Loyal, involved organizational talent
Quick to adjust to any situation
Day in the Life
‘See me as your personal photo journalist’
Real is more fun than perfect!
I capture your real life, so you won’t forget the NOW later
Colophon
Photography: mine of course
Cover photo: Annette Looijestijn
My special thanks goes out to Kairos for your boundless, loving, always interested attention; Arjen, Marieke & Susan van Dijk and Annette Looijestijn. And of course to my beloved Michiel van den Eerenbeemt for all his support, care and love.
Thanks to everyone who cooperated!
I WILL CAPTURE YOUR EVERYDAY UNNOTICED MOMENTS TO CREATE LASTING MEMORIES
This magazine has its own limited edition. Copying is allowed, but let Sandra know.
You can ask Sandra for the digital version of this magazine.
Do you also want to make a personal magazine?
Please contact Susan, she will gladly help you.
susan@kairosconsultancy.com
www.bouweenbedrijfdatwerktvoorjou.com
Self-portrait
A few vacations ago, I was sorting out our vacation photos. I noticed that I was not in a single picture. I am always the photographer. That really made me sad. Who doesn’t want nice, quality photos of themselves with their children or loved ones. We all want to flip through the album on the couch or gaze at photos on our walls. Most importantly, to pass the memories down to our (grand) children. I spend most of my day with the kids, and I don’t want to be, like an article I recently read and describes so beautifully, “the mother who was never there: The ghost in our family photos”
Having a family, a relationship, your work, in whatever stage of life you are in, is something very special. So many things happen, happy moments, sad moments ... And it changes so quickly, especially at a young age and very old age.
If I could do magic. Could conjure, could conjure. Then all people would love each other.
That’s why I believe so fiercely in Day in the Life sessions: capturing an ordinary day or event, pure and as it is. I will capture your everyday unnoticed moments to create a lasting memory. Live in the moment and look back with a smile.
Put your camera down, be present ... because I’m here for you!!
Herman van Veen
Als ik kon toveren. Kon toveren, kon toveren. Dan hielden alle mensen van elkaar.
From posed to the everyday: Painter Frans Hals was far ahead of his time!
Frans Hals is also called a “photographer avant la lettre“ because his paintings are full of movement and life: they look like instant shots. Frans Hals, born in Antwerp in 1582/83 and moved to Haarlem in 1666, is considered one of the most important Old Dutch Masters of his period.
In addition to paying the bills by taking portraits of the elite, Hals created works such as fisherman’s children on the beach, a vegetable seller, the ‘village idiot’ Malle Babbe from Haarlem, and more. You could consider these portraits as well, but they were primarily intended as “impressions from daily life”.
Because it’s alive!
People were struck by the vibrancy of Hals’s portraits. The German painter Max Liebermann (1847-1935) said “Why do we think a portrait by Frans Hals seems good? Because it convinces. And why does it convince us? Because it lives!”
And two centuries later Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) wrote to his brother Theo: “What a pleasure it is to see such a Frans Hals, how different from the paintings - there are so many of them - where everything has been smoothed carefully in the same way.” Frans Hals chose not to finish a painting smoothly, like all his contemporaries did, but tried to keep life in it. Since life can be recognized by movement, he made sure that the viewer gets the impression that the portrait is moving. Hals’ choice is very special and with this approach he was way ahead of his time.
In a letter to his sister, Vincent van Gogh wrote what he admired so much in Frans Hals: “I would like to make portraits that a century later people think are apparitions of ghosts. Not through photographic similarity but through expression of intense feelings and facial expressions.”
There has always been a strong tradition within Dutch culture of observing and analyzing reality. We see this, for example, with Frans Hals [see box]. Documentary photography is the approach to photographing something exactly as it is without any interference, direction or influence from the photographer. Photojournalism and documentary photography are both concerned with recording, describing and interpreting reality.
Both genres received professional status only at the beginning of the 20th century (1920s). Photojournalism developed in Germany. The origin of documentary photography took place in England and America. In the 1920s, the term “documentary” was used in America to refer to a film genre where an actual situation or event from real life is analyzed and displayed in a creative dramatization. It was not until the early 1930s that the term came into use in photography as an indication of Lewis Hine’s socially critical photographs of child labor and immigrants in New York and the reports of, for example, Dorothea Lange about the suffering of American farmers in the Southern states as a result of crisis and the drought.
