At the age of 33, Sara Ami has just received the title of France portrait painter, awarded by the French Federation of Photography and Image Trades (FFPMI). The diploma in her hands, already delicately scribbled by one of her children, she is very proud of it. A real guarantee of recognition delivered by his peers, for the one who has drawn portraits according to requests for more than 10 years now.
Lorguaise for generations, the young woman is quickly attracted by the art of photography. “When I got started, I saw it as something easy. I said to myself:” Just have a good device and … Click … “” Yes but here it is, it is obviously not so simple. It was without counting on “the eye of the photographer”, the mastery of technique, creativity, the search for good light and emotion … So many fundamentals that can be learned, tame, are cultivated step by passion.
“I was attracted to aesthetics. Animated by the idea of creating something beautiful with my eye, with what I have in me. I wanted to show what we do not see if we do not dwell on it”, she continues. So Sara gives herself the means to achieve her ends.
Without making specialized grandes schools, it is formed on the job. “I simply started with tutorials on online platforms.” By potting books, too. At the same time, it creates its structure in self-entrepreneurship. Is trained in business management, “storytelling”, communication, marketing: “I knew that if I wanted to take the photo my job, I had to go further …” Before taking the plunge and launching body and soul in self -taught.
“I started to take pictures of models, portraits. I wanted to enhance people through the image, with their own personalities.” At the start, it uses different artifices and other clichés around beauty and fashion: “Makeup, thin, slightly naked woman, that kind of shots for example.”
Little by needle, word of mouth works. The use of social networks too. Sara has a little name. Even if it’s not always easy, the budding photographer is moving forward. And look for each other. “There have been days with others without. Help in question, the desire to do more and better.” A search for balance, in short. Then arrives a turning point. And not least: the birth of his first child.
The trigger of authenticity
A new CAP in more ways than one for the young mother. A click too, no doubt. “By photographing my baby, making him pose, by staging him too much, I knew what I didn’t want to do anymore.” From then on will start a real quest for authenticity in his shots. Natural, nothing but natural. Without too much fuss. A form of simplicity, not so easy to implement.
“I have always had this fiber in me. My roots are anchored in the rural environment. The connection to nature, to others, is one of my values. I also think that the birth of my child allowed me to reconnect to my instincts. Not to mention the fact that photography helped me evolve. “ For Sara, “The photos are anchors.” Snapshots that mark a moment, a period of life, a passage. “These are benchmarks. Through them, we are growing up.”
The quest for authenticity begins with light. “I created a studio only in natural light, in a sleek setting, to take photos of families, newborns …” To grasp the “magic” moment, the one who does everything, Sara uses “invitations”. She suggests gestures, positions, provisions, “To describe people”.
“For example, I like to say to them: ” Three, you do the washing machine …! ”, she smiles. What necessarily create funny situations. “There is always need to refocus, replace the model, to capture the right light. But sometimes, you also have to guide, invite, give indications. To capture the natural.”
After the Cavid period, the studio is abandoned. Sara changes her robbers to focus on outdoor or at home.
Photos with meaning
The artist’s work begins with others. “Those who come to see me and say to me:” I want a nice photo “. There must be a desire to …” This is the basis. It remains to then define this “desire”. And to understand the one who requests it. “I invite people to get into an experience. I communicate a guide for preparing for the session, to explain them in particular not to do too much, to stay natural. I ask them questions and have them fill in a personalization questionnaire.”
Objective: stick to the character, the identity of the model. For the photo to have meaning, a soul. Because behind the portrait, there is a human being, with a story. The image must tell something. “Are you rather sea or mountain? How would you describe your family in a few words? How did you meet your spouse?” So many questions that will animate the photo. “In the exchange, by creating strong emotions, memories, the impact of the photo and the strength of the experience will be increased tenfold.”
Exchanges, a passion, and a creative work that therefore pay. Now portrait painter of France thanks to twelve clichés made on the themes imposed – all dissected by a jury according to different criteria (light, creativity, gestures …) -, she distinguished herself in her “lifestyle” approach. What she describes as “life report”. This natural, authentic alchemy against the current of academic standards. “A style very little represented in this type of competition, she says. Which makes this recognition all the more important for me. “
Contact: www.saraami.fr Instagram: @sara.ami.photographer
