Sarah Brown – The one light kind of girl

MP3
In this episode of the Fashion Photography Podcast
we meet 
Sarah Brown (@sarahbrownphoto).
 
Some of the topics in this podcast:
Smashing your gear in front of a client!
What’s Sarah Brown’s secret to make her photography appealing and interesting not just for the audience, but also for the clients.
How she gets to be so productive on her social media channels.

You can ASK US HERE everything you’d like to know know and we’ll answer in the next episodes!

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Want to submit to Lucy’s? Do it here (@lucysmagazine)

Links in this episode:
 Profoto
Charli Howard
Jameela Jamil
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Hello, photography lovers, it’s 29th May and you’re listening to
The Fashion Photography Podcast with me, your host – Virginia.

Every Wednesday, we’re here with another creative sharing their story and their secrets.
And every other Friday, I’m answering your questions and give me some tips and tricks on how to build sustainable photography business.

Today, my guest is not just a regular person, because she’s having a birthday.
So let’s all gather on our Instagram photography underscore podcast, and wish Sarah Brown, happy birthday, and celebrate along with her.
Because today, she’s giving us some really big insights from her work, for example, the best thing that you learned during her assisting experience.
And also she’s telling us a story about smashing your gear in front of a client, which sounds really scary. Yeah, but there are also other very cool bits. Like for example, she’s telling us about one of her favorite shots.
And by the way, this is one of the images that she’s most recognized with on the internet space.
And today, we have the opportunity to know how this photo was made.
And also how she gets to be so protective on her social media channels, because she’s crushing them.
But we don’t talk only about social media.
She’s sharing with us the secret to make her photography appealing and interesting, not just for the audience, but also for her clients.

If you want to know more about this, and all the other topics in the podcast today, all you have to do is just listen to the episode.
And you can do this while submitting your work to Lucy’s magazine, because they’re waiting for your beauty or fashion editorial. So let’s not waste time!

Sarah Brown
Hi, I’m Sarah Brown. I’m a fashion beauty photographer, Amelie beauty. And I’m 24 and I live in London.

Virginia Y
Have you always been based in London?

Sarah Brown
No, I’m actually from up north in a place called Newcastle. But there’s really not much for me there. Like it’s I feel like London is just the hub. So that’s why I’m done here.

Virginia Y
When did you decide to move to London.?

Sarah Brown
Well, I actually went to uni in Manchester. It’s a really good industry up there. To be fair, I feel like it’s more commercial. I went FEMA and I just kind of just wanted more. And I just thought London is place for me.

Virginia Y
What were you studying there?

Sarah Brown
So I studied photography. And I kind of have mixed thoughts, but my kind of unique, but I feel like a lot of photographers will tell you this. It was very theory based, which isn’t bad for everyone. But it just wasn’t for me. Like I really wasn’t a big fan of uni because I didn’t really learn much technical or kind of things, actually about the industry, which I think is so important. And I feel like the best thing like to learn is to actually just get stuck in that and assist. I feel like I’ve learned so much more assisting people than I did Ed which is an expensive mistake.

Virginia Y
What was the best thing that you learn during your assisting experience?

Sarah Brown
So I sisters, the photographer Rankin if you know him, yep, he was pretty cool to assist for because, like people were actually teaching me. But it’s just stuff that you can’t learn. Like it can’t be taught it you have to watch it. And the best thing I learned at Rankin wasn’t actually anything to do with trophy It was kind of like even with like really big clients thinking things could be last minute and spontaneous

Virginia Y
Your backup plan.

Sarah Brown
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Like honestly, just plan, plan plan and even things could still go wrong, even with the biggest people.

Virginia Y
Can you share with us a recent story that you have with a situation exactly like this when you were planning, planning, and then you have to come up with a backup plan?

Sarah Brown
Oh, God, very recently, actually. On Friday, I was gonna shoot the Cosmo. And my camera was on the table and my up my tethering, whatever cable. I got caught in it. It just smashed on the floor. And I was in front of all these people. Oh my god. I know there was glass everywhere. But luckily, my it was just my filter on top of my lens. So it looks so much worse than it was my camera was fine. But you know, and he just look really unprofessional. I was just Oh, it’s our fault. If you have a backup recovery fixed, it was fine. One of those things you just don’t want to happen on set.

Virginia Y
Yeah, you still want to look professional and happen. Yeah, having a backup camera is also plan.

