Interview with Sarah Hardy

Hi Sarah! Tell us about yourself in two sentences - who are you?

In a nutshell - I was born and raised in Ireland, studied to be a teacher, taught, travelled (a lot), found out I loved taking photos more than doing anything else (apart from travelling), moved to the States, and now I'm trying to start my photography career and a new life in Austin, Texas. I'm terrified and ecstatic all at once!

QWhat's the weirdest situation you've found yourself in while taking a photograph?

AThe weirdest one I can think of off-hand was this past summer in Cambodia. I saw a woman hunched down with her very cute child and I said hello and asked if I could take their picture. She smiled with a hint of confusion and said yes. Later I looked at the photo and realised the child has been going to the toilet, hence why they were hunched down. I was so taken with his face that I didn't look any further down. Mortified! Obviously I cropped this photo pretty well....

QWhat do you shoot on? What's your favourite set up?

AI shoot on a Canon 5D mark ii, and have a 50mm, 16-35mm and 135mm. My 50 is my go-to lens, I shoot wide open at 1.4 as often as I can. The 135mm is becoming a quick contender as my go-to though, it's pretty creamy!

QWhat's your number one tip for an aspiring photographer?

AJust keep shooting. You'll improve so drastically with consistent shooting but you'll barely notice it happening. Pay attention to the habits you form too, like when I started I used to think a good portrait meant I had to be extremely close to the subject's face, until someone suggested I give them a bit of breathing space within the frame. A very simple but massively helpful tip. I also used to go crazy on vignetting and on using those over-processed presets on Lightroom - then I started making manual adjustments and learned how I liked a photo to look at a more basic level. Now I use bought presets like VSCO and tweak them to how I like, but my taste changes constantly and when I find a new look I like I have to force myself not to re-edit every photo I've ever taken!