Sarah Henderson - New Board Member

Please welcome our new board member, Sarah Henderson! Sarah owns Desired Focus Photography in Zanesville, Ohio, and has been in business for 15 years. She specializes in portraits, family, seniors, and dance. Sarah is recently married and lives in both Norway and the US. She has two adult children, the youngest of whom is 16. She loves sunny days and being outside and dreams of having a home with tons of windows. She believes in making good food and creating beautiful images.

We sat down with Sarah to get to know her better.

Why did you become a board member?
I want to encourage others. Being a photographer can be lonely and I want to help people feel supported, and connected with other photographers and help their businesses thrive.

What is your vision for PPO?
I’d love to see PPO become a place of local community support where photographers can easily share resources, and success stories and help each other serve their clients better and enjoy their work more. I’m sick of lonely photographers barely scraping by. I want to see photographers loving their job and living the life of their dreams.

Why is PPO important?
It’s close to home. We know how the local climate feels and we know what works.

What do you get out of PPO as a member?
I loved the Summer convention. I couldn’t believe we had such talented teachers available for such an affordable price and so close!

What do you hope others get out of PPO as members?
For me, I struggled for years to learn how to run a profitable business. If there are other photographers like me, I would hope they could learn how to market to their dream clients and enjoy working because they have more than enough financially.

Why did you become a photographer?
I didn’t know how to describe the beauty I saw but loved how a picture I took could show someone exactly what I meant. Taking pictures is a form of worship for me. I get to enjoy a moment of beauty and appreciate how wonderful God is to create this gorgeous world. And I love how photography helps me remember all the good things that happen in life.

I started in middle school and took yearbook for the sole purpose of being a photographer. I hated writing stories that were mandatory. But, I did get to go to all the sporting events and parties and take pictures. And the local paper even paid me for my pictures! I wanted to pursue it for the rest of my life!

After High School, I didn’t think it would be practical and didn’t pursue photography until after I had my third child and saw we couldn’t live on my husband’s job, especially when he wouldn’t work for months at a time. I thought if I worked on weekends or when he was home, I’d be able to help the family survive. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to price myself for profit, how to market myself to clients who value photography, how to build a portfolio that would attract my ideal client or know that spending a little money on a retoucher is more valuable than spending months working on one wedding day. I’d rather be sleeping or spending time with my kids or working on another photoshoot!

How has photography changed your life?
Photography gave me a voice. When I felt so unsupported and unloved in my marriage, it gave me a way to spend my time so I wasn’t lonely, make a little money to pay overdue bills, and a little break away from being a stay-at-home mom without a car. It gave me friendships with other photographers and financial freedom in the last few years. It gave me hope that I was creating a business that would change my world.

What advice would you give to photographers from the knowledge you have gained?
People want to hire you and they can afford you.

Not everyone though…so the key is to find the ones who value photography and you.

I was shocked because I live in Zanesville and have been very poor while living here, so I just assumed everyone who lived here would want the cheapest photographer. And I even thought I priced myself high.

I was wrong. My highest-paying clients have not lived in the most expensive parts of town. I have been so amazed that people who live here could afford $10K worth of wall art and an album. Most of my over $5K clients have come from this town with one of the highest poverty rates.

Perhaps you don’t think money is important, and when that is true, you see that you don’t do much to make it or keep it. I never valued it because I thought it was a waste of time to focus on it. I thought it was selfish to focus on material possessions and wanted enough to get by and a little to give away. But I had my power cut off a couple of times and couldn’t afford diapers. I was also afraid of rejection and couldn’t handle someone saying it was too expensive. I was afraid of being seen as opportunistic and greedy. And I wanted to help people so I didn’t want to charge when it was something that comes easily to me and people love. I kept thinking, photography isn’t a need like food, so why would anyone spend money on it. I certainly couldn’t afford it.

I had to change the way I valued money, my work, and myself. Now I see it as a tool that will help me be the best mom, enjoy my life, and truly help others. My happiest clients have been the biggest spenders! It was kind of shocking to see my $10K client jumping up and down with delight as she was so grateful to finally have family pictures on her wall. I see that I’m able to give them something they love and they can help me too. It feels like an equal exchange. I don’t have to do charity work to make a difference in someone’s life.

If someone doesn’t hire me, that isn’t a rejection of me. I’m valuable even if no one hires me. My work is worth paying for. If someone can’t afford me, I can be grateful that I’m opening space for someone who can. And just because it isn’t a need like food, it is still valuable to let people know they matter. I love that photography meets real needs that can change the way someone sees themself and remember the best moments in life.