HV Story
See. Capture. Print. Inspire.
Nothing like a close up, moon eyed, cheesy grin portrait to introduce myself!
Hello to you. Welcome.
If you can't tell, I absolutely love taking photos. I always have. This is where the story begins.
I've always been told I have 'the eye' - whatever that means. The way this manifests for me is that I am always seeing pictures. I get overcome with a drive to capture moments or things that I see. It's wonderful and it's also chaos.
I was gifted a camera as a teenager and the rest was history. A drive to capture became an obsession, and I started teaching myself the art of photography.
With some training and experience under my belt, I began freelancing my services. However, instead of fuelling this love, it began to snuff it out. I take my hat off to freelance photographers. I became sick of clients asking me to recreate instagram photos they'd seen other photographers capture or taking the same set of event photos each weekend. The days were long, exhausting, and I felt my creative drive wane. It simply wasn't for me. At the time I was finishing studies to become a teacher and as soon as I graduated, I put my camera in the cupboard and didn't touch it for over a year. As for the drive and obsession - I completely lost it.
Turns out a break was exactly what I needed though. Time to miss it. The drive slowly started to creep back and I gradually took the camera out of the cupboard more and more. Not for any purpose, just to create. That felt bloody good.
When overseas travel closed, I bought a 4X4, put a tent on the roof, a fridge in the back and started taking off on some Aussie road-trips. Just me, the camera, and the incredible landscapes we are so lucky to have in our backyard. The drive turned to obsession again.
Adventure, wonder, and curiosity often push me to explore places off the beaten track. I love all the popular spots as much as the next person, they're popular for a reason. But getting an image that I had to work for - that hits different. Be it waiting hours for the lions to emerge from the tall grass, or hiking through rugged terrain to get to the southern most point of Australia (pictured left) - this is where I feel most inspired.
In 2023 I decided I wanted to take it seriously again. I knew I just wanted to create, so I went all in. I updated my gear, booked a flight to Africa, and started creating.
Image: Nile River, EGYPT.
And this was the birth of Her Vantage. I set out to capture the genuine world - not the curated one on instagram. In this digital age, I think it is important to produce tactile products. Images are so different when you can experience them in real life, rather than only through a screen.
I wanted to embed stories and history into my images because I didn't want people to just say 'that's a nice picture,' I wanted there to be a level of experience in the viewing. I wanted the viewer to feel inspired or curious or connected.
I can't thank you enough for landing here and reading this. If one of my images is so lucky to make it on your wall, I hope it brings life, colour, conversation, and curiosity with it.
Sarah x