#so I cant credit anyone like I do with my moodboards

[broken-lycan]

Canis Lupus - The Wolf

guess who got into scrapbooking but digitally

[kitkatperce]

INTRO POST!!

general info

—✩ my name is sarah/sar call me whichever idrc 😓😓

—✩ any prns, sapphic aroace, audhd, also i dont go by any like gender but you can call me agender or a girl if you must

—✩ im an artist, been drawing traditionally since i was like 3 i dont . remember. digitally since 2019 💯

—✩ also i write fanfics sometimes and occasionally do moodboards + stimboards

—✩ prev username: xoxopercy

interests, what i post

—✩ my main interest rn is atla, but it fluctuates!!!

—✩ also i sometimes post ocs do with that what you will.

—✩ no i will not post anything regarding my looks irl, where i live, my age, or anything personal. i wont even tell moots (though i will say i am a minor)

—✩ if i misspell something really bad (cuz i type fast i promise i know proper grammar 😭) and you cant understand it lmk and i can edit the post to be more. eligible

—✩ note; atm im currently more active on my tiktok. my tiktok is lower on this post <3

BASIC DNI CRITERA… DNI!! (obviously) JS DONT BE A JERK (and dont post nsfw)

—✩ also i do love the block button! most of my posts are heavily headcanoned though so if you dont like any of it dont follow

abt my art

—✩ not doing commissions or art trades atm.

—✩ i take requests from sum moots i guess?? idk.

—✩ do keep in mind if you do request smth and i agree to do it i will do what i want to do first THEN do it !!!

(I AM NOT TAKING REQUESTS FROM ANYONE RN!!!!)

—✩ also for the requests i wont draw ships i dont like and if you have a problem with me not liking a ship go ahead and hit thag block button

other

—✩ also i appreciate the comments, reblogs, and likes!!! i love reading whatever you guys say and will try to reply to the replies and stuff

—✩ i also try to update rhis post whenever im hyperfixated on something new.

—✩ ill prob edit this post a lot honestly just to make it look cuter i guess.

—✩ um another thing abt me is that i enjoy making pinterest boards i guess??

—✩ moots are free to dm<3

socials

—✩ tiktok: kuzaang

—✩ insta: actuallyaang

—✩ twt: veggiestrawsrso (im not on it much)

—✩ pinterest: putonthedealseal

other part 2

—✩ feel free to post my art but only with credits!!

—✩ im fine with using for pfps and banners, wallpapers, etc With Credit.

—✩ credit me domewbere whether that be through linking my blog or just adding the name of my url/insta/tiktok

—✩ asks are fun! ill try to answer them all

TAGS

—✩ #my art - its literally jusy my art👍

—✩ #kuzaang letters - based on the headcanon that kuzon and aang were penpals

—✩ #my fanfic - fics i made

—✩ #moodboard - moodboards i made!

—✩ #sarahcore - basically js reblogs of things that are so me

—✩ #🦈 - oc posting!

—✩ #🦈🍓🍒 - tag specifically for my oc yune

—✩ #🤗fav character: atla - its aang. though i always manage to forget putting this tag so its not on every aang post👍

—✩ #me and isa - me and @/meeyow4419

—✩ #my peanuts - byler

—✩ #my reeses pieces - willel (platonic only ofc)

—✩ #my peanut - will byers

—✩ #my buckaroos - kuzaang

board for art things !!!

[firemama]

Hey, Tumblr.

Sav’s 2022 saga of misfortune has come to a spike this fabulous May with a serious car issue. What makes this so bad, Sav? well... my only source of income, at this time, is that I am a delivery driver with shipt. Hard enough with the gas crisis- 5$ a fucking gallon- in orlando traffic, you might say. You’d be right.

I’ve got no savings; most of my money was burned through during a month long period of homelessness, a couple months of not being able to work due to being generally transient and out of town and thus out of my shipt metro and unable to even deliver for income, medical bills for an injury, moving and storage costs, and some other bullshit. I’ve got no savings, and i’m pushing debt on my credit card. And at this time, with my car in need of repair, I have no source of income and another bill.

