Meet Sadie Simmons | Photographer and Videographer

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

Hi Sadie, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
The name of my business is definitely a non-traditional one and I wanted it that way! I wanted to go with something that fit my brands aesthetic of a western film feel, and since I focus heavily on a nostalgic feeling within my work, I incorporated something that was nostalgic to me and my family! The name came from an old inside family joke where I used to make a toy horse pretend to smoke cause he was a “bad boy”, so we called him Smokin’ Horse and he would always get into all kind of hijinks that would make my siblings laugh. Once I coined the name of my business I decided I wanted to cover both photography and videography since I have my degree in both, so ‘Media’ was added on and here we are! Smokin’ Horse Media was born. I wanted to offer a service that created a warm, nostalgic, and film feel to my clients and with my love of weddings it just made sense that I combine them all together! Doing weddings, couples, family, and commercial photography/film all started from a silly little joke with my family and my passion for creating!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Making the decision to start my own photography/videography business wasn’t easy, I definitely didn’t think I’d be where I am today with it by any means! I graduated from the University of North Texas in May of 2020 in the peak of the pandemic, which put a complete stop to any job opportunities or even building my final portfolio at the end of my semester. I had to take a year away from my passions to continue working in the service industry which had it’s own hardships due to the pandemic, and save up as much money as I could to buy the first of the equipment I would need in making my dream career a reality. However, the service industry allowed me to paid my way through college, come out debt free, and buy y first round of camera gear. Desperately wanting to leave the service industry I’d been in for 5 years already, I put some serious thought into what I wanted to do in life. I’d always loved weddings and honestly I loved love! So it only made sense that I put two things that brought me joy together, being behind a camera and going to weddings! When I realized I could make a living doing this it all started coming together, I worked hard to put together a website, I went to paid content shoots, I built my portfolio with free shoots, and then finally I was shooting my first wedding! Now I’ve honed my craft, built up my gear, my knowledge, and my brand.
With every session I hold or wedding I shoot, I like to tell my clients that we’re going for those in-between moments. Yes we’re going to take the beautiful posed shots that we all see, but where I feel I differ from others if that I always try and go for the in-between shots. The moments when everyone isn’t looking and everything isn’t staged or expected, the hug from that one distant relative you haven’t seen in years, or the giggle you share with your daughter after I give a prompt. It’s waiting and holding out for those few seconds of interactions that capture the true candid moments that I love to give to my clients!

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?
Fort Worth, TX has so many cool spots I wouldn’t even know where to begin in showing it off! Being a Fort Worth native there is just so much to choose from! I would start with going to Boulevard of Greens to grab some smoothie bowls and then hopping over to the Fairmount neighborhood with some film cameras loaded with film and shoot some of the beautiful architecture in the area. Then head over to the Montgomery Antique Mall to do some pursuing, maybe grab a latte at Ampersand coffee before heading to the South Main bar district near downtown to grab some food and cap the night off with Tarantula Tiki Lounge!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My number one shoutout will always be husband, his continuous support is something I’ll forever be grateful for. He is truly my best friend and #1 fan, no matter how many times I show him two very similar photos I can’t choose from and ask him which one is better.

I’d also like to shoutout my fellow wedding photographers I’ve met along the way! So many of y’all have welcomed me, been kind, and taught me so much along the way. Finding and nourishing creative community is so so important in this industry, we’re all just trying to make something beautiful and live or lives doing it every single day.

Website: https://www.smokinhorsemedia.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smokinhorsemedia/