Sarah Brown
Yeah, yeah. Luckily, I had a backup camera and a couple of other lenses. But she’s one of those. It’s one of the things that just looks so much worse than it was. But obviously it still looks bad to people.

Virginia Y
And what about the rest of the shoot? How did it turn out? It was

Sarah Brown
honestly, it was fine. My lens actually still work because this filter smashed. It just looked really weird. And everything was sharp and everything. So I was kind of lucky. But honestly, these things happen.

Virginia Y
And for you having sharp images, extremely important, because we’ve seen your particularly and for those of you who haven’t seen it, you can actually go to Sarah’s website. Sarah, do you want to share it with us? 

Sarah Brown 
Yes!
www.SarahBrownPhotography.co.uk. 

Virginia Y
Which one is the most recent one that you would like to take us behind the scenes?

Sarah Brown 
One of my shoots is with two models. On our website. It’s called been to I’m severe. I didn’t actually plan that as a kind of double shoot. But that is one of my favorite images. One of the girls is really frankly, the one of the girls got dark skin. It’s just one of my favorite images. I just love it. That was shot in Manchester where the makeup is called James Malloy. It’s just one of those spontaneous shoots. We just did it. They just turned out the best.

Virginia Y
No, no, you cannot finish your story just like that. Details Come on, because it was like a backup plan idea. How did you end up with two models in the studio? And we all know that the black skin is a little bit different in terms of lighting, how did you manage to get the most together and looking so amazing.

Sarah Brown
We’ve got two models because we were like we want more content like it we can might as well shoot to one day. So we ended just putting them together. I do agree with shooting darker skin is different with light. But I think if I remember correctly, I just put an adjustment layer in capture and kind of matched it. So I just kind of like painted in the adjustment layer.

Virginia Y
And what about in terms of lighting on the shoot? What did you do? I was

Sarah Brown
in James’s studio makeup artist, and he has like a nice little Cove honestly studios amazing. I just flushed a profile head to the cove just use the code from my life. And that’s literally it. It’s a really soft way of life. I just think it flies everyone like kind of light because it’s just such a big light source. And it’s easy. It’s like not so much equipment everywhere.

Virginia Y
Do you usually use a lot of equipment.

Sarah Brown
Shooting against a comb is one of my favorite ways to shoot. But I actually don’t have a cove because I shoot from home but I don’t have a cove I just have color armas. So sometimes I use a scrim when I’m on becomes. So I’m not just using a wall to kind of like so it looks a bit better. Yes, it does need to scream and I put two heads against it. So I can get a bit more light. That’s quite good. Pop, Nah, I just kind of used umbrellas and stuff. I’m kind of like a really simple one setup kind of one lights that I’ve kind of go. That’s me.

Virginia Y
It’s very funny because people don’t even think about the fact that usually when you shoot a beauty, which is just a small part of a human it takes a lot of light.

Sarah Brown
Yeah, yeah! I try and shoot quite high and my f stop. So I can get quite a lot of detail. So I try obviously with that in mind, you do need a lot of light. So I just try and put out full blast and mark it out.

Virginia Y
And you have so many beauty editorials on your website and in your portfolio over there with very different ideas. So how do you come up with your ideas?

Sarah Brown
It’s about the team as well as me, because some makeup is can help the craziest ideas. And it works with my crazy ideas. I love working with makeup is you have like different visions. I don’t know, I feel like the industry is very f1 kind of does the same thing. And I want to be that photographer that stands out and does something a little bit different, but still make it look beautiful.

Virginia Y
If you get me Oh, I do I do get you because everyone is trying to be very different. So do you have a particular strategy on that?

Sarah Brown
If you know, this is gonna sound so strange. Sometimes I sometimes I go to like, like craft shops, and I just literally look around thinking what would look good on a face?

Virginia Y
I don’t think it’s weird. No.

Sarah Brown
Oh, God, it works. And you’d never know. Like, it’d be just going to crush up.

Virginia Y
It does work, especially when you’re shooting always in the studio, it kind of can get a little bit boring. So it’s always nice to have something on him that you can use in the studio.

Sarah Brown
Yeah, exactly. Like just little kind of props or like little things you could stick on the face. God, this makes me sound like I’m in like high school. But you know, like, just honestly, I get so much inspiration, just looking at just different things. I can incorporate interview shoots, it’s fun.

Virginia Y
Have you ever had a moment when you pick up something from a store like that? And you’ve shared the idea with your makeup artist? And they’re like, Are you freaking crazy?