So I am asking for donations, if anyone has something to spare, however small.

Patreon Paypal Kofi

If Donations arent your speed, or you would like something in exchange, I also do commisions. Moodboards for small cost donation/commissions as low as a dollar, and I also do art and writing commissions. Hit me up to talk about commissions if you’re interested. Some basic information about that is pinned to my blog, and my other blogs.

For those who are not familiar with Sav’s 2022 saga, the summary is:

Orlando/Florida major property tax increase. See: sudden rental cost hike. 1200 to 1300 will net you poorly managed slum lord apartment in orlando now. Our previous rent of roughly 1300 (which had been steadily increasing with every re-sign of the lease) suddenly jumped up to just shy of 1800, and would continue to climb with future extensions.

Preparations to move to new york for sibling’s school; see, also very fucking expensive, because im talking New York, New york. but its sib’s grad school, scholarship, gotta go, very important.

Just before moving time, a series of... events occured. Including but not limited to:

Major fall out with roommate (one of three tenants) which would result in one less person paying rent come renewal. With just me and the sib, never could afford to stay in our current house anyway. So, no going back, no resigning lease if New york falls though.

 Rather serious workplace injury to my dominant hand. At the time, thought, oh kind of serious- a deep injury to the knuckle joint that... i probably should have taken in to get stitches, but.. didnt, and instead just bandaged it up. “I cant afford medical bills right now” i said, unaware of a big storm coming.

My work, a few months prior to this, had every single Senior Manager quit in the span of a couple weeks for the entire franchise. This was a warning sign. At this point in time, it is much worse. For starters, I had been demoted from Manager to Assistant Manager and then to Associate again... because my Migraines had become worse (from stress because COVID and  the mail system and all the mangers left and xyz) and i could not keep the minimum 50, then 40 hours. Despite being demoted, and less pay, I was responsible for neigh all the managment responsibilities at my location because there was no one else. For 11$ an hour. And then all the other less-senior managers from other locations also quit, because no one was making more than the average Mcdonalds employee. Very bad, all around.

I had to submit my resignation anyway, because we had an out-of-state move coming. And I was already being paid less, and expecting to take on the work of more than one salaried job. But before I submitted my resignation?

(Tw, injury)After two-three weeks of excruciating pain despite the visible damage to my finger being healed, and no increase of motor function, and also a strange mishape to my finger. I finally filed for workers comp, belatedly, and went on down to an urgent care. The deep injury, if you’re curious, had been caused by a tape gun; specifically, a customer trying to grab the tapefun from my hands anddesimating my hand, most expressly my poor fucking finger joint. And upon xray at the urgent care, they found a metal tooth from the tape gun in my finger. more specifically in my finger joint. quite literally grinding against my bone. doing serious damage to my joint. (I am now legally allowed to complain about pain and no one is allowed to tell me im complaining too much. broken off sharp metal tooth in my finger for nearly three weeks.

Surgery, obviously, to remove the sharp foreign body from my hand. It was a very quick surgery, actually. But to the point, my workers comp covered most of the injury. Most. Not all. expensive, like I thought, and i definitely couldnt afford it. but necessary.

 And then we found out the ‘scholarship’ covered less than a 16th of the overall tuition to the gradschool in new york despite it’s title of ‘full ride scholarship’.

New york fell through, and we would not be able to keep our then-current lease.

so now we have less than two weeks to find a new place. And all of our research and propsects were in another state we cold not afford to live. we had no time, and due o afformentioned text increases, out prior 1200... just does not exist. not for sale anywhere. If it does, we ‘technically’ make too much to afford it, because our combined annual income if I ‘pretend’ to still work at UPS is too high for rent control. (the irony is that we could barely afford 1200-1300 and yet somehow rent control says we make too much money for it). If I say I do not work for ups, which I dont, because i quit... well we dont meet minimum income.

