About Me

Hi, my name is Samara. I'm a photographer and coach.

My passion has always been photography and being able to express myself through the medium of art. Whilst growing up I was forever watching how the Cindy Crawfords, Naomi Campbells and Helena Christensens of the 80s and 90s supermodel era, dominated their industry. 

I find women fascinating and that’s why I have always loved photographing them. My inspirations have been quite diverse, from the power women of Helmut Newton, to Corinne Day’s intimate shots of Kate Moss, the fantastical world of David Lachapelle to the realness of David Bailey’s portraits. My work has always been accompanied by a strong narrative as I like to add an extra level of depth to my artwork, to add sound to my sight.

I have been fortunate to have had a diverse career in the Fashion industry. Over the last seventeen years I’ve held positions from Head of Photography for an Advertising agency, shooting swimwear campaigns in Cape Town to designing and managing Ted Baker’s Fashion shows and last but not least working with some incredible women on a 1-2-1 portrait basis. This has enabled me to work with some of the top brands and emerging talents that this amazingly creative industry has to offer.

After a life changing event I was inspired to want to help others, which is why I qualified as a personal development coach. Through mixing my true passions I now combine my coaching element with my photography to help numerous women with a low sense of self. I have found amazing results working with people who aren’t used to having their photo taken, or just simply want to hide and just need that little bit more encouragement in removing any of their limiting self beliefs. I want them to realise the power they have.

 

I create by merging my fine art photography portraits with mixed media art, illustrations and my imagination. I am very grateful that I am able to use my photography as a therapy to help women, it has given my work an extra level of depth and personally has given me a real sense of purpose in life. 

As any artist will say “creating art is a meditative form in itself”; my photography is my art. 

If you feel my work resonates with you then please get in touch 🙂

 

 
 
GET IN TOUCH
Clients
  • All Sisters 
  • Arthur & Albert
  • Dancing Leopard 
  • Erdem
  • Grazia
  • Hunza.g
  • Lucy in Disguise
  • MSN
  • Nigel Hall
  • Oh my Love
  • Sony
  • Ted Baker 
  • Twenty 6
  • Ushuaia
  • Valerie Keiffer
  • Wekoko
  • West Seventy Nine
  • Wrangler
What they say

  • Working with Samara is one of the best experiences. She is not only friendly, funny and totally makes you feel relaxed from the moment you walk in but she also is so professional and clearly so very talented that you immediately know you are in amazing hands. Being a woman it is so incredible to have a female photographer and coach who makes you feel so comfortable and knows how to get the best from you. She pushed me to my maximum and the photographs speak for themselves. Her direction is perfect and she knows exactly what makes a great shot and how to get it. It’s always fun, creative and exciting and she is an extremely skilled coach and photographer who takes stunning pictures.

    – Kate Young – Gallows Ghost

  • Samara is a dream to work with. She is an excellent photographer. Her ability to capture a perfect moment is incredible, her photo is on my book cover. It was on the mock-up and it got such great response from the book sellers, we kept it as the final cover. Her intuitive way of working allows her to get the best out of you without the hard work. Working with Samara is effortless and leaves you feeling so full of energy and positivity. Her phone is ringing off the hook, she’s hot property!

    – Jody Shield – Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur

  • Samara helped me identify any lingering but subconscious limiting self beliefs, that were holding me back from reaching my full potential, and helped me replace them with more helpful ideas. 

    She encouraged me to do things that were scary but could help me improve my current situation. We also set regular goals, targets and actions, which is very important being my own boss and I still continue to this day. 

    I am more focussed on my priorities now, identifying what is important to me at this stage; which is making and playing music from my heart, looking after my body, mind and spirit, and spreading awareness about how to overcome mental and physical health issues; with healthy diet, mental attitude (and Functional and ‘Alternative’ Medicine if necessary).  

    – Ceri Owens

     

  • Samara is a dream to work with! A true talent who I trust implicitly with getting the perfect shot every time. Samara’s experience is clear, as she directs the models to ensure the most amazing photo’s! We always try and push the boundaries and some times work in stressful situations, Samara always takes on the challenge and delivers above and beyond. I can’t recommend her highly enough!

    – Nicky Brunt – Founder West Seventy Nine

  • Samara has helped me transform my routine! She helped me immensely with my perception of diet and my struggles around self-doubt. I highly recommend the work Samara does; she’s a powerful and perceptive coach. I was feeling down when I first saw her; I was struggling with feelings of uncertainty about the future, my work and my confidence were low. Since working with Samara, I have structured a morning routine, helping me set me up for the day with my best foot forward. My diet has changed for the better! I was making some small mistakes, which were making a massive difference to my mood and weight. I have lost around 5KG, and I am hoping to lose a little more. I’m back on track with fitness without putting too much stress on myself or body. I feel stronger, happier, healthier, with more confidence and clarity. My workload and trust with my capabilities have improved. The path ahead looks bright, and everything seems reachable now! I even finally finished tasks I’d been procrastinating on for years! She didn’t just help me in one area; Samara’s coaching enabled me across so many areas in my life. Mind, body & spirit. Something I value in Samara is her ability to share from her own experience and her relatable approach, which I found hugely encouraging.  I genuinely want to keep working with Samara as feel we still have incredible heights to reach! I am immeasurably grateful for her and all the help, knowledge and support she has given me.

    BRYDIE TONG – DJ, PRODUCER

     

  • Having not gone into the new year with as much motivation and vigour as I would have liked, I took this as an opportunity to look into a few areas of my life that were not really “doing it” for me, to see where I could make some improvements.  This was easier said than done, as I soon became overwhelmed with my thoughts, and was unable to concentrate and focus on any one area.  I decided it may be more beneficial to call upon Samara to act as my coach and guide through the process and to help “lighten the load” of my brain.

    Samaras approach was one that really worked for me.  She was very understanding and pragmatic. She was able to assess what areas I needed to tackle first and took me through each one with some great suggestions on how I could manage my thoughts and behaviour in a more logical way, which in turn cleared a lot of negativity in my head.  I now have more order in my life, especially by way of shaking up my morning routine, which in turn, has given me more structure which is something I was lacking.  I now feel less overwhelm and more excitement of whats to come and feel like I can tackle anything.  Bring it on!

    JEN ANSTEAD – MAKEUP ARTIST 

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