Sarah Gilson

Hello! My name is Sarah Gilson, and I’ve been a freelance photographer in Austin, Texas for the past year and a half. I have a background in business operations, and currently work in the music industry full-time; but, as any motivated millennial, I’ve established a successful side-hustle. Thankfully, photography not only makes an easy and excellent second job, but also satisfies my desire to create and capture beautiful people, moments, places, and things!

My photography experience started with travel photography; capturing beautiful landscapes and architecture, foreign lands, foods, and people. I think travel photography is my first love and possibly always will be.

Breaking out from there, I started working with models in the Austin area to help build up both of our respective portfolios. I mainly focused on headshots, worked in easy out-of-home locations, and built up my knowledge of post-editing during this time. When I felt more comfortable posing models and working in different locations, I began to break into film photography. I know that a photographer should really learn how to shoot on film first, to help develop the eye, but I went about the whole thing backwards, and I have no regrets. It was incredibly helpful and rewarding to take a step back and develop my eye further when I already felt comfortable directing a shoot. I went through a phase in which I was doing purely film photoshoots, and I was able to get more creative and step out of my comfort zone a little bit more. Moving forward, I just grabbed up any opportunities that came my way. I’ve continued doing travel photography and portraits, but have now also done maternity sessions, engagement sessions, graduation photos, themed holiday shoots, boudoir sessions, and promotional work for a fellow alumna’s new business. The more I shot, on both film and digital, the more I fell in love with the entire process – all of it; from lighting and staging to developing and editing. The people I’ve met through this have remained wondering connections and friends.

If you’re looking for someone who is willing to do anything; to put in the time, effort, research, and step out of my comfort zone in order to deliver the best quality of work to you – then I’m you’re gal!