Mostly, we’re screwed!

4 days before must-be-out-of-house, we find one option. 1200$ 2 bedroom that will allow our two cats. We do a fast walkthrough, because we dont have any options anyway. Place has infestations twofold, the maintenance guy is trying to fix 12 different holes in the walls, and we cant test the power or water because it isnt on yet and we cant really wait. Front door locks, has AC, theres an on-site laundry facility, has working fridge, sold. We mostly only interact with property manager, who I did like quite a lot, and he assured us he will help fix the issues and can get the place ready by our frantic date.

I move into apartment with all of our stuff. We rapidly find several, several issues. No smoke detectors, window (ground floor) with no lock and two that can’t even close all the way. Both of those things, some of you may know... are illegal. It was not the only illegal aspects, such as one room being incredibly unventalated, most of the lights not working with no other light sources, occasional plume of smoke from the fuse box, and (this is in florida) no netting on the windows. Things that are not included in the ‘illegal’ list but still very much problems: hidden mold (did you KNOW it’s not illegal for landlords to rent a property with mold?), and other fucking stupid shit. The real  show stopper, however, was that the apartment’s payment portal malfunctioned. We paid them the deposit the rent, everything... and it paid it back to my sibs account.

This is when we meet the actual landlord. Who is insane. She is incapable of texting legibly, and is almost incomprehensible over the phone. She does not know the landlord laws- which is her only job as a landlord- which she showed by telling us it’s our responsibility to provide smoke detectors, for example. (no, that’s illegal). She tries to back up this claim by saying it is stated in the lease we will provide the smoke detectors. Which proves she cannot fucking read a lease, either, because it does not say that in the lease, it says we are obligated to provide batteries for pre existing smoke detectors, and even if she had written that into the lease... it would still be illegal. it breaks housing codes. like a lot of other shit. Her excuse to all these issues was “well this isnt luxury housing.” Our windows not locking and you meeting builing code, lady, is not luxury, it’s minimum.

This whole thing is summed up with her ignoring all these issues and demanding we pay her. I tell her we did, because we did, but the portal doesnt work. She says that isnt her responsiblity, pay her again and make it work. I am speechless. It does not matter if im speechless, of course, because she never lets you get a word in edgewise and will simply talk over you, but anyway.

Obviously, only option or not, we cant fucking stay in this apartment. Legally, we cannot, and if we play along despite that, we wave our rights. And im sure if we give her money, she will try to keep that fucking despoit and declare our rent non refundable or some shit. So we declare that she broke our lease (illegally) and that we’re going to leave as soon as possible. She threatens to call the police because we’re scamming her- as if we get anything out of this. could kill her and feel no remorse. she gave me a crazy stress migraine that was not relieved by excessive stress panic attack or crying. 

We break the lease. With nowhere to live, we put all our shit in storage. more costs we cant afford. Insues a month of having no home. I go out of town for a while and bum a guest bedroom. Sib stays with partner.

We spend most of that month looking for somewhere to live. I burn through savings with no source of income- cant deliver outside of my Metro zone for shipt, and other issues with delivery, and I wont be in one place long enough to apply to work anywhere. Spend money on storage, on moving trucks getting shit back and forth, on ‘non-refundable application fees’ and on medication for the cat, and on follow up appointments and medication and treatment for my fucking hand.

some fucking asshole backs into my car on easter sunday. Not once- no, he backed into my car and then paused. surprised he is no longer backing up. tries to back up again, continuing to back into my car he is already hitting. pulls forward a little. backs up again. slightly louder crunch and this time he realizes what he’s done. Mind you i am on the fucking sidewalk less than 6 feet away from my car, walking to it, about to get into it. He looks me dead in the face and tries to leave the scene despite me trying to flag him down. Only stops because someone stepped out into the road in front of his fucking truck to stop him. Is drunk. fights insurance trading like hell. Takes about an hour to get it from him on threat of the cops.

