I started Sarah Renee Studios in 2010. By 2016, I had quit my day job to go all in, just me, my camera, and a whole lot of heart. It was everything I had worked toward, and for a while, it felt like it.
Then 2018 happened. I became a mom, and everything shifted. Suddenly, I was trying to be present for a tiny human, show up for my clients, keep the business running, and somewhere in the middle of all of it, the things that actually kept the engine going started to fall apart. The sneak previews stopped. My Instagram went quiet. Bookings slowed. And that fire I had, the one that made me quit my job and bet on myself, started to flicker.
I have been in the trenches and found my way out
So I finally let go of the reins in certain areas. And things started to shift. I could focus on actually being behind the camera again. But here's the thing I didn't expect. I missed the backend work. The templates, the systems, the social media strategy. Turns out I didn't hate it. I just hadn't had the space to love it properly.
That's when everything clicked. My evenings and weekends are precious now. A school-aged kid will do that to you. And I realized I wanted to help other women in this industry protect theirs, too, because you shouldn't have to choose between the work you love and the life you built around it.
I knew I couldn't be a mom, a wife, and a business owner all at the same time. Something had to give.
Click the photos to learn about my daily must-haves.
My essentials
I love playing with old film cameras! There is something so nostalgic about film.
My camera
I love listening to Spotify while I work, drive, you name it. I'm a total 90's kid!
Music
Coffee is pretty much life. I prefer an Iced Coffee at home. My fav is a Nutella Latte.
Coffee
I love my little Family! My husband Tom, daughter Kaidence, and our little pupperoni Bailey.
My Family
I love to get my thoughts out via pen and paper. To-do lists, ideas, random thoughts.
My Journal
Everything in business is learnable, fixable, and figureoutable.
You don't have to be a workaholic
to be successful. Really.
Rest is just as important as hustle. Daily naps? Essential.
