I have been working on my new story of my life recently, and it has really helped me get a better perspective on things as I want them to be. Anyway, I recently had the honor of photographing the largest and the most beautiful home in the universe. I could not say this if it were not for the graciousness of my awesome boss, Barbara Johnson, at the time for hiring me as her full time Administrative Assistant. Since she was already a top producing agent, she had a caliber of listings. In September of 2000, my very first day, I helped her sell a $900,000 house site, unseen, all because I could email jpeg pictures to her perspective client. No Lie! Shortly after Prudential Florida WCI Realty, had introduced to their agents a marketing tool software for listings called Visual Tour. In order for your listing to get in the corporate ad in the newspaper you had to have a tour! This was in 2000, 12 years ago. Seriously. The camera that I check out of the office was a Sony Mavica that took floppy disks. Not soon after, I started a part-time business called Sarah’s Visual Tours. Fast Forward 12 years to Sagee Manor tour that I photographed with my 3rd Canon 5d Mark II in Highlands, NC. WoW! Talk about a milestone! Not only for me but the marketing aspect, the technology, the consistancy, the love of craft, love of homes, the love of helping people, but also the business. Just goes to show that the Real Estate Market is still very strong in some areas, and not so in others, I hate to say…When I started it was seriously booming on Marco Island Florida and when I moved to Highlands NC in 2002 it was there as well. I have had such a great journey with having the honor to grace their presence in any shape or form. They tell a story about the people who live in them and cared about them. Even though, most of the time I photograph them without the owners inside, mainly because they were mostly second homes, I looked at the walls at their portraits and pulled them out in my mind when I photograph the house. I staged it as if they were there loving the place, knowing that thats how they would want me to project something so special. The house that I am about to present to you came to me because I fell in love with their gardens long before they even thought about selling it. In 2009, they had garden tours to raise money for mission trips to Haiti. I offered to photograph and the proceeds would go to their mission. I was not allowed inside but I covered most of the grounds. The grounds were beyond any garden I had ever seen. The house was a statue, all its own, among many. The whole presence of the property had been years of crafting in every detail imaginable. An extreme work of art! So when I was asked to photograph the inside, I was so excited. It was everything I imagined and then some. Took me days not hours. There were more details that a mind could take in at any one time or even a day. I would have to live there for 2 weeks to really cover it all. This is what I got from the garden tour as well as the 2 days he gave photographers to shoot his house. The house is featured in the latest DuPont Registry this month.
The main web site is here http://sageemanor.com/ My tour for Country Club Properties is here
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Tip: Before going to the prom, make sure you get a second opinion from someone who might have a little experience in fashion after you put it on. Have a pre-prom dress up to make sure you have everything in place! ) PLEASE! While I am getting geared up to photograph some Prom Ladies tonight, I will be looking for those red flags, and maybe can help someone with some “Fashion” tips, as I have been there and done that, I would not want anyone to have to go through what I did on my first Prom date. One of the ladies I will be photographing is in the Class of 2013 at Highlands High School, and I am looking forward to capturing her for her Senior Portraits. I know its going to be hard to give her a consult because she is probably one of the busiest, soon to be Seniors I know…She is very involved in her sports, job, and school activities. When I was talking to her Mom, to find out when would be a good time to talk, it was really hard to pin point a time. But all the same, I know that with perseverance I will have the pleasure of getting to know this emerging lady from the CLASS OF 2013. Well, last night was a blast. Totally opposite of what I went through. 5 girls all getting ready at one place. Caroline had invited a few of her friends to get ready…It was All about the fake eyelashes…I had so much fun watching the girls, watching the Mothers watch their girls and then the flurry of Mothers who were all there every step of the way until they had their private room in the back of 
I would highly recommend Business Coaching if you really want to clear out the reasons that may be holding you back from being a totally successful business woman or man. Think of it as “Thinking Outside of the Box” in more ways you could ever imagine! This is not only for other professional photographers but for all the people that make a living doing what they love. So I will spend less time on Social Media and more time on my core values and my home life that includes a Rabbit named Rainy, My Cat named Jasper and my awesome dog named Daisy. I am sharing a recent photo that I took of Daisy in my studio for Easter Portrait Sessions for Pet Portraits. Our pets do not live long enough…and recently Daisy was diagnosed with Kidney Failure by one vet and got diagnosed that she has Addison’s Disease by another…so one day I thought I was going to lose her and then the next she can live a happy and healthy life with a daily dose of Predisone and a monthly & costly shot of 