ensues, while without home, an exausting insurance battle. drunk guy tries to claim the damage was prexisting. I have witnesses, and I also have a fucking picture of the back of his truck with pieces of my car stuck in his bumper. Eventually he gives up, and I spend stupid amount of time conversing with car insurance. My car is old. and it is also a saturn, which is a company that no longer exists. It is also not technically one saturn, but two saturns franken-steined together with different parts of two older saturns. Obviously, despite the damage being cosmetic, they want to declare my car totaled. not-drivable. Obvious unacceptable, nd even if i did, the value on my car is shotty and i’ll get nothing from them for it. dribble car is much more valauble. but because it’s cosmetic damage, on an old ass already costmetically ugly car... basically zip on pay out. not even enough to get the specific cosmetic damage fixed.

Hardly fucking matters, because the check... is now being held by the bank. When will i be allowed to have it? they dont know yet.

Technically, my fucking car isn’t okay to be driven yet. I have to wait on a new title to be delivered, take it to a dmv to be inspected and declared drivable, hope to god it passes, and then pay them for all this shit. The check, if i ever get it, will probably fucking pay for that. *thank god for insurance.* so glad i pay them for this. I will have a car that is not repaired and no money to repair it with. fuck. At least it’s mostly cosmetic, except for my slightly warped gas tank hatch that is now a struggle to get open.

We find an apartment. This is great. We have a place to live.

This means more moving fees.

so we’re back in orlando. I have no savings left. I have a bit of credit card debt I cant pay off, and we still need some essential shit to buy for this place. but hey, we’re not homeless. Place isnt perfect yet- has rats, might have roaches, neighbors are wild and loud, pretty sure theres an active drug dealer based on the weird activity in the parking lot at all hours day and night.

but we’re not homeless. and im back in my metro, so i can deliver, so I have a source of income again. Everything will be fine.

Check is still being withheld. car is still technically not supposed to be drivable. this is fine. I will make enough money to survive this month, wrack up a little bit more debt on the essentials we need, but thisll be fine for a month or two until better work... good thing i can still deliver.

Lived here for a week. Sibling’s car breaks down and needs repairs. uh oh!

The day we get my sibling’s car back from the mechanic’s? today? today?  Obviously, my car breaks down. Obviously. fuck.

There’s more. This is a mostly abridged highlight. Other details- such as the fact that I had to borrow money from someone to get even this far, and my very old cat needing a vet visit that i just cant fucking afford yet- are all involved. My hand still has poor mobility- yesterday someone commented “I thought you were right handed” because they noticed i dont use it to do things like pop the fucking water pressure cap off my car engine to refill it’s leaky collant tank. Our current fridge may or may not be cool enough to store dairy in, we arent sure yet. we still need to buy a fucking dryer, we dont have a means to wash/dry clothes yet, and I dont own a lot of clothing so I’ve been stretching one outfit over a week.

Look, 2022 is fucking killing me. At this point I need roughly 6000$ to magically make it out of may without debts in three different places. Obvious not feasible, and it would still put me out roughly nuetral with no money. So... whatever I can get. Preferable enough to get the fucking car fixed so i have income. And then hopefully rent so we don't end up homeless again and with an eviction on our record.

If you read all this, please. Even if you dont wanna donate for nothing in return, it’s literally only a dollar to commission a cute little mood board.

