.
~Overall Philosophy
I believe that a portrait photography session should be a unique experience, one in which you become a partner in shaping the outcome with your own energy and enthusiasm. Unlike the big studios, who take the same five shots every time, my goal is to capture a subject’s current energy and character and present it to you as a unique and timeless image. You can help by telling me a story, sharing a favorite color or image, bringing an inspiration, or suggesting a location that has meaning to you. Your session fee covers the cost of half an hour to an hour of expertise from your photographer along with an online proof gallery and free basic retouching on your images.
~In the Moment
I’m after a number of things during a session. Technically, I strive for perfect exposure and sharp focus on the subject. Creatively, I strive for lines, color interest and variety. In order to complete my images, I continually seek out interesting backgrounds and color harmonies, and once my eye has been drawn I work on each concept from various angles.
My images are dynamic, and convey emotion. My goal is to walk away from a shoot with a few dozen shots that are all completely different from one another – shot from near and far, smiling and laughing, eyelashes, motion, still and serious…
~Experience and Instinct
I’ve loved photography since I was a child myself. I always begged for a camera, and finally my father gave me the fully manual SLR camera he used in college. It was much harder to use than what my twelve-year-old self had envisioned, but it taught me early on how to look for good light (no flash!), set the aperture, and carefully choose the shot I wanted to capture.
Through practice I’ve developed a gut instinct for knowing the right place to shoot and when to hit the shutter. I look for beauty and interest, and have learned to trust my first intuition about what will make a great picture.
~Now and Later
I’ll always be a photographer. Whenever I’ve tried other professions, something always led me back to the camera. It’s a gift I have to share with people, and I get great pleasure out of it. Regardless of what other things are going on in my life photography never fails to entwine itself in some way.
~Complimentary Passions
The desire for a healthy community and planet is one of my core values. I strive to have as light an impact on our environment as possible, which is one of the reasons your session will likely involve the use of natural light, and why your photos will be 100% digitally processed, with no paper used until you’re ready to print. I also participate in alternative currency programs for those who can’t afford my services in traditional money, and use exclusively local businesses for my printing and products. See my Green Values page to read more.
