A huge thank you to each of our amazing clients who made this year spectacular for us! You are the people that allow us to live out our passion. You are the ones who caught the vision behind why we do this and believed in it. You are the ones who had complete faith and trust in us. You are the people who have inspired us and encouraged us and pushed us to be greater. You are the people who trusted us and empowered us. We feel so thankful to each of you, but mostly, we feel humbled. 

We found it INSANELY difficult to do a "Best of 2009" post so instead these are some highlights from the past year. Most of the photos are ones that I personally connected with for one reason or another. But that is the hard part, I felt connected to so many of our images from this year. This post started as 220 images (a ton I know!!) and Chris finally made us narrow it down to more like 30, which I found too difficult to do, so I just let him do the picking and these are just a handful of the highlights of 2009. Looking forward to a fantastic year in 2010. It's going to be a great one, I can just feel it in my bones :)

Happy New Year!












Thoughts
Add a Comment View Comments (14)
Heather Gilson says: Tuesday, January 5, 2010, 05:14 PM

Wow-what a great collection for 2009! Amazing really. You two are always so busy having fun and making cool art. Thanks for your earlier posts on your favorite business books, I REALLY enjoyed that and went straight to Amazon to order a few. Keep the reviews coming as you plow through more books in 2010!
Thanks again!

angie says: Sunday, January 3, 2010, 10:37 PM

What an amazing year!!!

kristen says: Saturday, January 2, 2010, 11:58 PM

Loved every one of these...

Michelle sidles says: Saturday, January 2, 2010, 08:23 PM

Happy New Year!!! :) Beautiful images!

arenda says: Saturday, January 2, 2010, 03:10 PM

amazing images sarah! my favourite is the one of the guy twirling the girl in the boots around, it's stunning! happy 2010!

Rebecca says: Saturday, January 2, 2010, 12:51 PM

what a great year for you :)

Maureen Nikonov says: Saturday, January 2, 2010, 12:21 PM

Only 220, Sarah? :) I could've brought another 220 to your attention that were absolutely out of this world. Good work sneaking those three of you in there, Chris, I loved those shots of you. Can't wait to see what you bring to fruition this year... congrats on all your success and all that is still to come!

imthiaz houseman says: Friday, January 1, 2010, 04:06 PM

stunning work. Happy New Year. we can't wait to see what 2010 brings to the two of you. :)

Emily says: Friday, January 1, 2010, 03:33 PM

Happy New Year Chris and Sarah!
Thank you for being part of our first year of married life! We look forward to more fun dinners and geeking out with you guys :)

chatti says: Friday, January 1, 2010, 02:50 PM

all awesome and really reflected your clients personality and your connection with your clients.

Steve Gerrard says: Friday, January 1, 2010, 02:10 PM

What an amazing year you've had. And we've loved keeping up with you along the way.
Here's to an even more incredible 2010.
Cheers
Steve & Evelyne xx

Alexandra says: Friday, January 1, 2010, 01:13 PM

I'm so in love with your work. Wow.

Jennifer says: Friday, January 1, 2010, 12:46 PM

Love them! He did a good job of picking the best!

Jennifer says: Friday, January 1, 2010, 12:46 PM

Love them! He did a good job of picking the best!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 10:00 PM
"Adventure is a path. Real adventure - self-determined, self-motivated, often risky, forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world.  The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it.  Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness.  In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and the bottomless cruelty of humankind - and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both.  This will change you.  Nothing will ever again be black-and-white." - Mark Jenkins

These are the faces that moved mountains in my heart this December while in Thailand. I want to introduce them to you. To me, they are beautiful. One of my photography mentors once told me that "to photograph someone well we must first love them." It is easy to capture a photo of someone on the street, but to capture them with all the dignity and nobility they posses, this is more challenging. This is what I'm interested in when I capture people. My heart is to dig beneath what meets the eye and reveal humanity through my images. One of my favorite photographers, Sebastiao Salgado once said, "If you take a picture of a human that does not make him noble, there is no reason to take this picture."

Our lives cannot be understood on flat on a page... Life must be experienced, embraced, & seen from a different perspective. There comes a time in each of our lives when we must jump out of the boat, learn to love better, stand amidst a people that is very different than what we know, and let it challenge us to the core. It is in these beautiful moments when truth emerges and we can see ourselves with a certain transparency that will never surface when we sit in our boats of comfort. Many times we confuse comfort with happiness. You see, living the rich life is all about being uncomfortable.  It is in these moments that we become aware of our wings and then learn how to make them flap against the wind.... it is in these glorious moments when we can understand the exhilaration of flight that lives within us. 
Thank you Thailand for reminding me of just how big my wings are and just how far they can take me.