[honeyfreckled]

we have talked a few times and im sorry for this but you are the most accepting and easiest person to talk to honestly i dont have many people in my life i can tell anything real to. but the thing is ive been thinging about relapsing a lot more since i broke up with my boyfriend and i work with him so it makes work depressing and impossible to get through a day without crying sorry this is anon but i am scared ily dont hate me i am not trying to stress you out

ok wow first lemme just say: I DO NOT HATE U. EVER. 

and don’t be srry i don’t have a lotta ppl irl i can tell my shit to so i get it. pls know u can always ALWAYS ALWAYS come to me, and u dont gotta be scared to come off anon. i get it and it’s ok if u prefer it that way- but pls know i dont keep it on alot bc i get hate and then i turn it off bc i gotta look out for myself and dont post all the hate bc i dont wanna bring yall down or give them the satisfaction of knowing i have given it a read and response. so u can message me or make a sideblog or idk im just saying this so if it’s off later u dont blame yrself or feel scared to come off anon. ok sorelapse is a real thing and it’s fucked and hard and addiction is fucked up and a real life struggle and we dont treat addicts w the real tenderness, respect, kindness, and acceptance they deserve. but u DO deserve it. and there are hotlines, apps, churches, groups, chatrooms/boards, and sites that are more versed in what are the appropriate things to say to u- i say this bc while i’ve been thru it w loved ones i have not myself struggled w addiction w substances. my addictions were to self harm and victimhood so those are the things i searched for help on. but if it’s alright i’d like to give u some tips or things i used and have heard work for addicts of substances

places like i said like churches, groups, chatrooms, sites, apps, hotlines the apps and hotlines are good if u cant travel or want to talk to ppl who wont share their story bc maybe u cant hear it like its not the kinda help ur looking for. hotlines are sometimes tricky bc some of those folks are not educated they are volunteers so judgment leaks thru and in that case u ask to be redirected and report that volunteer so hopefully they dont repeat that kinda mess to other vulnerable folks looking for help

make a list of things, anything. list of foods u like to order, list of things that make u clench yr teeth, what were yr fave gifts you’ve ever got, style icons of urs, hobbies u tried that annoyed u, movies u can always watch, places on yr skin u hate being touched, any list of anything it doesnt have to be the usual thing of “what to live for” bc when yr depressed those kinds of things arent easy to think of. but if u get a list going of like “best things ive ever touched” “sounds that make me laugh” “trends that were stupid af” “popular things that i didnt like n couldnt figure out why they were popular” “weirdest ppl ive met” well those things might get u on a roll of good memories or laughing or seeing that theres more to yr life than what has been occupying yr thoughts

dancing. dance in yr room in the dark. clear some space. put on some headphones. lock yr door. do it in the shower. just dance. i had to start w closing my eyes and picking songs that i was taken by emotionally. songs that made me jump and slamdance tbh and then it’s just gotten more and more something im not as ashamed w. i spent a date night w james just dancing and then we ya know ya know bc the dancing got so wild. now i make playlists of songs that set moods for diff kinds of dancing

watch shows w ppl who arent doing better than u. they dont live in fancy places, they dont do much w their lives, they dont dress better than u, they struggle, they arent eating good food u dont have access to. iasip. freaks and geeks. letterkenny. undeclared. jake and amir. tpb. the state. youtube. tiktok/vine comps. lots of these kinds of vibes on youtube

podcasts. improv comedy podcasts tbh saved my life. comedy bang! bang! has best of’s those are good ones to start w. improv4humans bc matt besser has great guests of some of the best improvisers out there and he has musical guests and they’ll play a song and the improvisers will use it as inspo for a scene

make things. moodboards. pinterest. playlists. fill a shopping cart and tell yrself “i’ll get it when i win the lotto and move away from anyone who knows me so i can be the me i wanna be w/out judgement” make tea. make a meal if u can. make yr bed. clean one thing. clean the sink. hang some clothes or go thru yr drawers and clean them out. throwing things out feels hard at first but then it’s nice bc u feel less bogged down

find something to throw yr obsession at for a bit. something that wont hurt u as bad, being obsessed in general isnt good. everything in moderation irl. too much of something is bad just as much as too less of it can be bad. but yr looking for something lower risk here and if u gotta be obsessed w a celeb or a song or a food that’s ok. yr focusing the energy on something that isnt a substance so be proud of it

