Baby Bee - Portraits of a 4-Week-Old

I had the pleasure of creating Charlie's very first portraits, when he was just a day shy of one month old. He was so patient and sweet that I got a full hour with him, without tears! Towards the end of the shoot, his mom put him in a bee costume, which we swooned over, but he didn't like so much. I just had to share these sweet portraits of little Charlie...

Nabbed and Instantly Broadcast

When I started this blog in October of 2007, I saw it as a two-year endeavor, emulating a two-year Master's Degree in fine art. The concept was to keep my creativity alive -- having made the photography that was once only a hobby into a full-time job, I wanted to make sure I had a forum for non-professional creative endeavors (i.e., explored for their own sake) and a place to document thoughtful meanderings. Over time, the University of Sarah has evolved in many ways - using the term "fine art" loosely at times, other times blending over into literature, and sometimes simply exploring new thoughts and sharing ideas I came across.

In a sense, I have graduated. As much as this blog remains a forum for me to explore, it has grown into a place for me to communicate with my clients about what goes on behind the work itself. My business has grown and changed, as well as my artwork, along with the world at large, which has embraced social media and the need for instantaneous and incessant electronic connection with others.

As a lover and deliverer of stories, this evolution is perfect for me. My favorite part of making art is the immersion in a moment - "nabbing" something, I call it. Being present enough to capture the emotional essence of a moment, whether in hitting the shutter at just the right second or articulating exactly the right turn of phrase, is the most grounding and gratifying experience I know. Now, my nabbings can be instantly broadcast, using the mobile upload function on my iPhone and sending images and thoughts directly to my facebook page.

Someone once asked me what my relationship was with technology. I replied, "I came of age with it." My mother taught me DOS commands so I could use the word processor when I was 5. I surfed the Cleveland Freenet (pre-internet) and had an email account at age 11, using a dial-up modem. Unlike the generation before, I got a taste of these things while I was still a child. Unlike the generation after, I can vividly remember life without them. I have a unique appreciation from this viewpoint -- seeing clearly the changes technology makes in our lives, and being accustomed to the rapidness with which it does so.

While I will continue to utilize this blog for substantial stories, social media has become for me a platform for the smaller, everyday stories that affect my work and my creative process. It seems my inner desire to capture and share has reached a beautiful coalescence with the technology of the outer world, which allows me to create, manage, and address an audience in the exact moment I feel inspired to do so. Some people see me obsessively playing with my iPhone and mistake me for a workaholic or a socialite or addicted to facebook, but the truth is that I am playing out a childhood fantasy of immediate broadcast of my creative captures.

Do indulge me.

Follow or become a fan.

Happy New Year, 2010

My clients impressed me with their taste and creativity this past holiday season - having each designed a unique expression of themselves to share with family and friends. Their self-conceptualized holiday cards included everything from pre-designed matte finish flat cards, to custom letterpress with hand-mounted prints, to custom graphics-enhanced glossy prints, to photo-quality folded cards. Below are some of my favorite holiday cards sent by my clients this past year, featuring portraits I shot in November and December.

Winter Solstice

Yesterday morning, I flew into Cleveland Hopkins Airport from New York, to spend Christmas at home with my parents. It was an eventful morning - getting out of New York the Monday after a blizzard, during which many weekend flights were cancelled proved difficult, although not impossible. I'd never seen LaGuardia Airport so busy, let alone at 5 in the morning! Upon landing, I was interviewed for a story on travel delays by Cleveland's local Channel 5 News.


Cleveland's proximity to Lake Erie gives it an advantage for yielding white Christmases due to what is known as "lake effect snow," and it's been snowing gently ever since I arrived. This evening, officially the longest night of the year, I took a walk on the grounds in front of my parents' house to take in the brisk air, and reflect on this season of hibernation. The short hours of sunlight, the life of plants dried into brown, crisp carcasses, the stillness of animals hidden or sleeping or having flown south, all laying groundwork for looking deeply inward - for letting go of last year's harvest, and preparing to start fresh next year. Decay brings both sadness and, then, new life. We cannot reach the new life without the period of decay. Winter asks us to go inward, to slow down, to unravel. And, unravel, many of us do this time of year - with old family scars and triumphs revisited, with familiar patterns reignited through reminders of our youth, and with appreciation for what has unfolded in our lives, and how far we've come.