Thoughts
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Jayme says: Sunday, January 10, 2010, 09:29 PM

I have loved all of your pictures for a few months now but these are incredible. I have always wanted to be so bold to take pictures of the people I see on the street in other countries but I am always too nervous. Thank you for sharing your wonderful pictures!

Kat Speyer says: Monday, January 4, 2010, 03:38 PM

Incredibly moving, and awesome portraits. Thank you for sharing.

Kat Braman says: Sunday, January 3, 2010, 07:06 AM

what a great collection. I love how colorful everything is. Thailand is definitely up there on my list of places to visit. My favorite is the older lady sitting in the blue chair. She looks so fun and spunky.

lisa dunham says: Friday, January 1, 2010, 08:17 AM

Ralph Waldo Emerson said "A man finds room in the few square inches of his face for the traits of all his ancestors; for the expression of all his history, and his wants." That resonates in these images and tells me that a special place in your heart was touched by each one. You have that gift.

sarahrhoads says: Thursday, December 31, 2009, 03:37 PM

@wrecklessgirl she is mine too... such a proud woman.

wrecklessgirl says: Thursday, December 31, 2009, 02:48 PM

the last woman, she is my favourite.

Matt Milburn says: Thursday, December 31, 2009, 10:25 AM

Gorgeous photos!!!

Melina says: Thursday, December 31, 2009, 08:56 AM

Hi. I love all your picturs. The ones in Thailand are so inspiring. I mentioned you on my blog today as one of my faves. Hope you have a wonderful New Years and THANK YOU. Melina

Paige says: Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 11:37 AM

These are amazing. So much life :)

Steve says: Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 10:52 AM

These portraits are wonderful! You truly captured each personality in his/her environment. I especially love the attitude of the last woman! Kudos :)

Laura says: Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 09:02 AM

Gorgeous photos! I love how you captured the spirit and essence of each person and Thailand.

Laura says: Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 09:02 AM

Gorgeous photos! I love how you captured the spirit and essence of each person and Thailand.

Melissa says: Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 08:24 AM

these are beautiful sarah! i hope you had a wonderful vacation... much deserved i'm sure!

maile says: Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 07:39 AM

So addicted to your blog. You are incredibly talented.

Gail says: Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 07:00 AM

Love ALLL of these. Wonderful wonderful work!

Mandy says: Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 06:54 AM

Gorgeous and true.

Alexandra says: Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 03:33 AM

Beautifully captured! You did an amazing job! I love it!

Maurice says: Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 12:42 AM

This is a really interesting set of portraits, great work.

Thailand is the coolest place I've ever been. This makes me want to buy a ticket back there now.

sarahrhoads says: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 10:38 PM

@Beata I am likely going to do a post on this in the coming weeks but in short, yes, I raise my camera in question and smile to ask if I can take someone's photo before I snap the shot. All of these portraits were shot with my 35mm lens so I had to be pretty darn close to the people. Thailand is called "the land of smiles" and they truly live up to their name. Most of the people were very open and willing to have their portraits taken. There were only 3 times throughout the trip that I asked and was turned down. Every culture is different, every person is different and it is important to respect people when we capture them :) hope that helps... I'll do a full post on street photography in the coming weeks.

Bianca Valentim says: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 09:36 PM

You are SO inspiring Sarah!!!
Beautiful what you wrote! I'm a big fan of Sebastiao Salgado, he's from the same country I'm from. :)
I LOVE to come here, your words always touches my heart! Thank You for that!
:)

Beata English says: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 09:34 PM

Hi there Sarah - I just can't stop looking at your photos from Thailand - amazing! Just a question - did you just go up and ask to take the person's photo? I'm off to the US in March and want to take photos of any interesting people i cross paths with on our road trip. sometimes just hesitant to take a photo of a complete stranger...
Love B

Bianca Valentim says: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 09:34 PM

You are SO inspiring Sarah!!!
Beautiful what you wrote! I'm a big fan of Sebastiao Salgado, he's from the same country I'm from. :)
I LOVE to come here, your words always touches my heart! Thank You for that!
:)

Beata English says: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 09:34 PM

Hi there Sarah - I just can't stop looking at your photos from Thailand - amazing! Just a question - did you just go up and ask to take the person's photo? I'm off to the US in March and want to take photos of any interesting people i cross paths with on our road trip. sometimes just hesitant to take a photo of a complete stranger...
Love B

erica says: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 09:16 PM

amazing.

