Photo by Gina Rose
Some of you may know me already, but most of you don't so I figure it's better to properly introduce myself and put a face and personality behind the name. Hey! I'm Sam Reed your friendly, neighborhood lifestyle portrait photographer.
I grew up a child of the nineties in a small, rural town in Western New York. Even at a very young age I knew that I wanted to grow up and live in a city and see more than my tiny country town. So while in college I dipped my toes in a world where towns had more than 5,000 people in them and I went the furthest place I could possibly go, Perth, Australia. I spent six months studying abroad there (but let's be real, not much studying was actually happening). I lived and learned A LOT while there, 18 and totally clueless, and I'd like to think my time abroad really solidified what I did and didn't want out of my life.
Me and some sea lions(?) somewhere off-shore in NW Australia
When I came home from Australia I still had a year and a half of university to complete. I was majoring in Psychology at the time and after studying abroad I knew that psych wasn't the career path I wanted to go down. But honestly, I had no idea what it was that I wanted to pivot to. But being halfway through my degree I decided to complete my Bachelor's in Psychology and reassess upon graduation. I was young, like not even 21 yet, freshly graduated from college, and I had so much left to experience before I'd realize a passion that was literally always in front of my eyes. (I'm looking at you - massive photo album of film shots I took on my 35mm camera on an 8th grade field trip to Washington D.C)
I moved to Buffalo, NY which at the time was a dang CITY for me and prepared to take on life and whatever that entailed. I had no clue and honestly, I wasn't too rushed to figure it all out hahaha My main priority was going to every single concert I could now that I didn't have to drive over an hour to go see one. But that's where my journey truly began.
I linked up with a local company that booked almost all of the shows in town and they had me shoot pictures at their shows and in exchange I got into shows for free. Pretty great deal for me at the time. I had no formal training, or even informal training really, but I was eager and passionate and that was enough to get my foot in the door. As I grew myself as a live music photographer over the years I began to shoot large music festivals like Firefly and Riot Fest and fell in love with photographing in natural light. The way it complimented people entirely amazed me and I knew I had to delve into portrait work.
Me taking pictures at Vans Warped Tour in Cleveland, OH. Photo by Andrew Bastion
Through the blind trust of friends, family, and friends of friends I began shooting small weddings and engagement sessions and anything I could get my hands on. I loved being able to help people see themselves in a way they hadn't before. Making people feel good makes me happy and what better way to get a confidence boost than seeing a photo of yourself that really makes you shine?!
For years I worked miscellaneous jobs and would shoot both concerts and portrait work constantly, continuing to teach myself as I went along. Was it bold looking back on it? Ohhhh yeah. But I learned invaluable lessons in those years and grew my skills with nothing but a whole lot of motivation and curiosity (and a lot of iced coffee along the way).
Eventually though it seemed right to take some time to learn different skills and work with some local photography companies. I did pre-school portrait photography for a few years and also worked in-hospital doing newborn portraits as well. Neither job was "for me" per say, at least not for my ~forever~ job, but I am so thankful for the skills I was able to learn while working with each one. Working with children and newborns is not for everyone, and it helps to have a multitude of tricks up my sleeve for both in my business today.
A good friend of mine gave birth at my hospital and took a behind the scenes shot of me working with her baby
While working with the newborn portrait photography company I met a very nice man (at Warped Tour) and went and fell in love and he lived in, you guessed it, Philadelphia! I was still very active in the live music scene and Buffalo was experiencing a loss in venues that was directly affecting what I had access to locally. So it only made sense to pack up my things and head down to Philadelphia and just make the most of my life with a partner that I loved and a blossoming career I was excited to take to Philly!
Naturally, I moved to Philly with my partner and two weeks later COVID hit and shut EVERYTHING down. Interesting timing, but we rolled with it! I didn't feel comfortable being in close quarters with people yet to try and kickstart my portrait photography in Philly. So I did what so many others did and got a lot of plants (like a small jungle's worth) and baked and cooked entirely too much, and did a lot of embroidery. But to be fair, cooking and crafting were already my things, so in a weird way I was shining for a bit there during COVID (minus the paralyzing anxiety that came along with COVID).
My partner, Chris and I in Costa Rica this past December
Once the timing felt comfortable, I began to run fall family mini sessions in Fishtown to help grow a sense of community in my new home. And I couldn't have gotten luckier honestly, I've found my people! Fishtown and Philly at large welcomed me with open arms and I've been able to connect with a ton of beautiful and unique families and I genuinely cherish every one. Being able to interact and make memories with local families helped me feel a sense of belonging in this city. And bigger than that, it really highlighted that all the choices I had made leading up to this move were the right ones, and I was finally in a place that felt like home and I could shine in!
And I continue to feel this way, three years into my move to Philadelphia and each day cements that this is where I'm supposed to be right now, connecting with people in this city and making beautiful art with and for them. 2023 is proving to be the biggest year for Sam Reed Photo thus far, and I truly couldn't do it without all of you supporting my vision and spreading the word to those you know!
My and my big ole family at my mom's house in WNY
Hopefully that "short" story gives you a better idea of who I am and what my journey to becoming a portrait photographer looked like! It's not the traditional path, but I think that's what makes me a bit different than your everyday portrait photographer ;)
PS: I have a major announcement coming up tomorrow through my VIP list linked here and I'd love to have you be a part of the announcement.