Portrait & brand photographer
Sarah Booher
I’m here to help people feel comfortable in front of the camera. My mission is to create for impact-driven brands, so they can create a better world. I believe sustainable and ethical businesses have an upper hand if we can tell our stories well, and to do that, we need need to be seen.
My Story
Originally from the US, I started my career at advertising agencies from Seattle, to New York, and then New Zealand. After eight years of working with clients, creative teams, and juggling global launches as an account manager, I started asking myself some hard questions. What is the purpose of marketing and putting messages out in the world, if they don’t serve a greater one?
In 2016 I decided to find out. I left my ad job to travel the world and reassess. I desperately wanted to feel more purpose in my work, yet didn’t know how to work hard without being consumed by it. I was too used to being busy so before we left I bought my first camera as a new hobby for the trip.
First, my partner and I traveled New Zealand for a year, living in a ’97 Iveco camper van we nicknamed “The Beast, for all manner of growling and alarming noises he made, especially going up hills. Then, when winter came, we packed our backpacks for six months in South East Asia.
There, on the no longer pristine beaches of Borneo, I was confronted by the global waste crisis in full force. What was supposed to be in the top three dive sites on the planet, was covered in rubbish. I saw crystalline waters filled with packaging wrappers instead of coral. I swam with turtles… and nappies. I saw diverse wildlife habitats consumed by monotonous palm oil plantations. I felt guilty, part of the problem, for turning away from this reality for so long. I left Borneo, feeling no closer to ‘finding myself,’ and instead like a small drop in a very large, rubbish-filled ocean. What could I do, I was just one person. How could I help, if I couldn’t even help myself?
The ‘Beast’
Milford Sound
Rubbish covered beach, Borneo
Kinabatangan River, Borneo
Endless palm oil plantations, Borneo
Back in New Zealand I decided to start with the only thing I could do - reducing waste in my own life. I started being that ‘eco person’ who gave Keep Cups for Secret Santa, and kept trying to drop off Tupperware to the Indian takeaways down the road to avoid more plastic containers. Eventually in 2019 this frustration with single-use packaging led to cofounding Reusabowl, NZ’s first reusable packaging for takeaways. We might often feel that our individual actions don’t matter in the face of Climate Change or today’s societal challenges - but I truly believe they do. One step leads to many and influences others - one idea could turn into a project in your local community, someone else’s transformation, or even a business idea. Every decision, every purchase matters - we create the world we want to see with our wallets, and our actions.
I wore many hats for Reusabowl (as entrepreneurs know well!), including photographer, and along the way began photographing for other businesses in my network. I realised through photography I could expand my own impact, empowering the people behind businesses making change to be seen and tell their stories! I’m grateful now to be doing work I love.
Reusabowl in-action, Wellington
My ‘Why’
As media makers we have the power (aka responsibility) to create content that affects positive change in ourselves, others, and our planet. My goal is to work with people who are carving a new path and moving society forward, toward social change, and a circular economy.
My favourite thing is connecting with people, seeing them light up as they talk about their work, and helping them communicate that spark through photography. I bring my background in advertising, copywriting and brand strategy to my work—and always aim to deliver strategic value to projects beyond the aesthetics. I’d love to hear what your vision is and how I can support it. Say hi@sjcreative.co.nz.
Read more at:
Nowhere Magazine Travel writing: The moment in Mabul Borneo that started it all
Mischief Magazine feature on Reusabowl
Third Era Sustainability feature, on how we make a difference as individuals towards sustainable change
