Meet Sage Shirley | Photographer & Actor

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

Hi Sage, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I had always been exposed to photography by my mother. She was a photographer so I learned most basics and techniques from her. When I was 18 I saw I could work conventions as a volunteer so I signed up to work Dreamhack Atlanta. Having just started to think I could do something with photography and it seeming better then some of the other volunteering departments I joined the coverage crew. I then worked the event capturing photos with people with much more experience and better gear. At the end though my photos held up against theirs and while I’ve gotten much better with time it was enough of a confidence boost to get me to start charging for shoots and seeing photography as a career path.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a professional photographer who does all types of shoots. I believe I have a different style of editing and have worked hard on developing my “look.” Since starting in 2018 I’ve had my work displayed in five countries including Germany, Spain and Israel. It took a lot of growth and training to get to where I am today and while I wish my early photos look as good as my more recent shoot I’ve enjoyed growing with every photo I take. By doing this I’ve learned that every experience no matter how bad or difficult helps you become a better artist and has allowed me to become good at almost every form of photography. I’m thankful for every bad shoot that has led me to every amazing photo.

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?
We would start with some sunrise photos, personally I love the top of parking decks or big empty parking lots for this. The way the light reflects off the buildings and the suns ability to make a parking lot look good can’t be passed up. Then we’d probably get breakfast or brunch at cafe intermezzo since they have a great brunch/breakfast menu. After this we’d have a good walk around the town catching photos all on the sidewalks of downtown. Stop by little five points to see all the unique shops and people and thrift alittle. Have lunch at the vortex cause you can’t beat a classic. Around sunset head over to Piedmont park for some gorgeous golden hour shots by the river. Finish the night with a drink at Little Trouble and some cyberpunk style photos in front of their neon sign.

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?
Well I gotta start with my mother Melba Shirley and grandmother Jessie Shirley. Without my mother I never would’ve been interested in photography or saw that as a career path. Without my grandmother I wouldn’t have known how to get into the movie industry. Finally I wouldn’t have grown up without both of them being around. So I’d like to dedicate it to both of them

Website: https://www.flickr.com/people/sageshirleyphotography/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pages_of_sage/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sage-shirley-a04046167

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/pagesofsage

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/sageshirleyphotography/

Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/sage-shirley-photography-demorest

Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/user/srlss2517