Sarah Carmody (BA, Media Communications with an emphasis in Photography, 1992) gets paid to shoot everything from weddings and portraits to dignitaries and celebrities. But it took more than photo skills — hard work and networking, for starters — to become her own boss.

Before launching her own business, Sarah Carmody Photography, Carmody worked an assortment of jobs, from Schiller’s to photo studios to local magazines.

“Honestly one of the best jobs, in terms of where I am now, was with Ladue News,” Carmody said. “That helped introduce me to a lot of people around St. Louis, including board members of companies and charities. That helped get my name out there.”

But people are more than mere customers and referral sources for Carmody. They’re one of the perks of her job.



“With the variety of clients I take, I meet a lot of surprisingly interesting people,” she said. “I met Mikhail Gorbachev. I met Nelly when I shot his Black and White Ball.”

She’s also taken projects as varied as capturing a tractor-sized cooling unit for a manufacturer and shooting on location in Belize. “I do such a variety that it keeps it interesting,” Carmody said. “I end up learning odd things about how companies work that I imagine other people don’t get in their jobs.”

But this business isn’t all glamour and intrigue. Carmody admits that her favorite subjects, such as music bands and fashion, are not the gigs she gets most.

“I know when I was a student, I had visions of jet-setting around the world for National Geographic or SPIN,” Carmody said. “But especially when you first start out, you can’t say, ‘I’m only going to do this kind of subject.’ You need to build up contacts and reputation first, then you can be more selective.”



To that end, Carmody has advice for current students hoping to strike out on their own after college: “Take some business classes, too. Develop your skills in other ways that will help you be more employable in the field you want to enter.”

And, of course, be prepared to work. “The biggest challenge is having to do it all,” she said. “I’m my own marketer, my own manager, my own accountant. I could sure use an extra hand to help with the business end, but finding the right person who has those skills and an eye for photography isn’t easy.”

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