Today we’d like to introduce you to Sherri Harrington.
Hi Sherri , so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Photography has always been a part of me, long before I ever imagined it becoming my career. I fell in love with film photography first and took film photography classes before pursuing nursing. There was something about film that I loved even then, the intention behind every frame, the anticipation of waiting to see what you captured, and the way a photograph could preserve a moment exactly as it was.
At the time, though, nursing was the path I was following. While I applied for nursing school, I found myself on a two year waitlist. Instead of simply waiting, I decided to take something I already loved and see where it could go. That was when I started my photography business. I thought I was filling an in-between chapter of my life. I had no idea I was actually beginning the career I would spend the next 14 years building along side my nursing career.
During that time, I had a patient who profoundly changed the way I looked at photographs. He would show me his wedding album almost every day. We would sit together for hours as he turned through the pages, and he would tell me about his wife. He spoke about her so beautifully. You could hear in his voice how deeply he loved her and how much the life they shared still meant to him.
She had passed away many years before, and those wedding photographs were some of the only photographs and memories he had left of her. I remember realizing that I wasn’t just looking at an old wedding album, I was holding pieces of someone’s life. Those photographs gave him a way to see her again, to remember them when they were young, to tell their stories and, for a moment, return to a life they had shared together.
I’ve carried that with me ever since.
More than 14 years later, it still influences the way I photograph weddings. I love creating beautiful images, but I’m always thinking beyond what will look beautiful today. I’m looking for the photographs that might mean everything someday. A mother helping her daughter into her dress. A grandparent crying while watching the ceremony. The way someone reaches for their partner without thinking. All of the people you love being together in the same place, at the same time.
Becoming a mother has only deepened that feeling for me. Time moves so much faster than we realize while we’re living it, and sometimes a photograph becomes the closest thing we have to going back.
It’s strange to think that I once believed I was waiting for nursing school and waiting for the next chapter of my life to begin. Looking back, that waiting period was actually leading me somewhere entirely different.
And sometimes, when I think about why I still love photographing weddings after all these years, I think about that patient and his album. I hope that decades from now, one of my couples will sit down with their own timeless wedding photographs and tell someone they love the stories behind them with that same light in their eyes as the day it happened.
Because eventually, a wedding photograph becomes more than a photograph. It becomes part of a family’s history. And being trusted to preserve that is something I will never take lightly.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’d make this answer vulnerable enough to feel real, but still polished for a magazine. I’d also connect the challenges to building a business for 14+ years while maintaining another career and becoming a mother, because that makes your story much more interesting than the typical “running a business is hard” answer.
Obstacles / Challenges
It definitely hasn’t been a completely smooth road. I think one of the biggest challenges has simply been learning how to grow a business while also growing through different seasons of my own life.
For most of my photography career, photography hasn’t been the only thing I’ve done. I’ve continued working my other career while building this business alongside it. There have been years where that meant working all week, photographing a wedding on the weekend, coming home with thousands of images to edit, answering emails late at night, and then getting up Monday morning and doing it all over again. There were definitely moments when I wondered how long I could realistically keep all of the plates spinning.
Then I became a mom, and my definition of balance completely changed.
Motherhood made me much more protective of my time and forced me to look at my business differently. I couldn’t say yes to everything anymore. I had to learn that growth doesn’t always mean doing more. Sometimes it means becoming more intentional about what you take on, setting boundaries, raising your standards and building a business that actually fits the life you want to live.
There have also been the challenges that come with being in a creative industry for more than 14 years. Photography has changed tremendously. Trends come and go, social media constantly changes, technology evolves, and there is always pressure to keep up. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that longevity doesn’t come from chasing every new trend. It comes from continuing to evolve without losing sight of what made you fall in love with your work in the first place.
I’ve experienced self-doubt, burnout and moments where I questioned whether I was doing enough or whether my work was good enough. But every season has taught me something about the photographer, business owner and person I want to be.
At this point in my career, success looks different to me than it did when I started. I’m less interested in being the busiest photographer and much more interested in doing meaningful work, serving my couples well, being present for my family and creating something sustainable that I can still love years from now.
The road hasn’t always been easy, but I think that’s also why I’m so proud that I’m still here. Fourteen years later, I still genuinely love picking up my camera, and I don’t take that for granted.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in weddings and couples, but I’ve never felt like my job is simply to take beautiful photographs. For me, it’s about noticing people and capturing them for who they really are. I’m drawn to the moments that are easy to miss. Those are usually the images that become my favorites because they feel real.
I think one of the things I’ve become most known for is capturing genuine emotion and raw reactions. I’m always watching for what’s happening beyond the obvious moment or direction. The tears, the nervous laughter, the surprise on someone’s face, or the split second when someone completely forgets my camera is there. You can always recreate a pose, but you can’t recreate a genuine reaction, and those are the moments I’m best known for capturing.
My style has a romantic, timeless and editorial feel, but I never want my couples to feel like they have to perform for my camera. Most people tell me they’re awkward in front of a camera, and honestly, I expect that. It’s my job to make them comfortable. I give direction when they need it, create space when they don’t, and let moments happen naturally. I want them to recognize themselves in their photographs and see how truly beautiful they already are.
After more than 14 years, I think what I’m most proud of is that I haven’t lost the emotional connection to what I do. I still get excited about beautiful light and an incredible portrait, but I also understand that sometimes the most important photograph I take that day won’t be the one that ends up on Instagram. It’s the completely ordinary interaction that becomes incredibly important years later.
I think what sets me apart is that I photograph with that future in mind. I want to give my couples the editorial images that take their breath away today, but I’m also paying attention to the photographs they may treasure most 30 years from now.
To me, luxury isn’t just about how beautiful something looks. It’s being cared for, being able to be completely present, and knowing someone is paying attention to the things you didn’t even realize you would want to remember. I want my couples to experience their wedding day, not spend it posing for me. My job is to make sure they have the beautiful photographs and all of the real, emotional moments to remember it by.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memories aren’t necessarily one specific moment, but the times when my whole family was together. Holidays, birthdays, dinners, or even the ordinary days when everyone happened to be in the same place. I don’t think I realized how special those moments were while I was living them.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that life changes so quickly. Families grow, people move away, traditions change, and eventually there are people who are no longer sitting around the table with you. Looking back, those simple moments of everyone being together are the ones that mean the most to me.
I think that’s also part of why I value photographs so much today. Sometimes you don’t realize you’re living one of your favorite memories until it’s already a memory.
Pricing:
- Wedding Packages start at $4,550
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sherrilarocque.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sherrilarocquephotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sherrilarocquephotography/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sherri-larocque-photography-gilroy