Julie h says: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 09:05 PM

your words brought tears to my eyes. It was exactly what I needed to hear tonight. The photos are most evidently emotionally connected. Thank you.

Jenice says: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 08:37 PM

Thank you for such a beautiful reminder of jumping out of the boat. I cannot wait to talk when you get back.

chatti says: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 08:25 PM

the first portrait, that's my dad...skin tone, wrinkles, glasses, everything. in just one portrait, you were able to make me miss my dad.

Jeanette says: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 08:17 PM

Incredibly wise and moving words.

These are all so beautiful, but there are a few that absolutely stopped me in my tracks - where the soul of the person shone through the photograph with complete and utter clarity.

Impressive and full of heart.

Alyssa says: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 08:13 PM

Wow, these are all such powerful images! You captured each of theses individuals beautifully. They all have a different special look in their eye! I always enjoy seeing what you're up to next! Great job!

Heather Elizabeth says: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 08:13 PM

These are absolutely breathtaking. I am in love with the last shot. The look on that woman's face is priceless!

Stunning portraits. So much character.

Alyssa says: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 08:13 PM

Wow, these are all such powerful images! You captured each of theses individuals beautifully. They all have a different special look in their eye! I always enjoy seeing what you're up to next! Great job!

Kia Gregory says: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 08:09 PM

Truly artistic. Thank you.

David says: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 08:05 PM

Great pictures, love the soldier!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 08:00 AM
Heather & Jay were our models for our mentor session with Lori & David this week. Whenever we do an all day mentor session we arrange a shoot so that the folks we are mentoring can see how we work with our couples on location. We shot right around dusk on an overcast Seattle day and it captured this season in Seattle perfectly :). Heather & I actually danced on our dance team in high school together back in Chicago and ironically enough, both ended up in Seattle. We hadn't seen each other in years so it was so fun to see her and hang out with her main squeeze, Jay! 

I want to give a huge shout out to Tiffany Lowry who did the hair and makeup for this shoot. I cannot stress the amazing difference it always makes to work with a professional make up artist. It is huge. Jay & Heather radiated playfulness and love and were up for an adventure. I personally love this shoot because somehow it gets me totally excited for Christmas in just a couple of days.

If you and your boyfriend/fiance/husband have an interest in modeling for any of our upcoming mentor session shoots please e mail us at consulting @ sarahrhoads.com with the subject line "models" and include a photo and a little bit about the two of you. The session fee is comped for modeling :) We are looking for fun people with a little quirk who are up for a good time on a shoot.

We are heading to Oklahoma today to be with family for the holiday's so keep in mind the office will be closed until after January 1st! Happy Holiday's!




Thoughts
Add a Comment View Comments (18)
Tonhya Kae says: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 09:39 PM

Mmmm, these make my insides all warm and fuzzy! I love Seattle this time of year! Is this at Discovery? You and Chris have dominated Discovery Park this year!!! :) Love it. Happy New Year!

Anissa says: Sunday, December 27, 2009, 01:41 PM

Love color!

Harmony Loves says: Friday, December 25, 2009, 08:00 PM

amazing and beautiful beyond words

kristen says: Thursday, December 24, 2009, 11:58 AM

STUNNING! Love the tones.

neal carpenter says: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 05:57 PM

Dear God! These are beautiful. I'm overwhelmed.

Lori says: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 02:31 PM

you're so stinking amazing! Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful!

Kat Speyer says: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 12:10 PM

Amazing! I do love her makeup, and her sense of style is great. :)

Kaysha says: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 10:26 AM

WOW! I love, love, LOVE the shot of Heather along up against the tree, stunning! Fantastic work!!

Meredith says: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 10:11 AM

These are probably some of my absolute favorites of yours. I tell everyone in my family that I have already decided that I want you as my wedding photographer. (I'm 18) They say I need to find a boyfriend first. Details..details.

Ardith says: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 10:08 AM

Everything about this shoot is gorgeous! Wow!

Lydia says: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 10:04 AM

Beautiful!

Cait says: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 09:00 AM

I love this Chris+Sarah! I just love the whole feel - it's Christmasy but not... Great job.

