Episode 9: Finding Your Identity with Sam Dennaoui

Capturing Motherhood

In this episode I am talking with Sam Dennaoui from Fox and Feather Photography. Based in Melbourne, Sam specializes in newborn, maternity, family, and wedding photography. Sam joins me to discuss gaining confidence in your business and finding your identity not just as a photographer, but as a person.

With her and her family originally from Italy, Sam decided to take her own family on holiday there so they could learn more about where she came from. While there, Sam showed her aunt a newborn photo she had taken. With brutal honesty, her aunt said that the baby looked unnatural. All the fluff and colour of a new baby was gone from the photo. Sam realized she was right - she had blurred and edited the baby’s skin so much that it no longer looked real. This wasn’t a keepsake or a memory to be cherished.

This led Sam to a realization. She loved photography, but she had been killing herself doing it for other people. If she was going to change, she had to love it. When she returned home, she sold everything from her business to start over in a way that was more authentic to her: stripped back, unedited, and truthful.

Starting over meant also starting her social media over. Sam cleared out all the groups she was a part of and started fresh. Instagram has always been a blessing and a curse for her. While she gets most of her business through the platform, there’s also the perils of the comparing mind to deal with. Learn not to compare yourself to those around you. Express yourself as you want to and only you can.

Connect with Sam:

Website: http://foxandfeatherphotography.com.au/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foxandfeather/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foxandfeatherphoto/

Connect with Suzi:

Website: https://www.suzibirdeducation.co.uk

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suzibirdphoto/?hl=en

Suzi’s Photography Studio: https://sunlightportraitstudio.co.uk/