I was super excited when Sara Absher agreed to talk with me about her craft – Fine-art Portrait Photography. She shoots in the studio and on the street. In fact, she's been trying to put more focus (pun intended) on the less fortunate through her work. I'll talk more about that in a minute.
Sara's an online student at Academy of Art University and that's how we became acquainted. We’ve known each other for about a year now but hadn't ever met in person -- until now.
A few days ago I took a two-hour, incredibly scenic drive out to their house near Naselle, Washington; a far off, out of the way place in Southwest, Washington. Even though it was dreary spring day in Washington, the views were picturesque. I’m kicking myself now for not stopping to take pictures.
Eventually, I made it there. It was awesome meeting some fellow online students in person. That was the first time in over two and half years of online school that it has ever happened to me.
We got to talking about the area and eventually we got to talking about her passion. Photography.
“There’s something that’s just really kinda beautiful about having somebody in front of your lens, and you get them to break down their guards. And you can kind of pull out pieces of them… And it’s really positive because you’re looking for the beauty in them.” – Sara Absher
Inspiration and Learning
There a number of different photographers that she follows – but the two most influential were David A. Tucker II, an Army veteran who took photos during deployments to Kosovo, Haiti, and Iraq, and published a book of the photos. It was his monochromatic work that made her want to do black and white photography.
The other person she really admires is Sue Bryce; a world renown fine-art photographer who offers classes for photographers.
Sara and I chatted about her style and workflows, the business side, you know – the nuts and bolts. She showed me how she sets up and does her photoshoots there in her home studio.
Sara told me she dreams of owning her own huge portrait studio in future but still has a bigger more selfless dream – continuing a project that she started for a school assignment.
One that started by accident. She was planning on shooting the holiday hustle and bustle in the big city but found inspiration in the unlikeliest of places...
If you want to reach out to Sara or see her other work, check out her website. From there you’ll find links to social media profiles and different ways to contact her.