Many Christmases I've looked out these giant windows at my parents' country home, and many times I've pondered my past and my future from the presence of a winter trip here. This year, something is new for me. I have no regrets. I am just observing. I am looking at where I came from, where I went, and where I might go from here, and this year, none of it feels so dire, yet all of it feels worthy of acknowledgment. Perhaps my youthful days of pushing and fighting as if I must stake a claim on my desires and demand their fulfillment are decaying under the snow, as nutrients for a blossoming attitude of acceptance and full presence in who I am, with trust in the way things always unfold. Perhaps the right amount of self-belief and effort are developing in me as I grow older, and like the seasons, something is turning in me, as my own pure nature makes appropriately tantamount my ego. Fighting and pushing are devices of excess, and the correct effort requires far less. In this dark, quiet time, I am glimpsing what I knew when I was five years old, when I fought for nothing, but just consistently did my best; and took a stand not through taking one, really, but simply by abiding in what is right.


There are certain things we come back to every year, like the darkness of winter, and there are things that have longer seasons. If we can let ourselves sink down, past the cerebral hustle and bustle, down past the sensitive heart that takes cover behind shields of laughter and defense, deeper, to a place where the movement is nearly imperceptible, like cells dividing in preparation of a new organism, we can find the microscopic turning of our own inner seasons. It manifests signposts as drastic as the heat of summer or the cold burn of snow. Yet, deep within, it is as mild and constant as our own breath, and the earth in its revolve around the sun.

Crafting a Personal Family Portrait

As my work has evolved over the past couple of years, I have realized that what most deeply interests me is people's stories. Whether it's the story of two people eloping to New York City from Australia, the details of a child's birth, or a tale of some haphazardly serendipitous occurrence, I love the recounting of immersion in experience through story.

Christy, one of my clients from this November's VIP Studio Day, shared with me her tale of multi-tasking as a mom, wife, and art director, in order to create a holiday portrait that would truly reflect her family's personality when they sent out their greeting cards this year. When she arrived on my set that day, I couldn't help but be impressed with the tone she had created through the carefully selected props and wardrobe. Here's the story in her own words:

The VIP Photo Shoot was Saturday. We decided to do it on Thursday night. Greg and I had batted around some fun ideas for holiday photos….but never committed to anything. So Thursday night I decided if we were going to do a VIP Shoot I had to style a VIP idea….in one day. Starting with a few items I knew we could get our hands on (antique skis from Greg’s design firm, a vintage fur white hat from my closet and a white coat) I came up with a mixed era snow theme.


First thing Friday morning I posted a request on the always amazing Bococa Parents Yahoo Group. I asked to borrow white ice skates (any size), white ski bibs (men's medium), tall white women’s boots (size 7) a vintage sled (ala rosebud), a white muff and white ear muffs. Then I bundled my 1 year old daughter, Mason, into her stroller and set out for the stores. Target was the best stop…I found ear muffs and a great pair of white vintage looking gloves. DSW for tall white boots for me…no luck. Next…Old Navy where I found fur boots for Mason and a white sweater …but no white coat in her size.

Rushed home to feed Mason her lunch (and to check for responses from Bococa Parents….nothing) then stuffed her back in the stroller in hopes that she would nap while we ventured into Macy’s to find Men’s white turtleneck sweaters, maybe a white coat for Mason and a white button down for me (for our “regular” shots…forgot to mention I was finding clothes for some normal photos as well). Found three sweaters for Greg to choose from (my favorite was a Sean John).


Mason woke up about 15 minutes into the trip so I plied her with rice cakes while I raced through the store, tried on and bought 3 white button downs and had no luck in the baby department. In the meantime I had put out a call to my friend Kimberly who has great shoes in my size. She had some tall white boots and lives across the street from the photo studio in Williamsburg…PERFECT! Remembered I had a vintage fur muff in a hat box in my closet. Greg was mountain biking with friends that day and secured a promise to borrow white men's ski pants from a friend. Just need a sled and a white coat for Mason. Have to feed Mason dinner and put her to bed…ARG! Got home and fed Mason….decided Mason could go to bed a bit late, got her back in the stroller…more rice cakes… and ran back out to The Children’s Place at the Fulton Mall. Found an excellent little white long sweater with an Eskimo style fur lined hood.

