Creativity Trapped

“Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”        -Picasso

This quote resonates with me.  You know that feeling when there’s something you want to do, but simply cannot do?  The feeling that there’s a song inside you that wants to be sung, but you don’t have the words or tune?  I think there’s something to that and I hope I’m not alone.  I love music, singing, photography (duh) and I have for a long time.  As a kid, I was always dabbling in a new instrument.  First it was violin, then clarinet, piano, guitar, and back again to violin (which I still dabble in today). Looking back at my relationship with music, it’s as if it beckons me.  As if there is some part of me that is asleep but wants to be woken up.  Like there’s a voice inside that just HAS to sing and when it can’t, I feel very trapped.  My poor family falls victim to my prison at times as I rearrange the furniture… again.  Tweaking decorations here and there as I go along.  Or painting a chest of drawers on a whim (without moving it from the place it sits and not covering the carpet around it with a drop cloth.  I’m a renegade.  I know it.).  I am so so thankful for my photography.

Sarah Gray Photography | Tallahassee, FL wedding and family photographer - post on creativity

As my business picks up and I am able to share my creativity with others through the lens of my camera, I feel that those prison walls are cracking… the metal bars, weakening.  I can’t help but wonder though, what is it?  What is that feeling?  Why has it been a constant companion through my life?  The more I think about it and the more I study God’s love letter to me and read the writing of other creative believers whom I admire, the closer I come to understanding that I really am made WE really are  made in the image and likeness of God.  Creativity is His trademark. More accurately, He is creativity personified.  He started with creation and hasen’t stopped since.  In fact, he’s busy preparing a place for us now.  So I’m starting to think more and more about this “pull” inside me.  It’s not weird or uncertain.  I know exactly what it is but it’s never satisfied… and I’m thinking it won’t be until that place for me is ready… and I can rearrange furniture in it.

There are certain places that just make everything easier.

The light falls right. The space feels calm. The family relaxes without even realizing it. 

I have been thinking a lot lately about the locations I keep coming back to, and what it is about them that works. Some are outdoors with gorgeous natural canopy and soft, open light. Some are quieter, more tucked away. Some I discovered by accident and now I wouldn't trade them.

What they all have in common is this: they feel true to the families I photograph here in Tallahassee and the surrounding area. Unhurried. Warm. Real. Give me all the "old Florida" vibes.

Swipe through to see a few of my favorites right now. Do you have a favorite spot around Tallahassee, or somewhere nearby that means something to your family? I would genuinely love to hear it - drop it in the comments or send me a message. I am always looking to grow this list.

Seen here are Goodwood Museum and Gardens, St. Theresa, Summer Camp Beach, Park Avenue Chain of Parks, and Dorothy B. Oven Park.
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.

Memberships and Affiliations

Sarah Gray Photography | Professional Photographer of America Member
Sarah Gray Photography | The Motherhood Anthology Member
National Association of Professional Child Photographers Member 2026-2027

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

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located in tallahassee, florida