Check Out Karen Sarno’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Sarno.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve been photographing in some form, be it film or digital since my first year of high school and it’s always something that stuck with me. I have always been creative and considered myself an artist but photography was the medium that always kept calling to me. I’ve worked with kids and families my whole life in daycares and as a nanny and it was a fun way to combine the two passions. It wasn’t until I had my first son in 2015 that I started working on a whole different avenue. I had always planned to be a stay at home mom but when postpartum hit me like a ton of bricks, I knew I needed to turn to the one thing that always gave me an outlet. I found a random food photography job on Craigslist that seemed promising because I would be able to make my own schedule and having an infant and a husband who was currently in Nursing School, it was important I balance around the family and this new chapter of my life.

Getting to photograph something I typically wouldn’t, it wound up being the best job I ever had because it forced me to step outside my comfort zone. I had never shot food before or spoke to small business owners in that way. To hear their stories and getting to photograph their family recipes, their dishes that meant so much to them. It was the first time as a super small business owner that I felt a part of my community. I saw how very important even the smallest shops were to the bigger picture of this country. It gave new meaning to “It takes a Village” and what role that all played, especially in my own life. Hearing these people’s stories of how they started out and how many times their plans had changed in the process, it was so inspiring. It pulled me out of depression and gave me strength and the confidence I needed to follow my own dreams. It made me see that it was important for me to continue on my path, not only for myself. But for my son to see his mother not give up.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been the most fun ride. Even at the beginning, before I had my boys, figuring out how to run a business was so hard. I still to this day, have imposter syndrome. I’ve gone through three different business names, too many specialties to count(I just love photographing everything) undercharging, overcharging, not charging at all, moved 500 miles to a new state just to start all over again. It’s been interesting to say the least. But today, I’m happy to say I have Hindsight and although I cringe at some of my old work, I smile because it was those opportunities that helped build and shape me and what my business is today. I made the mistake in the beginning of thinking that I had to keep it all separate. My life, my business, my Dreams. It wasn’t until 2020 when I was forced again to sit down and regroup and do some serious soul searching that I realized it can’t be separate. How can something that means so much to me, that is so much a part of me be separate from every other part of me? It cant be. I needed to encompass exactly what I have always been able to see in my own clients. It’s that light that I try my hardest to bring out on a shoot. Everyone has it, it looks a little different on everyone but it’s there and Lace N Light is just me pulling that veil back to expose your beauty.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am the owner/ Photographer at Lace N Light Photography, in Raleigh, NC. I’m originally from Long Island, NY and moved here just a few months before the pandemic.

I specialize in Natural Light portraits, seniors, couples/families and working with so many small businesses in the past, I want to focus on business and personal branding. I want to capture what it is that you do and what you bring to your community. As a woman owner, I especially love to work with women-owned because I’m all about women supporting woman. We all need to lift up one another now more than ever.

I think the thing that sets me apart is how open-minded I am. How much I love working with all different kinds of people and cultures. I feel like every person I meet and come into contact with is a teacher and our uniqueness is the very thing that adds to our communities and brings it character. I appreciate when people are being their authentic selves and put all the love into it. I believe I can bring out that side of you during our photoshoot. I have the ability to see the beauty that typically gets overlooked. I can pull out the dynamic personality that is your family, that is your relationship. I can capture this and what it is that makes your business and brand special.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Something surprising most people don’t know about me is that I went to Hunter College in Manhattan before I started my photography business. As a Fine Arts major, I got to experience all different mediums from Film Photography to acid plate etching, Life Drawing and Oil painting on canvases over 12 ft tall. But after Art School, I needed to find a job that paid well (because school loans) so I got a job as a school bus driver. For three years, I drove kindergartners, high schoolers and special needs children 40 hours a week all over long Island. Contrary to popular belief, Parallel parking a 35 foot school bus is much easier than your own car. It was probably one of the most intense jobs I ever had. I still can’t believe I did that for as long as I did.

Contact Info:

• Email: lacenlight@gmail.com
• Website: lacenlightphotography.com
• Instagram: lace.n.light_photography
• Facebook: Lace N Light Photography
• Other: linktr.ee/lacenlight