My passion for photography began when I was in the darkroom of my high school film photography class. I loved learning about all the details that make a camera and film work. When my husband and I got engaged, he purchased our first digital camera from a co-worker for $50 and the cost of a lunch salad.
When my oldest daughter was born, I picked that passion back up and started photographing her at home. In 2009, a friend from my college photography class was the first client to hire me to take pictures of his wife expecting their first son. That was the launch of all of this.
I live and love in Tallahassee, Florida, my home state and where my husband and I are raising our family. I am mama to four little ones who are growing at the speed of light. My family is my passion.
Alongside my photography business, I also work for the Florida House of Representatives as a staff photographer, where I capture official headshots and photograph legislative sessions from the House Chamber. It's taught me a lot about working calmly under pressure and capturing genuine moments in high-stakes, fast-moving environments — skills that show up in every session I shoot, especially headshots and events.
Sarah-your photographer-Hey there! I'm- I'm a teacher by trade and graduated from Flagler College with a degree in Elementary Education.
- I am a creative person through and through and feel trapped if I don't have a creative outlet.
- Sunday is my favorite day of the week. I push the pause button on everything and enjoy it as a day of rest.
- I think I have a the best job in the world, getting to photograph families welcoming new babies into their homes.
- Having a baby in 2020 was a wild time but also the best possible quarantine distraction. If someday, your kiddos are older and you still feel that tug to have another baby, go for it. It will bring such joy to watch your older children love a baby sibling. 100%, I recommend it.
favorites Things
My favorite motherhood quote
“She says I shall now have one mouth the more to fill and two feet the more to shoe, more disturbed nights, more laborious days, and less leisure or visiting, reading, music, and drawing.
Well! This is one side of the story, to be sure, but I look at the other. Here is a sweet, fragrant mouth to kiss; here are two more feet to make music with their pattering about my nursery. Here is a soul to train for God; and the body in which it dwells is worth all it will cost, since it is the abode of a kingly tenant. I may see less of friends, but I have gained one dearer than them all, to whom, while I minister in Christ's name, I make a willing sacrifice of what little leisure for my own recreation my other darlings had left me. Yes, my precious baby, you are welcome to your mother's heart, welcome to her time, her strength, her health, her tenderest cares, to her lifelong prayers! Oh, how rich I am, how truly, how wondrously blest!”
-Elizabeth Prentiss, "Stepping Heavenward," published 1869
My photography is designed for living room walls and photo albums. It's my deepest hope that you'll print the beautiful images that we create and will enjoy them every day of your life. I love what I do and I would be honored for the opportunity to share it with you.
my family
myhusband
Sundays
That’s not a filter. That’s the finish.
Editing isn’t about fixing something that went wrong, it’s the last step in creating the image. The light, the color, the feeling. It all comes together in the edit.
Raw files are a little like unfinished film negatives. They’re where we start, not where we land. What you receive is the image as it was always meant to look.
This is the part of the work I genuinely love. And it shows up in every single image I deliver.
These seasons with your family are fleeting.
I know that sounds like something you see on a sign at HomeGoods, but I mean it in the most practical, un-cheesy way possible: the version of your kids that exists right now will be different in six months.
The way your toddler laughs, the way your baby fits in the crook of your arm, the way your whole family piles onto the couch on a Tuesday night - it changes. Gradually and then all at once.
These photos were taken of my daughter on her last week of kindergarten this year. Her playful spirit, in her bedroom, wearing the dress she wore for their Peter Rabbit end of year program. All the sweetness of the year in a few snapshots. I will love them forever.
The photos I make for families are not about having a perfect day or a perfect outfit or perfect kids. They are about stopping long enough to say: this was us, right here, in this season.
That is worth something.
If you have been thinking about it, reach out. We will find a time that works for real life.
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#portraitphotography #portraiture #simplyportraits #portraitoftheday #portraitphotographer #portraitsmag #portraitshoot #photographerofinstagram #photographyofinstagram #photographerlife #instaphotography #justgoshoot #photographylover #baby #familyphotography #tallahasseebabyphotographer #ihearttally #tallahassee #tallahasseephotographer #850 #floridanewbornphotographer #themotherhoodanthology #tma #lifestylelighting
.... now you know.
Which session memory has been living rent-free in your head lately?
Drop it below, I love hearing these. 🤍
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#portraitphotography #portraiture #simplyportraits #portraitoftheday #portraitphotographer #portraitsmag #portraitshoot #photographerofinstagram #photographyofinstagram #photographerlife #instaphotography #justgoshoot #photographylover #baby #familyphotography #tallahasseebabyphotographer #ihearttally #tallahassee #tallahasseephotographer #850 #floridanewbornphotographer #themotherhoodanthology #tma #lifestylelighting
He studied everything first — the trees, the park, me — before he decided we were okay. And then? That smile. 💛 Loved capturing this family`s time with their au pair under the soft Tallahassee light.
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#portraitphotography #portraiture #simplyportraits #portraitoftheday #portraitphotographer #portraitsmag #portraitshoot #photographerofinstagram #photographyofinstagram #photographerlife #instaphotography #justgoshoot #photographylover #baby #familyphotography #tallahasseebabyphotographer #ihearttally #tallahassee #tallahasseephotographer #850 #floridanewbornphotographer #themotherhoodanthology #tma #lifestylelighting
A few things I am loving lately that are helping me move through the juggling act with a little more sanity:
A single charging base on my nightstand. One cord. One base. Phone, Apple Watch, AirPods... all done. I waited way too long to make that little switch.
And honestly? The Chattanooga trip. Getting out of the daily routine and being intentional about time with my husband reminded me that those moments do not happen on their own. You have to actually put them on the calendar.
What is helping you feel more grounded lately? A mindset shift, a habit, a snack you are unreasonably committed to? Hit reply or drop it in the comments - I am always adding to my list.
Photo credit of me and my little Tilley, taken by @coleykphotography
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#portraitphotography #portraiture #simplyportraits #portraitoftheday #portraitphotographer #portraitsmag #portraitshoot #photographerofinstagram #photographyofinstagram #photographerlife #instaphotography #justgoshoot #photographylover #baby #familyphotography #tallahasseebabyphotographer #ihearttally #tallahassee #tallahasseephotographer #850 #floridanewbornphotographer #themotherhoodanthology #tma #lifestylelighting
Memberships and Affiliations
Sarah Gray creates timeless and joyful images that are designed for living room walls and photo albums. A tallahassee photographer, Sarah Gray also serves Thomasville, Crawfordville, St. Marks, Gainesville and throughout the Forgotten Coast and panhandle of north Florida and south Georgia.
email us | sarah@sarahgray.com
telephone (850) 321-0208
located in tallahassee, florida
