May 17, 2017

Meet Sylvie SoRelle of Sylvie SoRelle Photography

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sylvie SoRelle.

Sylvie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I married my college sweetheart after we finished graduate school. I began a career in nursing while he practiced corporate oil and gas law. We were both open to children and thought we would start a family right away. When that didn’t happen, we tried to find ways to occupy our time. It’s so funny now thinking back that we had to actively look for things to do. With three little children in the house now, all under age five, there is no shortage of action.

So there we were, with all the time in the world and nothing to do. He had studied photography for years in college and suggested we take a class. I always loved anything to do with arts and crafts, so I eagerly agreed. This is the part in the story where he likes to tell everyone he taught me everything I know. But then I have to remind him that the student has surpassed the teacher. He still owns several film cameras, including a beautiful old Hasselblad that I bought him, but using his phone to snap pictures of our children being silly is about all the photography he does these days.

We began studying film photography at the Glassell School of Art with Amy Blakemore. After my first semester, my portfolio was chosen for a student exhibit and I was awarded a scholarship. I loved being in the dark room. Learning all the techniques from developing film to making prints, all the constant refining, burning, dodging, was so engrossing. Then I studied portraiture under Will Michels of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. I knew immediately that I had found my niche. At the same time, he was just beginning to digitize his old medium format negatives, and he was experimenting with printing directly from a computer. When I first fumbled around with Photoshop, the endless possibilities just exploded before my mind.

Afterwards, I bought my first inexpensive digital SLR, and I’ve never looked back. Since these early beginnings, I have taken numerous workshops from professionals all around the country on subjects ranging from how to run my business, posing, shooting, editing, basically every facet of what it takes to be a professional photographer.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As with anything worth doing, and doing well, there have been setbacks and difficulties. I was the victim of a smash-and-grab outside of the Camera Co-Op. I’ve had equipment failures. My images have been used without my permission. Anyone trying to start their own business can relate to these struggles in one way or another. It’s part of the learning process, but I don’t dwell on it. I’ve been blessed with too many people who believe in me, too many great clients, and too many amazing experiences to think back on the challenges of the past. You live, learn, and move on. There’s always some new joyful opportunity just waiting around the corner. I believe that.

Sylvie SoRelle Photography – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I’ve shot everything from weddings and events to landscapes, microphotography of flowers and insects, down to products, food, merchandise, and real estate. I’ve done portraiture from engagements, senior photos, family reunions, boudoir, and even my husband doing a little car modelling to show off our new minivan! However, what I am really known for, and what I love best, is documenting the entire process of bringing new love and life into the world. My specialty is that precious passage of time from the maternity shoot with the pregnant new mother, to the birth of the newborn baby, through the quarterly milestones, up to the smash cake and the first birthday party. Of course, I am more than happy to continue cataloging all of those big moments in a child’s life – first steps, new teeth, trips to see bluebonnets, whatever I’m called to do, but that first year is what I really cherish.

I do have assistants for big events, and a ton of supporters, but at the end of the day, I’m a company of one. So, even though I am not going to scale this into a big business, no company will ever match the level of love and dedication I provide my clients. I pride myself on my attention to editing, and the quality of my products, but what really sets me apart is my style. My photography is light, airy, fresh, and organic. I have a naturally lit studio in my home, and I frequently take advantage of outdoor locations which I am constantly scouting. I also shoot on location at clients’ homes, but I do encourage them to take advantage of my studio because I know its light perfectly, and that is, after all, what photography is all about – using light to capture an unrepeatable moment in time.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
There have been unique moments and opportunities in my career, and plenty of firsts, such as my first rainbow baby, shooting twins, and even triplets! Like all jobs, there is some repetition. Instead of punching a clock, sitting at a desk, doing some work, then heading home, I meet clients, we discuss their desires, I take some photos, they view their gallery, and I deliver them images in one form or another. What makes me proud is that I never get sucked into that mindset. I acknowledge the pattern, but the reality for me is that every interaction is unique.

Every time a mother is pregnant with her baby is the only time she will be pregnant with that baby. I will only pose that newborn for those few hours, and never again. When those parents laugh and cry at their slideshow, it is the first and only time we will all experience those tears and smiles together. I cherish that each and every time, as if it were the first and only time, because in a very real sense, it is.

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