In the aftermath of a tragedy such as Hurricane Florence, people struggle to wrap their minds around what happened and how to move forward. Many find that the best way to cope with the news of a tragedy is to help in any way possible. When local mom and portrait photographer Stephanie Savas saw the amount of damage and destruction the hurricane had left all around her, she felt fortunate that her own home and neighborhood was spared, but was also driven to find a way to assist the relief effort in a concrete, meaningful way.
“I saw all these places asking for volunteers, but because of having two little kids at home, I couldn’t get down there and physically volunteer myself. My solution was creating a photography promotion where I could give back to the community.”
Although she has worked as a photographer for over twenty years, this is the first time that Savas is getting the opportunity to utilize her skills in a way that will directly benefit others. Her Wilmington business began three years ago when she moved here from Boston to be closer to family and live a slower-paced life. At the time, she struggled to find a balance between work and being the mother of two small children.
“My sister and I had a photo studio in the North end of Boston for five years, and originally I brought my daughter to work there with me every day as a baby. But then my son was born and he did not like traveling, and there was a lot of traffic. That’s why we decided to move down here,” says Savas.
After relocating to the Port City, Savas spent the first six months staying at home with her infant son Marcus before slowly starting to focus on her photography business again.
“This has always been my passion, and as a
Today, Savas strives to keep her time working separate from her time with the kids, which occasionally proves challenging as she works from home. While Marcus, now aged three, and five year-old daughter Dylan are at school in the mornings, Savas focuses on her workload of photographing clients, media marketing, and updating her portfolio, and then again in the evenings once they’ve gone to bed. The rest of the day when she is with her children, Savas tries to refrain from being on her phone or on social media.
“The great part is that I do have my parents, my sister, my brother-in-law and of course my husband around, so when I do need to book a photo shoot during the week, I can rely on them. Plus, I have a really great community of mom friends that I’ve made in my neighborhood, and they’re my tribe. So many of my friends are willing and able to watch my kids if I need to work. That’s a really cool thing that I never really had before, back in Boston. I love being able to focus on photography because of my support system of fellow moms,” says Savas.
Although Savas believes that she has found a happy medium in her work-life balance, being a ‘mompreneur’ still has its challenges.
“The hardest part sometimes is still managing and dividing my time, since I’m not getting up in the morning and going to an office. The best thing is that I rarely ever have to miss something my kids are doing or something family related because of my job. I get to do my work and my passion where it fits into my family life.”
When Savas decided to use her photography business as a way of assisting in the hurricane relief efforts, she wasn’t quite sure at first what direction to take. She knew she wanted to work with a local nonprofit who would funnel any monetary donations directly into helping people. When an acquaintance suggested Nourish NC, Savas did a bit of research and quickly realized that it would be the perfect match for what she was hoping to accomplish. Nourish NC provides supplemental food assistance to students in New Hanover County.
“I think it’s perfect. I’m a family photographer, I’m a mom, and now I can help raise money to feed local kids and families that were affected by Hurricane Florence. I’ve also decided that I’m going to take my daughter there in the springtime and have her volunteer with me and learn that not every child has 17 choices of snack each day,” chuckles Savas.
Fall is Savas’s busiest time of year and the prime season for family photography, making it an even better time to run a fundraising promotion. For any photo shoot booked in the month of October, Savas will donate 10% of the proceeds directly to Nourish NC. Customers can choose from an array of session options, including couples, maternity, newborn, baby, kids, family, corporate
For more information or to book a photo shoot, visit http://www.stephaniesavasphotography.com/