give yrself a break. give yrself some credit. everyday isnt gonna be on the “best of your name here’s days” but sometimes u just live to live bc that’s what u do. u wait it out and get thru it and wait for the sun to come back out. and if u cant get outta bed. or if you hate yr job and wanna scream- that’s normal it’s more normal than always being happy ppl just dont like talking abt bc society kinda trains us to hide our fucked upness idk why but thats how it is. they dont wanna tell us to do preventative care until we’re in the pits

all in all- it comes down to (at least for me) not planning w an endgoal in mind. it’s not over til it’s over and rlly we dont know. it’s all fluctuating and not meant to be a finish line we cross and then suddenly we’re done and we dont suffer anymore and the feeling of shit is gone or the risk of relapse is gone and the depression is cleared away never to be seen again. it’s not realistic. bc it isnt real. on the real- risk is always there and the downs and ups mix and run together and depression is not curable (this isnt something to be miserable over tho) depression isnt curable, yeah ok, but it is manageable. it can be quieted down from time to time and if u keep up w yr healthy routines and coping mechanisms- depression will still find its way to u bc the real world is not something u can manage. death in the family, loss of money or job, car breaking down, sickness outta nowhere, depression grows wild when these very real life stressors come into our lives. but all that too eventually gets easier and easier at least from a “ok i have some distance now” standpoint. and then as those days get more and more btwn it u can then be like “oh wow, ive made it thru X amount of days! ive put up w it this long! whats one more day, whats one more week, hell might as well see how much prouder i can feel once ive got a year under my belt!” plus u will be more capable of handling the bullshit if u know u can still find some safe places in yr coping skills or friends or resources.

ok so this is prob a mess but bottomline know this:

I love  you and i will be here the best i can should u ever wanna come spill or if u need me to just send u pics of my dog or boring pics of knickknacks or selfies or memes or links or anything just tell me what u need and i will try my best to show u my love. i hope u can see that u reaching out is just already a HUGE major step in the right direction, give yrself credit! thats amazing! yr already doing it pumpkin look at u! it’s hard ik. but i also know if u are capable of saying u have this problem going on, u are capable of getting thru this. u are a light in the world. u offer goodness and u offer yrself and that’s enough. even if yr fucked up right now- u are contributing to the world by simply being u. there is literally NO ONE ELSE WHO IS YOU. so u are unique by definition. i hope u get something from this post and if not i hope it strikes an idea or thing u can do that will help. i hope u know im here and i hope u see this.

i am sending u all my light and love and good vibes and i can’t wait to see or hear from u again. u are never bothering me, a burden, or stressing me out. tbh it stresses me more that u might be struggling and not telling me or anyone. i dont ever want u to suffer in silence bc u feel guilt or scared or anything. u deserve to have a place to voice yr shit. im here to listen if u do wanna tell me anymore.

everyone else-if this helped or if u can think of anything that might help anon or anyone else- feel free to reblog and get some good NONJUDGMENTAL advice or tips and tricks going, but please please please remember to not come off as judgey or flood it with your drama. keep ur drama out of this post so anon or anyone else doesn’t get triggered by it. 

and dont ignore my rule and do it anyway and then say some shit like “ik u said not to but i think this will help lol sorry” like we need this post to stay on this vibe that i set in motion and not a struggle contest or dick measuring or all sad personal reminiscing. go make yr own post for that this is NOT the space.

[nochuie]

(p1) i feel like it's too much to be getting on users who repost gifs in like moodboard/appreciation post form, especially since they aren't explicitly claiming every image/gif as their own. when you post something on the interwebs it's very difficult to track where it ends up, and many times people will 1. save pics/gifs without remembering where they saved it from or 2. save it from somewhere that isn’t even the original source.

(p2) most people make those boards, aesthetics, whatever for fun and if they get some notes off it great but they aren’t gaining any money or anything so i really don’t see why it’s such a big deal. but just a suggestion if you don't want your gifs to be reposted maybe u should put it in the caption of every gif you make like how it says do not edit on fantaken photos.

I can understand why you think most of this but it’s also kind of round about logic.