Sarah Brown
I’m actually doing like a personal project. I already told you what about actually. So every model I shoot, I’m shooting them in a wrestling mask. Which sounds strange, but I want to kind of shoot about kinda like 100 models or something and then just do something with all those images. However, the first model he did it was like, What on earth? Are you making me? Like to there’s like Mexican wrestling masks. It’s like that. Yeah, just it was very odd. It looks cool. I’ve got like a whole kind of water like water Polaroids with models and wrestling masks. It’s hard to explain to my mom and dad.

Virginia Y
Aren’t they covering a lot of their faces?

Sarah Brown
Yes, but you can like because I was shooting at the end of sheets, I just kind of say, Oh, they did this little thing I’m working on. And they sometimes they have crazy lips and like crazy sparkly eyes, which come through and it’s it’s cool. I don’t know what to do with it yet though. Like, I don’t know what to do with all these images. Something happened there.

Virginia Y
Um, whenever you’re ready with the idea what to do with them. Give us a shine. I bet everyone wants to see them right now.

Sarah Brown
I was over thinking like a coffee table, but call it an exhibition. So I don’t know, I don’t know, everything you can do. But I do want to shoot, I want to shoot a lot of models, though, like make a big thing. So who knows? Could be 30 years?

Virginia Y
Because you do so many shoots. And you mentioned that you wanted to have more content? Do you ever shoot just for you. So show me

Sarah Brown
All the time! I literally test all the time. My tests are my favorite work in my portfolio. And it’s the things that gets me jobs. So they are so important for me, even though I’m page,

Virginia Y
How many tests you do during the month?

Sarah Brown
Kind of recently, I haven’t been able to test as much. But when I do, I try and kind of get team and maybe do at least two two different girls and one day so I can just kind of get lots of creativity going and get some more testing. And I like to do kind of different things. It’s time to kind of put more my book.

Virginia Y
I think this is always a great idea to shoot two things at the same day because the crew is already there. So why don’t we just

Sarah Brown
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, right. I’m very lucky, though have my own studio as well, because it’s it’s so flexible, like save, we needed to run over if we needed to get those last looks. And because obviously two girls, it’s quite a lot of work for a makeup artist and panel up. So I’m lucky that we can just kind of shoot to like 9pm I think my boyfriend likes it that

Virginia Y
Your team… do they like it?

Sarah Brown
Luckily, I work with people who are just really passionate about it as well. So they kind of just get the vibe, they kind of just don’t care, like they just want to get the job done and as well as possible. How did you find them? And what I still do it with new people actually, I find people have Instagram, and they find me as well to be fair, if I could live Instagram, and I just kind of get a vibe from the field, I guess. And they have to be good at skin. And that’s the main thing I make. That’s the main thing I look for. Can you have a little bit to the people that are listening to podcasts and are very new to this photography scene? What would you advise them to say in their Instagram dm, when they’re approaching other colleagues to gather their team, you don’t want to come across as like someone who’s sending these messages to everyone, like copied and paste, you know. So maybe like kind of research who you want to work with, like the person you’re going to message and just say something which is like you’ve actually gone out and looked at their work like, Oh, I love that editorial you did with the editor, the stars or whatever. So like you’re actually making a connection with them, they will see you’ve done the research. So the respect that rather than just a copied and pasted. I want to work with you blah, blah, you know, yeah, obviously, take your portfolio as well. Because, yeah, people want to see that.

Virginia Y
Yeah, I think it’s important because if you’re a good photographer, even if you’re at the beginning of your career, either they can see that you’re dedicated, they will answer. And if you’re posting, for example, only photos of your dog.

Sarah Brown
Exactly, exactly. It’s actually so important. Like, I know, this is such a millennial thing to say, but it’s so important to have an aesthetically good looking Instagram feed because it’s the first people’s things someone’s going to look at when they scroll. And I just think it’s so important.

Virginia Y
And your feet is so amazing. So maybe you can also do something bad.

Sarah Brown
Yeah, I actually pulled my Instagram up before I post, because I posted threes. But it’s quite well thought out where Instagram. So I use a app called n which is spelt un, you know, you can plan your Instagram and you can like drop things in and swipe them around to see what look would look better. And it just makes you realize what your scripted look like before you post. Which is important. I think like what goes where like what colors work with what it is important. You can schedule the post, say if you’re busy. I don’t do that, obviously.

