Meet Sarah Liao | Outdoor Photographer & Filmmaker & Digital Strategist

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

Hi Sarah, why did you pursue a creative career?
I grew up in a creative household with my parents putting my brother and I through art and music classes during our childhood. While other kids were canoeing and playing tug-of-war at traditional summer camps, I was sitting in a chilled ceramics room sculpting clay figurines and patiently sitting on a stool learning how to oil paint a tiger. My creative ambitions come from my grandfather. He could pick up a few rocks off of the sidewalk at a park and then create a mini model of Huangshan in China. He could find scrap pieces of wood behind an alleyway and construct a little chair for my room. He always found reasons to create, especially when he had free time from his full-time job. This creative drive has been with me for years, and only recently did I start to seriously pursue it. Although I work full-time at a tech company, the free time that I have is spent on editing photos, brainstorming new video ideas, or writing up partnership proposals for non-profit organizations. I’m a person who needs to constantly be doing something to feel fulfilled — in fact, I really dislike down time and will fill it up with some sort of task or hobby. Having a creative passion/career allows me to fill up the time I have between work and it challenges my brain a lot. Working in my tech job sometimes can feel unfulfilling and routine, but being able to express my artistry through a different outlet is what gets me going. I am lucky enough to have a safety net that my full-time job provides me to spend my extra time pursuing a creative career.

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 an outdoor/adventure photographer and filmmaker. What sets me apart in photography is that I sometimes integrate elements of digital and graphic art into my photos to tell a deeper story. In videography, I create little animations that bring my footage to life. What I’m most excited about is a national parks photo and art project that I’m working on that aims to showcase how the interpretation of nature can be a form of art in itself. To be honest, I wouldn’t consider myself a professional photography or filmmaker at all. I’m still learning — definitely still an amateur figuring it out with my small business. It hasn’t been the easiest to find work, since there are so many unique photographers out there, but what I do to try to differentiate myself is to include that element of artistry and graphic design. What I’ve learned the most about creating is that you really need to commit and deliver as well as communicate with your client. I have dropped the ball on a project when my hard drive broke and I lost all of my client’s footage. That really sucked and I had to accept that I couldn’t deliver on a promised project. On the flip side, I have created such nice videos for another client that she asked to start a continuous partnership with me.
Something that I tell everyone who is looking to start their own little business is to always stay true to your own brand and what you want to do. Clients can sometimes push you around, request things that don’t fit your style. Be communicative, allow freedom of your own thought, and be collaborative. It shouldn’t be a binary project of what the client just wants. You should be able to include your element of creativity and process as well.
What I would love people to know about my brand is that most of my creations are very raw and real. I avoid overediting and cutting out aspects of an image that I wished weren’t there. Photography is the most fun when you’re capturing a genuine moment and I hope that my work can convey that.

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?
Being San Francisco based, the outdoor elements of California are what drive a lot of my creativity. Lots of activities are free, and because I personally am a budget savvy traveler, I would seek out things to do that deliver on great memories but require little commitment from the wallet! This is what my week long (but a bit jam packed) California itinerary might look like:

Sunday: Rent bikes in San Francisco and bike across the Golden Gate Bridge. Enjoy a picnic lunch in Chrissy Fields and try to spot some whales. Go on an afternoon walk around Lands End and then end the evening with sunset at Twin Peaks.
Monday: Pack the car with more friends and some overnight equipment and then start the drive towards California’s lovely national parks. Arrive at Yosemite National Park and explore a bit until the evening.
Tuesday: Camp and hike in Yosemite for the day. Would probably drag my friends to do the 4 mile trail because the views are amazing on this hike. Spend one more night in Yosemite and camp under the stars.
Wednesday: Drive to Mammoth Lakes and go hot spring hopping. Mammoth is filled with natural hot springs and it’s easy to fill up the whole day exploring them. At this point in the week, I would probably find us a little Airbnb to shower and rest up a bit so we can continue the adventure with clear minds.
Thursday: Spend the day mostly road tripping to the Carmel/Monterey/Big Sur area. Post up in Pfeiffer campgrounds and spend the night by the coast. Star gaze at Pfeiffer Beach until we want to go to sleep.
Friday: Spend the day driving along the coast exploring highway 1. Rent bikes and bike the 17 mile drive. Stop by a nice restaurant and devour some delicious seafood. End the trip with a late night drive back up to San Francisco.
Saturday: Since the week was pretty packed, the final day would be spent chilling in Dolores Park, enjoying some classic burritos from El Farolito and watching the dogs run around.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My high school creative writing teacher really helped me unlock my creative abilities. Prior to her class, my career pursuits were focused solely in sciences, but after she gave us assignments that didn’t feel laborious and instead felt like passion projects, I realized that I needed to pursue a creative track to keep my mind happy. So, Ms. Little, thank you for uncovering my desire to express my artistry. I owe a lot of it to you!

PersonalSarahLiao

Website: www.sarahliao.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sarliao

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-liao-b6b5a5143/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn92AkMeS–yxD__7O__V2Q