Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Nichols.
Hi Sarah, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My path into videography was definitely not a straight one. I graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice and began working in social work in Denver, while also bartending and working as a bottle girl at a club. I went into social work wanting to help people, but over time, I became discouraged by how flawed the system felt. I was working with families who needed real change, and too often it felt like the work we were doing wasn’t actually making a lasting difference.
At the same time, the thing that gave me the most fulfillment was creating. I minored in dance in college and continued choreographing and performing with a dance company after graduating. Dance became my outlet and eventually helped me realize how much I needed creativity in my life.
Whenever life felt overwhelming, I would drive deep into the Colorado mountains, put on music, and imagine stories in my head, scenes, movement, emotions, and the way I would capture them on film. I didn’t know exactly how I was going to get there yet, but I knew I wanted to tell stories visually.
Eventually, I decided to take a complete 180. I quit my job, moved from Colorado to California with only a car full of stuff, landed another bottle service job, and spent almost every free moment either dancing or teaching myself photography and videography. At first, I rented camera equipment until I was able to fund my own camera from money I made as a bottle girl. And I’m still learning, I don’t think that part ever stops.
I started by reaching out to friends I met through line dancing, connecting with small businesses, and establishing myself on Upwork to find film-related work. Every job taught me something new. Slowly, photography and videography started picking up until I was able to cut my club schedule down to just one night a week.
Today, I’ve built several streams of income around the things I love. I teach dance three days a week, work as a contractor with Eleana in digital media, take on freelance projects through Upwork and my own network, and still work one night a week as a bottle girl.
I’m not where I ultimately want to be yet, but I’m incredibly proud of how far I’ve come. Some months I’m still penny-pinching, but I get to wake up in Oceanside, California, surrounded by incredible friends, coworkers, and mentors, and spend my days creating.
Moving away from the state I grew up in and completely changing the direction of my life was terrifying, but it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. If there’s one thing my story has taught me, it’s that you don’t have to have everything figured out before you take the leap. Sometimes you just have to take it and figure out the rest along the way.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not. There were points where I genuinely questioned whether I had made the right decision. At one point, I lost my entire billboard, had to put my rent on a credit card for a few months, and even had my car break down on the side of the road while I was driving to California. I ended up having to find a mobile mechanic just to get me back on the road.
Starting over in a new state without a guaranteed career or steady creative income was scary. There were months where work was inconsistent, money was extremely tight, and I had to figure things out as I went. Building a career in a creative field also comes with a lot of rejection, mistakes, comparison, and learning things the hard way.
But I think those struggles made every small win mean so much more. Every new client, opportunity, connection, and step toward supporting myself through creative work has reminded me why I took the risk in the first place. It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, and it still isn’t always, but I would choose this road again.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work is centered around videography, photography, and visual storytelling. I work with businesses, brands, events, artists, and individuals to create everything from promotional and social media content to interviews, lifestyle photography, dance films, and event coverage. I love projects where I can take an idea, emotion, or even just a feeling and figure out how to translate it visually.
I think what sets me apart is my background. I didn’t come into filmmaking through a traditional film-school path. I came from social work, nightlife, and dance. All environments that taught me how to observe people, read a room, understand movement, and notice the little moments that can tell a much bigger story. Dance especially has a huge influence on the way I shoot. I naturally think about movement, rhythm, music, composition, and how a camera can move with a person rather than simply document them.
I’m probably most known for being versatile. One day I might be filming a business interview, the next shooting an event, creating social content for a brand, or filming dancers. I really enjoy learning what makes each client or subject unique instead of trying to make every project look the same.
What I’m most proud of isn’t one specific project, it’s the fact that I built this career from essentially nothing. I taught myself, reached out to people, took jobs that scared me, made mistakes, learned from them, and kept going. I’m proud that people now trust me to tell their stories and that something I once imagined while driving through the Colorado mountains has slowly become my everyday life.
I still have so much I want to accomplish, especially as I continue moving toward directing and more narrative-driven work, but I think that’s also what keeps me excited. I never want to stop learning, experimenting, or finding better ways to tell a story.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I’ve had to learn not to try to accomplish everything at once. I have a tendency to want to learn everything, do everything, and reach every goal immediately, but building a skill and building a life both take time. You’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to have days where you feel like you’re not progressing at all. Learning takes patience, persistence, repetition, and being willing to keep showing up even when you’re not where you want to be yet.
I’ve also realized that protecting my time doesn’t mean every second has to be productive. Rest is part of the process too. Sometimes the most productive thing I can do is sit at the beach, watch a movie, or laugh until my stomach hurts. I’m a huge lover of cinema, comedy, stand-up comedy, and sitcoms, and I genuinely believe laughter is the best medicine.
Pricing:
- Photo session $350
- Video Session $500
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/cinsarahh
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Cinsarah
