We had the good fortune of connecting with Abigail Sykes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Abigail, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
I feel like a lot of the language amongst entrepreneurs is all about “hustle.” Well, “hustling” and constantly putting the job first leads to another fun word: “burnout.” For me, home life always gets first priority. My husband, my own mental health, and our collective plans are much more important to me than “hustling.” Obviously, running your business is hard work. I work hard. And in order to be able to healthily pour into my business, it’s very important to maintain that balance.

I don’t know that that mindset has changed much over time, but I’ve seen how over time the truth in it has been proven.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Atlanta is is FULL of so many incredible photographers. Go to any gathering of five or more people, and I’ll bet at least one of them is a photographer. That means it’s pretty tricky to stand out in this kind of crowd. However, one of my very favorite quotes on originality comes from C.S. Lewis: “No man who cares about originality will ever be original. It’s the man who’s only thinking about doing a good job or telling the truth who becomes really original — and doesn’t notice it.” With that in mind, my aim in my photography is to tell the truth of my clients. I want to not only capture the moments, but I attempt to edit in such a way as to capture the emotion of their story as well. I want my photography to move my clients.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well, this is a very real question. Once my sister and I are both fully vaccinated and she visits, we’re going to thrift, go to parks, and get some takeout.

THRFITING:
Goodwill West Side
Salvation Army
Desperate Housewares
Goodwill on Piedmont
Out of the Closet
Atlanta Step Up Society Thrift
Cathedral Thrift House
Goodwill on Ralph David Abernathy
Value Village on Metropolitan
Value Village on Moreland

PARKS/HIKING:
A walk to Piedmont or Central
Mason Mill Park
Deep Dene Trails
Emory Trail
Whittier Cotton Mill Park
Doll’s Head Trail
Sope Creek

TAKEOUT:
Torched Hop
Mushi Ni
Papi’s Grill
Naan Stop

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My husband, Casey Sykes, gets most of the credit. He gave me my first DSLR and taught me what he was learning about photography in school.

As for the business side, my Dad has taught me a lot — he ran his own business all of my growing up years and has passed on his business wisdom.

To both of my parents for always being an incredible support system.

And to any photographer on Instagram I follow who has been willing to share their knowledge, so often for free. I owe so much of who I am as a photographer and business person to those photographers and the platform.

Website: Working on a new website, but in the interim, my work can be viewed at: https://1cor1348.wixsite.com/abigailsherrodphoto

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abigail.sykes.photo/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abigailsykesphoto

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