1. This is fine for personal use w/e, I’m not telling someone they cant save gifs

2. Also fine if it’s just personal use

3. If you’re saving for the purpose of reposting and you are claiming some sort of creative standing over it (moodboard/aesthetic w/e) that’s not okay. I honestly can’t stop reposting because people arent listening to it anyway, all I ask is that please credit me. How hard can it be? I literally watermark all my gifs now. tbh people who repost gifs aren’t going to be stopped with a simple “do not edit” if they’re already doing it without permission anyway.

Like I said before gif’s are taken for granted and kind of seen as lesser than other original content. I don’t see anyone mentioning that you shouldn't be stealing their fics etc but I don’t think people realise how much effort it takes to make nice gifs. The arguement that it’s “easy to make” is moot, because if it’s so easy just make it yourself and stop stealing?

[stellacovegirlsbeachwear-blog]

Stephanie Matthew Photography

Stella Cove has made it to many different beaches around the world and love to see our reach get to one of the most beautiful states, Hawaii! We have been reaching further with the help of our Instagram community and collaborating with our new friends! Stephanie Matthew is one of those fantastic people! She can get excellent shots while working on a new project and keep her creativity active! We are hoping to see our White Pom Pom Bikini for Girls and other terrific SS17 swimwear hitting the North Shore!

Photographers are sure to be influence by their travels and their home atmospheres. This plays a crucial aspect of how they create their own style. When surrounded by beautiful beaches and exquisite sunshine, Stephanie surely knows how to capture swimwear similar to our White Pom Pom Bikini for Girls! Her interview will reveal some of her keys to success!

Stephanie Matthew Interview

Are there any photos which stand out in your life as having moved you the most and if so why?

Recently, I'd have to say this shoot- (attached) I feel like I went back to my roots, I shut myself off from any outside inspiration and went inwards. I completely shot with a feeling instead of a picture in my head. I took almost a year break and wasn't really inspired, had a block. You'd think being in Hawaii, surrounded by these beautiful locations I would be inspired but Hawaii is a different look, the lighting is different, the colors are so bright and vivid, maybe I just needed time to learn it's moods. When I look at them now they look exactly how wished them to- I let the beach and nature call the shots, the wind, the barefeet, the rawness, the sun was way too bright- and I just went with it, it shouldn't have worked but it did. And that spot, I call it the coral graveyard, is where the current brings all the dead coral and its covering the beach, it's a place of endless inspiration for me.

Do you listen to music when you're working, if yes, what kind?

Sometimes I will before I start editing, to get going.  A lot of times though it distracts me, I don't know why I can't do both things at once. I tend to lose myself and daydream with music, I am a true pisces, I'm always in my own world. Might be surprising to hear that when I do listen to music I love Kid Cudi, he's so complicated and layered but I love him. Kanye too.During shoots it's a lot of Taylor Swift and Katy Perry of course, for the kids.

Do you know what a finished piece of work looks like or does it develop as you work?

I do, in a way. I go in knowing the feeling I want, the look. the actual poses and exact locations for the most part kind of develops on its own. I can say about 90 percent of the shoots dont look like my pinterest boards, haha. I wish I could be more organized like some photographers I've seen, with shot lists and moodboards, but I have to be ok with how I do it. I go in and I figure out the kids- are they shy? outgoing? and then I look around at the light and figure out the best spots.  I sometimes wonder if it would be different if I worked with adults, with kids you kind of have to go with the flow, you aren't getting that super "editorial" look if they won't even stand still. But I'll look at the clothes or the theme we come up with and I figure out what they should say, to get them as close as possible to the theme.

What's the best part of the process? What's the most challenging part?