Virginia Y
Well, Instagram is taking a lot of our time lately. And in our Facebook group called the fashion photography podcast. Tim Copsey asked what social media platform is the best for fashion photographers to promote their work. Obviously, he’s spending hours in social media trying to promote his work. And he is very focused on his efforts. But this is an issue that all creatives must resist live. And I wanted to also ask you, do you ever use other social medias? What would you suggest?

Sarah Brown
Instagram is definitely my number one. I used to use Facebook, I should really think about the bigger picture. But it’s not as good as Instagram. It’s just not for me. I just can’t connect with it as much as I used to use Twitter, but I don’t really use that either. I think Instagram is so important for getting jobs and kind of showing your portfolio and everything. But I also think it’s really, I think it’s actually really bad for your mental health as well. Because you’re constantly comparing your work to all these people you’re inspired to be. And they’re posting all their good bits. And they’re not posting anything negative. They all you’re seeing is how perfect their life is. And how perfect they’re getting all the clients. They’re getting all the the wish that your work is better, as good as them, but you never see the bad side of it. And I think like that must plan on mine so much. Definitely.

Virginia Y
Whoo. I think we’re going to talk about mental health connected. All right, yeah. Yeah. And it’s true, I cannot lie. Mm hmm. Even if it’s not just you going right to depression state. It can be very nerve wracking because for example, I had, like, I think three months when it was just so hard for me to reach more people. And I really stopped having the satisfaction from using the social media.

Sarah Brown
Yeah, totally. I used to post a lot more than I did. I actually suffer from like mental health myself, like kind of my own struggles. But I think it’s so important to actually just take a break even just be a creativity, like, he can’t be consumed by it. Because at the end of the day, like people, like I’m still gonna look at your work that you can’t just base your work on f1. Else. Like I always say, the only person you should compare yourself to is the person who used to be not anyone else, because everyone else has got their own journey, haven’t they? I love this. I think Instagram is the one but it’s it’s such an unfair, it really is unfair with creatives, because obviously the new algorithm, you need kind of a following or like the engagement to get your work at the top of the feed. It’s like a struggle even to do that. Which is it like that all? And it is, it is a battle for everyone. For you to make a part of this is actually very important.

Virginia Y
 How much do you think that we should go into the makeup artists work and make decisions along with them? Or maybe instead of them?

Sarah Brown
It’s important to kind of have like a team effort? Yeah, I mean, it’s good to have a vision yourself. But I think that is that fashion. That is their niche. So they can have so much more input, they will just have an input that you can’t give, because that’s their profession.

Virginia Y
And they know more than you do about it. Right?

Sarah Brown
Exactly. You can give your vision and you can say all this doesn’t work or whatever. But I think it’s important to let them have a say because it’s their work it in the day you’re working with them. So I think they deserve it.

Virginia Y
True. And, for example, when you do your personal projects, do you usually work with different artists makeup artist,

Sarah Brown
I’m actually looking at working with newer people at the minute, but I do work with a few of the same makeup artist, because I just know, they’re like, on my level with creativity. And they just kind of get me if I do want to branch out. I do want to Fred Joe, it’s just I don’t know, it’s hard when you’re in like a good space and working with the same people. And it works. Why change it. But then it’s also good to meet new people. So yeah, you never know what you’re gonna get.

Virginia Y
And they can also give you some very new bright ideas, which is always nice.

Sarah Brown
Yeah, exactly. They’ll bring something new to the table, just like I am. I’m interesting, my head off all the time. And that they will be too. So it’s good to get people’s like ideas flowing and get the creativity out there. I think definitely.

Virginia Y
Usually when you do your personal projects, do you go to them with them idea? Or maybe sometimes they are approaching you with a certain project?

Sarah Brown
Yeah, it’s kind of a mixture. So sometimes I’m kind of have an idea in mind. And I’d say this is my vision. What can you input to that? I shot with Charlie Howard the other day? Yeah, I was going to ask you about that. Oh, she’s amazing. She’s so cool. I just had an idea of like, different types of netting and fabric. But I just didn’t have any idea with makeup. I just because that’s the only idea I had. Because obviously it’s a product from a craft shop. As I’ve said before, I just said, Nikki the makeup is I just said Do what you want. I trust you. Because I do dress. She always nails it.

Virginia Y
Awesome. And please tell us a little bit about that. Because I’m a big fan of Charlie, tell us what happened there and how you got her contact?

Sarah Brown
Oh, God. Yeah, that was for our K Arcadia magazine. And I went through quite a lot. And they’re really good to work for actually, they gave me some cool people to shoot, which is handy. But yeah, so totally, it was kind of like a beauty shoot, but with like a body positivity thing to it, because obviously she’s very big with that. She promotes that quite a lot.

