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

Hi Sabrina, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
As a youth, my siblings and I would come up with business ventures around our community. Whether it was having a lemonade stand on our block in the summer, or plowing parking lots filled with snow in the winter, I always liked working and directly seeing the fruit. I liked the planning and process behind these small business ventures and I enjoyed making people happy.

Moving forward as a young adult, I began to discover my passions. To put it simply, they were writing, singing, and photography. I uncovered my passion for photography in December of the year 2016, while I was attending the United States Military Academy.

My first photography project at West Point was called “Under the Camo.” It depicted the stories of African American female cadets and officers at the Academy. My purpose was to capture who they were behind and beyond their camouflaged uniform. Sometimes it was so easy to get caught up in the mission of the academy that it could be easy to forget why they were there in the first place. They did not have to forgo who they were to be an officer. Who they were only amplified who they would be!

I decided not to go back to the academy after my second year and landed in sunny San Diego in 2017. I got into caregiving, phlebotomy, pet sitting, and film making. I started doing paid photography sessions for a couple of years but it was not until this year, 2021, that I decided to go full time.

I want to state that going full time is a totally different ball game than simply doing paid sessions for the sake of fun and art. If I was going to make photography my main source of income, things were going to have to change. I would need to get better software, equipment, and strategies to expand my company.

Passion. Planning. Practice. This is my thought process behind starting my own business.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My main focus right now is lifestyle photography and personal branding. I want to help personal brands elevate to the next level through the use of photography. Eventually, I want to incorporate  videography, and social media specific content. With my services, brands can get up to three months worth of content. They do not have to stress over what to post or how to engage with their audience. I help to take care of that for them!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Ooooo I would probably take them to La Jolla to go kayaking, check out some gelato shops around the beach, and go to Puesto’s for dinner. Yummm. We would probably then spend the evening chatting in the living room about life with a bowl of popcorn and some drinks.

In San Diego, I love the hiking trails such as Cowles mountain & Bonita. As far as places to eat, I still love Cafe Gratitude, a vegan spot in downtown San Diego, as well as Extraordinary Desserts for the chocolaty healthy drinks. If they are into tea places, Lestat’s is great, as well as Holsem coffee.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to thank Jesus for His guidance within photography. I thank my dad for buying me my first photography camera and encouraging me that I have what it takes to go full time in photography. I also want to thank my church family, Hilltop Tabernacle, for encouraging me to grow and supporting my brand financially through portrait sessions.

My shout out also goes out to all of the wonderful clients that I have had the pleasure of working with and will work with in the future!

Website: sabrinachantallephotography.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabrinachantallephotography/

Image Credits
@sabrinachantallephotography

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