I love working with a good team, where we all bring our special talents and we create something together. Those late night group texts where the stylist, hair person and set designer are all throwing ideas out there and then they show up with these amazing props and outfits. I love finding those kids who are so easy and effortless in front of the camera, the ones who need barely any direction and while I'm shooting I'm already excited about how they're going to look. And then I'll go home and immediately sit down and find my favorite shots. I also like the first part of editing, finding the right colors and look of the pictures. But I absolutely do not like editing mass amounts of pictures, I cant stand sitting around staring at the computer, even worse is taking about a thousand pictures and having to edit that down to 100. Pure torture. I wish i could pay someone to do it, someday maybe.

One of the many things we appreciate about your photos is that your subject seems to have the courage, when in your shoot, to let a emanate a more personal part of themselves. The photo looks very honest. How do you manage to make this happen?

That's a huge complement actually, I beat myself up for so long about not being the jump in the air photographer, the running on the beach, doing cartwheels Target ad kind of thing. I love catching kids when they just look at me. So many kids are trained to immediately do this cheesy smile as soon as they have a camera in front of them and I'd much rather have that in between look, plus I feel like I'm getting better at figuring out kid's personalities, I don't force poses, I let them sit and stand how they normally would because the second you tell them what to do they turn into stiff robots and then you turn away and they loosen up. I always say, just look at me, or how would you sit on that rock or whatever. Shoots aren't always easy for me, I'm all of a sudden the center of attention, the kids are looking at me, the mom's are behind me, sometimes the client is next to me. I'm introverted and this really takes me out of my comfort zone. But I love the honesty of kids, I love working with them, I end up being friend with their moms and keeping in touch. No kid has asked me to photoshop their back fat, I dont retouch their faces at all or have them wear any makeup.

If you could photograph anyone in the world who would it be, also how would you style them?

A kid? Maybe a young Vanessa Paradis, I was in love with her when I was little, when she was a singer, that amazing gap in her teeth. I'd recreate her Chanel birdcage shoot, where she's swinging through the air, whistling. Maybe I'd shoot it all white this time instead of all black, no fishnets. Of course a young, Kate Moss with her original British teeth. I remember one of  her first shoots, in an issue of seventeen magazine. It would be hard to figure out something to do differently with her, shes done everything, something that shows her freckles though for sure.

What would you tell your younger self?

Don't under value yourself, remember that moment when you told yourself you would never make money as a fine art photographer? Reconsider that. Stand up for yourself, you don't even want to know how many shoots I helped set up, find locations, props, models and ended up with assistant credit only and I never said a thing.

What do you think is the role of photography today?

I kind of like the shift right now, I was very discouraged a couple of years ago because The kids industry was so oversaturated. Photography was my dream profession since I was little, it's what I went to college for, I studied it, was abscessed with it. Then with social media and these amazing camera phones everything changed. I think it's different now, the ones working right now are very talented and the ones who weren't so serious about it were weeded out or are just on Instagram.

What hopes do you have for your works the moment you release them into the world? How do you wish for them to affect people?

I don't know if I could say what I wish people would feel about my pictures. Sometimes I feel like they aren't mine to have that power any longer after they are out there. They could have a totally different meaning for someone else and I don't want to take that away from them. Also I'm my own worst critic, I'm so hard on myself and sometimes I just fall in love with a shoot, my team and I put so much into it and I become protective, I hope people see the hard work and effort that goes into it. I hope people see them as art, it's not so easy to turn kids photography into art, I come home exhausted from chasing crazy kids around trying to stay true to my younger, magazine collage covered walled self but it's worth it.

What advice do you have for any new photographers?

Shoot, shoot, shoot, like crazy, find your style, look back at the masters for inspiration but don't compare yourself to anyone out there now, you can see right through those people.  And when they say, "can you drive two hours in LA traffic and shoot this baby shower/pop up event/birthday party for my blog for free, it will give you so much exposure and will be so worth it", it never, ever is.

Phenomenal interview with a great person! A Very insightful look into how the process comes to a photographer like Stephanie. We hope to have another collaboration in the future to get awesome shots of our

White Pom Pom Bikini for Girl

and other great swimwear and beachwear! Can't wait to see whats in store for SS18!