Virginia Y
And guys, if you don’t know who’s Charlie Howard go to Instagram right on her name. And you’ll see how positive she is. She’s amazing. She’s really cool. She is amazing. True. So the magazine actually gave you the details. This was your very first meeting together.

Sarah Brown
So yeah, she was really cool to have a juicer. So I went out of that chute just feeling so much better about myself. She gave me this, like, this confidence I just didn’t have. So it was a feature actually about her. And they interviewed her, which is what she wrote interesting read, you could find Mercator. But they gave me complete control with the whole idea with all the netting and I just went out to the craft shop and bought all!

Virginia Y
When you’re shooting models, well, that’s one thing. And when you’re shooting people that I already recognized are there because she is also a model. But she’s very recognized for the fact that she is all about body positivity. Yeah, it’s kind of different. Now you have to bring her out. It’s not exactly the same with the model, usually with a model, they are there to serve the purpose of the editorial with the beauty. But when you shooting someone who’s already well known, you have to bring a little bit of them.

Sarah Brown
Yeah, totally. Like that’s why exactly what I wanted to do, because obviously she’s kind of at the face of pop McGrath really like the makeup. So I wanted to bring like a really big bt element into it. But then I wanted to show her like her body off because she’s beautiful shares and she’s all about that. So I wanted to get into that in there. And the Hopi aspect, which I think I did. Okay.

Virginia Y
Oh, you did? Great. Thank you. And this is actually not the very first time you shooting answers and also celebrities, because in your portfolio if you have photos of Jamila Jamal, which is so

Sarah Brown
yeah. Oh, she was so cool.

Virginia Y
I’ve never met her. But I’m a big fan of one of the shows that she is working – The good place. 

Sarah Brown
She was actually so cool to shoot because she didn’t let me return and you prefer us, which is kind of daunting for me because I have to get my lighting and over doing really well. But I love the fact she didn’t let me touch it because it just screams body positivity. Like you don’t need to change anything. 

Virginia Y
And she’s very famous for that. If you go by her history, and I’m not surprised she didn’t let you retouch.

Sarah Brown
I had no idea about this. I was so scared about that shoot, because I was thought if I just do something wrong, I can’t return.

Virginia Y
But luckily they turn okay. I’m really happy with them. She just beautiful anyway, honestly. Yes. She’s amazing. Absolutely very, very beautiful woman. But I’m amazed that you weren’t supposed to touch anything at all, even if there was something was already on the floor?

Sarah Brown
No. Well, this was a new backdrop anyway, so I was quite lucky.

Virginia Y
Whoa, so amazing. And do you always retouch your photos? Or maybe you’re delegating this to someone else?

Sarah Brown
No, no, I return all my own stuff at the minute, but my workload is kind of getting a bit crazy. So I am looking to hire someone soon. Because honestly, I just want my life back of it. All I do. I really enjoy the retouching side of it, though. You do?

Virginia Y
Really? I don’t

Sarah Brown
I know that. That makes me sound crazy. Because a lot of photographers hate it. But I just, it’s so therapeutic for me. If you think about it, all it is is coloring and although

Virginia Y
I really like cleaning in my house.

Sarah Brown
Well put that into the retouching.

Virginia Y
Well, I used to love her touching. But lately, I’m not that much into it. To be honest. It’s just taking more time of my hours for shooting. Yeah, that’s how I feel lately.

Sarah Brown
I do understand that, which is why I’m thinking about taking on someone on. But I feel like my research style is it’s my own kind of thing to my phone, like my stamp on it. It’s hard to give that over to someone. So I just do need to find the right person. But I have been lucky and I found a couple and I think yeah, I think I think I’ll probably do it in the next month or so.

Virginia Y  
Oh my god. So guys, you should be very fast in your emails. But yeah, many researchers that are listening to the show, they’re probably going to approach you so… yeah.


That was it for today, guys. And next Wednesday, we are getting really chatty. We’re both sharing so many stories from our experiences. Maybe it can even learn from our mistakes. So don’t forget to show up now next Wednesday for the second part of this interview. But before that, come back again on Friday, when I’ll be here to answer your questions. And if you feel like you need an advice on some topic, just take a look at the show notes on photography podcast.net. And there you can see all the different ways you can reach out to us and ask for some help. Thank you guys for being with us today and I cannot wait to see on Friday.

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