Alexandra says: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 08:42 AM

Beautiful photos! I love the last one!

Tina says: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 08:41 AM

Seriously, is she the cutest person ever? I think yes. I'm jealous of that scarf, for sho'.

Briony says: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 08:41 AM

beautiful. love their style. gorgeous setting. great series :)

jess@studio3z says: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 08:34 AM

oh my! her makeup is AH-MAZ-ING. and I must go out and get a mustard scarf! beautiful, beautiful images as always Sarah+Chris.

jamie delaine says: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 08:31 AM

oooh the colours and the styling. so perfect.

Bianca Valentim says: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 08:17 AM

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!
very winter, I love it! :)

Monday, December 21, 2009, 08:27 AM
Meet Lori & David, they are photographers out of Knoxville, TN with a vision to do something great with their business. They want to leave a footprint on this industry, on this world... and they will. Lori & David have a heart to love others, the passion to succeed, and the hard work ethic to thrive. They are in the beginning stages of their journey and we cannot wait to see how they will grow and where they end up. I feel like our day went so fast.... we covered the gamut in this mentor session. Working with husband and wife teams in our consulting sessions is always especially fun for us. It's like going on an 8 hour double date and pouring our hearts into a couple that we want to see succeed, and helping them navigate all of the facets of running a business together.

Helping Lori and David set up a roadmap for their business was so fun. Every mentor session is customized to where a person is at in their journey and since Lori and David are starting out, our goal was to help them avoid things that waste their time and money; and instead invest in the things that will make their business grow and flourish. We challenged them to get out of their comfort zones with the way they shoot, process & edit. And taught them how to finesse their workflow so that it is streamlined and flawless; resulting in ecstatic clients and a more balanced life.  We did a full portfolio review, worked on lighting and  discussed how to make a lit situation look like as if it were all natural light. This day was soo rich!!! I just adore these two! 

And a huge shout out to the ACE for the killer room that we shot in. We love the team over there at the Ace. The hotel ALWAYS takes care of our mentor session clients with kindness and grace, going out of their way to make them happy. 





Thoughts
Add a Comment View Comments (12)
Brenda Landrum says: Monday, December 28, 2009, 09:42 PM

Get Out!!! I love this series of images and the second image....I looked at it for a long time. :) So much joy jumps out of my screen at me!!!

Justin James says: Tuesday, December 22, 2009, 06:07 PM

Love this series. I love the simplicity of it. Thanks for sharing...

Nancy says: Tuesday, December 22, 2009, 05:41 AM

I love this, someday I want my own session too. ;)

Lisa says: Monday, December 21, 2009, 02:20 PM

Okay, so I've got an idea.....how about you come to Australia so I can absorb some knowledge off you both!! ; ) I've probably said this a ton of times before but your work is just so inspiring.

Heather Stringer says: Monday, December 21, 2009, 01:46 PM

To: Lori and David, you guys are wonderful and it was great meeting you all. love the life exuding from these photos and in acutality...see you around, heh?
From: Heather (and Jay, I'm surrre he'd agree with me)

To: Sarah and Chris, words will not do, how about a virtual hug and nod to how enjoyable you both are and how beautiful it is to see you do what impassions your lives. it was great to be in some of the scenes of Friday...
From: Heather (and Jay, I'm also sure he'd agree with me here too)

Lori says: Monday, December 21, 2009, 11:01 AM

Sarah & Chris, I can't begin to tell you how much we love these shots! They show us, our personality, our love! Thank you, for everything! You are such wonderful, full of life people. We are so thankful to now consider you friends.

alice says: Monday, December 21, 2009, 09:54 AM

Love your combination with of the fun and the detail shots! Such a cute couple, great location, and lovely little plant.

Marissa Rodriguez says: Monday, December 21, 2009, 09:23 AM

The last one is my favorite! My husband and I SO want to do one of these mentoring session with you guys! I can't wait for the day we actually can! :)

sarahrhoads says: Monday, December 21, 2009, 09:13 AM

@ohana sorry the comments FREAKED out on you! lol

ohana photographers says: Monday, December 21, 2009, 08:42 AM

oh my gosh one more time. love.

Alexandra says: Monday, December 21, 2009, 08:38 AM

These are so awesome :) Beautiful shots!

Melina ~honeybird says: Monday, December 21, 2009, 08:31 AM

SWEET pics Sarah! Thanks for my a.m. inspiration!