Back home satisfied with what I’d found….then FINALLY had a response from a Bococa Parents member. Turned out to be an old friend who happened to have a wooden sled hanging around the house. All set! Next morning we piled everything into the car, ran by my friend’s house to pick up the sled and headed to pick up the white ski pants. Oy! The first and only snag…Greg and his friend never set up a pick up time…he wasn’t home and wasn’t going to be for awhile. I shed a few tears then we headed back home to pick up some Khaki pants to try and blend with the white theme…after all Greg couldn’t go without pants (unless…he had some white boxers? No.). Next stop AvroKO on Elizabeth Street for the vintage skis then we headed to Williamsburg.


I transformed from panicked art director to pampered model when we were greeted at the gorgeous studio with champagne and cookies. The shoot was fantastic. Mason had fun kicking off her little fur boots and living it up for the camera. Sarah’s encouragement and enthusiasm made us feel like pros….and it shows. The photos are amazing…the difficulty is in narrowing down the options. We truly had a VIP experience.

-Christy Bradshaw, Brooklyn, NY

What I love most about Christy's family portraits is that you don't have to know the whole story to perceive that there IS one behind these photographs. And, the story itself is pretty impressive, too.

Hip for the Holidays - Rock-n-Roll Family Portraits!

This weekend's family portrait shoot in Brooklyn ROCKED! Highlighted by some brilliant family photo set-ups, the day also included tasty meats and cheeses to accentuate the bubbly... and Hope, Faith & Gluttony absolutely smothered us in tasty sweets like cookies, cupcakes, and butterscotch bars - plus special gift bags with more treats for the road!






Stay tuned to the Sarah Sloboda | Photography facebook page for more highlights as they are processed. (And become a fan to receive the updates in your facebook feed.)

If you're interested in getting on the list for the next NYC studio day, send an email to rsvp@sarahsloboda.com.

VIP Studio Sessions, Rock-n-Roll-Style

Families get hip for the holidays!

Sarah Sloboda Photography announces the first in a series of VIP family portrait sessions for the holidays.

Gone are the days of snowflake sweaters and uncomfortable seats on a bed of faux leaves or with a background of synthetic pine trees. For hip families looking for more from their holiday portraits than saying cheese and posing awkwardly, Sarah Sloboda Photography offers a series of VIP family portrait sessions at the super-cool new K Studio in Williamsburg.

Beginning Saturday November 7th, Ms. Sloboda and her team will provide a swank studio space with tasty snacks from Hope, Faith and Gluttony and bubbly (for the grownups), as an environment for her photo-journalism inspired family portraits.

“People love the annual tradition of a holiday portrait, but parents want photos that capture their style and spirit – something that shows off their unique tastes,” Ms. Sloboda said of the inspiration for her VIP sessions. “A beautifully framed photograph makes a truly meaningful gift. Definitely better than a blanket with sleeves.”

Sessions are by appointment only and for $500 families receive a 40-minute rock-n-roll style photo shoot (families are encouraged to bring their own iPod soundtracks), super-fast proofing (three-day turn around) and a final package of two 8x10s, three 5x7s, and one digital file for holiday cards (gift list – DONE, in one fell swoop).


To request your timeslot, email rsvp@sarahsloboda.com or call 917.279.3445.


About Sarah Sloboda
Sarah Sloboda is a renowned New York City children's photographer and an optimist, inspiring people with photographic evidence of their lives working beautifully.

Trained in filmmaking and documentary-style photography, Ms. Sloboda's passion resides in anticipating a moment's emotional essence and ensuring its capture. Her rock-n-roll-style kids photography has also been featured in Wondertime magazine, and highlighted online in Urban Baby and A Child Grows in Brooklyn for its fresh, storybook approach to allowing kids to be fully expressive.
View her work at http://www.sarahsloboda.com.