I was so impressed that the local newspaper wanted to do an article on my photography biz...check it out...
A Starr is born – Local woman turns passion into career
Written by Lizz Bottrell 09.APR.10 - Carlyle Observer
Starr Mercer spends her life capturing the lives of others.
She constantly searches for ways to capture the glimmer in people’s eyes and is known for her innate ability to pick locations on the go, often making detours on the way to her next spot.
“My clients tell me I’m very ‘spur of the moment’” says the Oxbow resident. “We will be on our way here, but then I’ll see a place along the way and say, ‘let’s stop here!’”
Mercer takes great pride in her ability to ‘find the light in people’s eyes,’ preferring to work in natural light.
“Using a flash is foreign to me,” she says as she looks out her large window from the kitchen of her dream home. “I hate using a flash. I always look for other routes. I like natural light because then you can focus more on the subject.”
Mercer clearly has a strong understanding of the fundamentals of photography, but what sets her apart from others is her creative ability. And it is an ability she’s worked on since she was nine-years-old.
“I have loved photography and have enjoyed taking photographs since I was nine-years-old,” Mercer recalls. “You can ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you I always have a camera with me. I used to use my parents’ camera and document everything in my friends’ and my life.”
She credits one junior high teacher in particular with helping her cultivate this passion.
“Mr. Hase taught me a photography class in junior high,” says Mercer. “We worked with SLR cameras, took black and white and developed them in the dark room. That sparked a lot of interest for me.”
Though she always had a camera in-hand growing up, it wasn’t until her son Ace came along that she found the time to really slow down and focus on her love of photography. She managed to combine two loves – her son and her camera – and little did she know at the time, it was the beginning of her new career.
“I knew the kind of shots I wanted and I would just play around for hours and hours,” says Mercer. “I started doing photo shoots for friends, mostly for Christmas and in the fall. I was living in Calgary at the time, so I was paid mostly in Starbucks giftcards!”
Also around this time she decided to take night classes at SAIT to learn the technical end of photography.
“I had a light bulb moment one day in class and it just clicked,” recalls Mercer. “The classes helped a lot with filling in the gaps.”
As Mercer worked on her skills as a photographer in Calgary, she had no clue that in a short time she would find herself back in her hometown of Oxbow where her passion would turn into a full-fledged career.
After graduating high school, Mercer moved to Calgary where she met her husband Cory. They had two kids, Ace and Scarlett, and as the time for Ace to begin school neared, the young couple began to worry about where they would send him.
They lived in a good area of the city with a newly-constructed school, but it was already full. Ace would have to ride a bus for 45 minutes, twice a day, just to attend classes.
Cory decided he wanted to move to a small town, so Starr said if they were moving to a small town, they would move back to her hometown.
The move went well for the family as it allowed them to build their dream home. Cory owns a construction business, so he and Starr took 11 months off work and built the house themselves. They moved in a little less a year ago.
As they finished the house, a business in the community contacted Mercer to see if she would be interested in doing some corporate photography.
“They said I could make a go of this here, but it never occurred to me before,” says Mercer. “I started thinking about it and before I knew it, I had photographed six weddings and 40 various photo shoots. I was blown away by the response. I had two-to-three bookings a weekend, especially in the fall.”
Word of mouth spread like wildfire and Mercer found herself much busier than expected. And while the busyness would have bothered some people, Mercer could not have been happier. She launched her website, www.starlitestudiophotography.com in December and her business continues to grow.
Of course the fact her husband is supportive makes all the difference. Since most of her photo shoots are in the evenings and on the weekends, he spends time with the kids while she goes off and works her magic.
“I love going on photo shoots and capturing people’s lives and their moments,” she says. “I take a lot of shots where I’m just watching a family. It’s not necessary to always look at the camera.”
Mercer works in many different situations with many different groups of people. Her favourite is photographing couples.
“My favourite session is couples or engagements,” says Mercer. “You have a mature subject, so they’re usually willing to try anything. There are lots of fun ideas to try. And I love just being able to capture the love.”
“My next favourite is kids,” she continues. “I love their eyes. Usually they twinkle and sparkle.”
And of course she loves taking photos of her own children.
“They’re very energetic,” she says. “There’s never a dull moment in our home, and there’s never a limit to the photographs in here. My children have become little posers now whenever the camera is out.”
Soon she’ll have another little person in her life to photograph, as she is pregnant with her third baby.
Now more than ever she’s happy to have landed on this career path because it allows her to stay at home with her children.
“I love being here,” says Mercer.”I wouldn’t imagine doing this in the city. It allows me to be a stay-at-home mom and be flexible. I have the best of both worlds – I can do something I love, and stay at home with the kids.”
