Sierra Rei Hart Photography
Sierra Rei Hart PhotographyWhen Sierra Hart found herself in a bind after an injury in her life long trade she needed to find herself a new career in a hurry. "I was a bartender at the same Irish Pub for 20 years. It was all I knew until that point. I was good at it and I loved it," Sierra explains. This time around though, Sierra decided to bet on herself and explore her artistic side. "I started taking the photography course at Lambton College and I began to see the world through a new lens. I am the artsy type and I make everything all the time. I do painting and music and sewing. So this was a way to throw that side of my life into my work."
And three years later she is the proud owner and photographer of Sierra Rei Hart Photography. While her business may be young, Sierra is having the time of her life. "The world opened up like an oyster as I thought what do I do now? Things have been happening very fast for me and my business. They just haven’t been happening for that long. My business is literally two seconds off the ground."
Going back to school was intimidating, but things worked out better than expected. "I wasn’t very scholastic in high school, so going back to school in my forties, I was worried this could go badly." Her worries were unfounded though, and Sierra ended up on the Dean’s List and began receiving awards for her work. "I was even at the top of the class. I was really amazed at how quickly I was noticed. It was during the COVID-19 pandemic, so my three kids were the models for the majority of pictures I took."
Sierra loves the independence of running her own photography studio, plus the renewed opportunity to mingle with people once again. "I was just dying to be more expressive artistically," Sierra says. "And the added freedom that comes with being your own boss and creating your own schedule works much better for me and my family."
Having slipped nicely into her new career, Sierra does not specialize in one particular type of photography even though portraiture photography takes up a great deal of her time. "I’m still trying to find my niche. I know that people who want portraits keep coming to me and so do wedding jobs. I’m not even advertising my business yet, so this has been pretty amazing." This past summer, Sierra began taking photos for events Tourism Sarnia-Lambton including Pizzafest and Border Fest. She even taught some photography workshops at the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery this past summer.
In addition, Sierra is the primary photographer for #local and helps capture the businesses, organizations, and events you see online and in print. "The #local gig is a wonderful opportunity for me to branch out and see people again and to get to know new people in Sarnia-Lambton. I get a real charge out of making people smile, so doing photography is the perfect gig for me."
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