We had the good fortune of connecting with Reshma Sondagar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Reshma, what inspires you?
I am inspired by watching beautiful authentic moments unravel in front of my lens, moments that you want to remember forever, a soft smile, a gentle touch, those intangible things that will evoke feelings of happiness and nostalgia bringing you back to a particular moment in time. I’m inspired by soft natural light and neutral & calming tones.

My favorite part of what I do, is meeting new people, capturing your love and watching your children grow up through my lens.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a full service newborn, motherhood & family photographer. I strive to create a stress free experience that is simple and easy for my clients by offering services such as a client wardrobe & styling assistance for the entire family. I also help my clients get their photos off the digital world by designing and offering products such as fine art prints, albums and wall collections. Whether they prefer an album of images to pass down to their children, a custom wall gallery designed for their home or just the digital files, I am there to help make sure they get to enjoy the images we have created together and most importantly provide a personal service.

I want the world to know how passionate I am about every part of my brand and business. I truly want to help people preserve those fleeting moments with their loved ones. I want people to have tangible ways to enjoy and cherish their memories. I don’t want people to be left with thousands of photos on a cloud somewhere.

How I got to where I am is a unique story, if you told me 10 years ago I would be doing this I never would have believed you. I went to school for business and marketing, I worked in the corporate world for the last 14 years. I loved the marketing world and got to work for some amazing brands like Adidas while I lived in Panama in Central America. Photography was always part of my world however I never viewed it as a business until recent years. After having my children and being completely inspired and slightly obsessed with taking photos of them I began finding myself completely immersed in all things photography related. I spent countless hours studying the art, studying light, learning the technical elements, the artistic aspect and I was constantly shooting because it made me feel so passionate and excited, in a way it was also therapeutic for me. When I was at work one day during a lunch with my team, someone asked “what would you do if you could do anything else as a career/job”, without hesitation I said I would love to have my own photography business, I would love to share my art and help moms capture and preserve those fleeting moments. After that conversation I remember thinking…well if I really want to do that, I should! I would just have to make a lot of changes and shifts in my life, which over the last 5 years I’ve finally done!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my friend we’re visiting me, our trip would involve lots of beach time, good food and some margaritas! We would likely hit up Bear Flag for some poke then head to Newport or Laguna Beach for some fun in the sand, maybe even stop by the Shake Shack to enjoy that view over a shake and fries! I would want to squeeze in a day trip to Joshua Tree and maybe even Palm Springs as I love the vibe there and of course a trip to SoCal wouldn’t be complete without some yummy Mexican Food. One of my favorite places is a small restaurant called The Little Onion.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My dad deserves credit! He owns a camera repair & service business back in Ottawa, Canada, in fact he’s had that business from back in the day when we lived in Nairobi, Kenya so that’s over 50 years in the industry. My entire life I’ve always had cameras in our home and in our lives in some shape or form.  I would go to work with him and he would give me old broken cameras to “fix”, which really just meant me using a little screwdriver to take all the screws out! I remember him teaching me how to load film and he would have a camera ready for me anytime I needed!

Website: www.reshmasondagar.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/reshmasondagar

Facebook: www.facebook.com/reshmaphotography

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/reshma-photography-costa-mesa?uid=Qa7grfQNn3Iaa0RFerVvhw&utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

Other: Google Review: g.page/reshmaphotography

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