Starr Mercer spends her life capturing the lives of others.
She constantly searches for ways to capture the glimmer in people’s eyes and is known for her innate ability to pick locations on the go, often making detours on the way to her next spot.
“My clients tell me I’m very ‘spur of the moment’” says the Oxbow resident. “We will be on our way here, but then I’ll see a place along the way and say, ‘let’s stop here!’”
Mercer takes great pride in her ability to ‘find the light in people’s eyes,’ preferring to work in natural light.
“Using a flash is foreign to me,” she says as she looks out her large window from the kitchen of her dream home. “I hate using a flash. I always look for other routes. I like natural light because then you can focus more on the subject.”
Mercer clearly has a strong understanding of the fundamentals of photography, but what sets her apart from others is her creative ability. And it is an ability she’s worked on since she was nine-years-old.
“I have loved photography and have enjoyed taking photographs since I was nine-years-old,” Mercer recalls. “You can ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you I always have a camera with me. I used to use my parents’ camera and document everything in my friends’ and my life.”
She credits one junior high teacher in particular with helping her cultivate this passion.
“Mr. Hase taught me a photography class in junior high,” says Mercer. “We worked with SLR cameras, took black and white and developed them in the dark room. That sparked a lot of interest for me.”
Though she always had a camera in-hand growing up, it wasn’t until her son Ace came along that she found the time to really slow down and focus on her love of photography. She managed to combine two loves – her son and her camera – and little did she know at the time, it was the beginning of her new career.
“I knew the kind of shots I wanted and I would just play around for hours and hours,” says Mercer. “I started doing photo shoots for friends, mostly for Christmas and in the fall. I was living in Calgary at the time, so I was paid mostly in Starbucks giftcards!”
Also around this time she decided to take night classes at SAIT to learn the technical end of photography.
“I had a light bulb moment one day in class and it just clicked,” recalls Mercer. “The classes helped a lot with filling in the gaps.”
As Mercer worked on her skills as a photographer in Calgary, she had no clue that in a short time she would find herself back in her hometown of Oxbow where her passion would turn into a full-fledged career.
After graduating high school, Mercer moved to Calgary where she met her husband Cory. They had two kids, Ace and Scarlett, and as the time for Ace to begin school neared, the young couple began to worry about where they would send him.
They lived in a good area of the city with a newly-constructed school, but it was already full. Ace would have to ride a bus for 45 minutes, twice a day, just to attend classes.
Cory decided he wanted to move to a small town, so Starr said if they were moving to a small town, they would move back to her hometown.
The move went well for the family as it allowed them to build their dream home. Cory owns a construction business, so he and Starr took 11 months off work and built the house themselves. They moved in a little less a year ago.
As they finished the house, a business in the community contacted Mercer to see if she would be interested in doing some corporate photography.
“They said I could make a go of this here, but it never occurred to me before,” says Mercer. “I started thinking about it and before I knew it, I had photographed six weddings and 40 various photo shoots. I was blown away by the response. I had two-to-three bookings a weekend, especially in the fall.”
Word of mouth spread like wildfire and Mercer found herself much busier than expected. And while the busyness would have bothered some people, Mercer could not have been happier. She launched her website, www.starlitestudiophotography.com in December and her business continues to grow.
Of course the fact her husband is supportive makes all the difference. Since most of her photo shoots are in the evenings and on the weekends, he spends time with the kids while she goes off and works her magic.
“I love going on photo shoots and capturing people’s lives and their moments,” she says. “I take a lot of shots where I’m just watching a family. It’s not necessary to always look at the camera.”
Mercer works in many different situations with many different groups of people. Her favourite is photographing couples.
“My favourite session is couples or engagements,” says Mercer. “You have a mature subject, so they’re usually willing to try anything. There are lots of fun ideas to try. And I love just being able to capture the love.”
“My next favourite is kids,” she continues. “I love their eyes. Usually they twinkle and sparkle.”
And of course she loves taking photos of her own children.
“They’re very energetic,” she says. “There’s never a dull moment in our home, and there’s never a limit to the photographs in here. My children have become little posers now whenever the camera is out.”
Soon she’ll have another little person in her life to photograph, as she is pregnant with her third baby.
Now more than ever she’s happy to have landed on this career path because it allows her to stay at home with her children.
“I love being here,” says Mercer.”I wouldn’t imagine doing this in the city. It allows me to be a stay-at-home mom and be flexible. I have the best of both worlds – I can do something I love, and stay at home with the kids.”
3 comments:
wat to go Starr!!
Great article Starr! Congrats on all your success!
Starr congrats - what a wonderful article! You are one amazing lady. Miss ya
Post a Comment