In the Netherlands, the documentary impulse in photography was mainly shaped by political / social engagement. During the war, photographers were involved in the resistance through the illegal organization of the ‘Ondergedoken Camera’ (Hidden Camera). The reports that Cas Oorthuys, Emmy Andriesse, Ad Windig, Charles Breijer, Kryn Taconis and others made of the German occupation and the hunger winter in Amsterdam are among the most impressive examples of socialrealistic documentary photography in the Netherlands. And the documentary impulse was even used as a stylistic tool in advertising in the last years of the 20th century. Everything had to look like real life.
family life. These photos - whether they look like it or not - are deliberately posed and carefully taken. The children play, but their game is in front of the camera.
In the Netherlands, Carla Kogelman (1961) won first prize in the “Long-Term Project” category of The World Press photo of 2018 with her series “Ich Bin Waldviertel”. She has been photographing the two sisters Hannah and Alena since 2012 in Merkenbrechts, a bio-energy village in Waldviertel (Austria). She visits them for a few weeks, usually in the summer, every year, watching them grow up and spend time together.
The idea of documentary photography is therefore to photograph real life events for historical reasons and show what life was like in certain time period. It should also show everyday life, and this is where documentary family photography comes into place.
It’s not just about registering what you see, but about capturing the spirit of the moment.
Kirsten Lewis is an American photographer who started commercializing documentary family photography, also called Day In The Life (DITL) photography. She is currently regarded as one of the world’s best documentary family photographers. It’s not just about registering what you see, but about capturing the spirit of the moment. I find this enormously inspiring and challenging. I am one of the first Dutch photographers to apply this form of photography in the Netherlands.
Documentary photography is used to describe important events or relationships or ideologies of our time that are used historically in the future. And documentary photography is often used for following people, groups of people, families, children and the like. Only this is often done for personal reasons or for assignments via newspapers or magazines. Like in 1984, Sally Mann begins to photograph the growing up of her own children Emmett, Jessie and Virginia (all under the age of ten) against her favorite background: the mythical landscape of the American South. The project ended in 1992 with the publication “Immediate Family”, which made her instantaneously famous. Made with a large format camera, the photos are far removed from the informal snapshots that are usually taken to capture
Documentary family photography is about capturing the moment as it unfolds, exactly as you are. With this medium, yourfamilyisabletolookbackatyourlife,asitwasinthemoment. It can almost transport you back to that moment. It actually preserves your history. The history that can be viewed year after year by you and your loved ones. Day in the Life sessions help you to be thankful for the little things in life. It makes you happy! My dream is that documentary family photography becomes a natural part of our lives. Fewer poses, more real life capture and more enjoyment!
Documentary photography is about recording real events for historical reasons and so that generations learn what life is like in a certain period. An honest, authentic and tangible reflection of reality. It is about recording life in any country or city or family with its characteristics, with the ups and downs, the emotions, the connections, the everyday actions, interests ...
What if I tell you that there is a form of family photography where you don’t have to pose. Where the only requirement is that you do exactly what you always do. Just be yourself. And that it can also contribute to the self-confidence of your children! Really?! Yes really!
One of the hidden but powerful aspects of family photography,rarelyconsidered,ishowitcanhelp us raise children with more confidence in their self-esteem and skills. Studies have shown that children who see photos of themselves and their families develop a higher self-esteem (source: Study on Children and Family Photographs, Daily Mail). The sense of self-confidence comes from the fact that the children SEE that they are important, valued and that we are proud of them. Family pictures on the walls of the house make a home where children can feel safe, feel at home. Photos are part of your identity, history and memory. And imagine the effect when these photos are photos from their REAL life!
In 1975 a revealing study was conducted by the University of Tulane with a group of fourth graders at a school in Tennessee (Source: How Family Portraits Boost Your Child’s Self Esteem, Huffington Post). During a five-week period, the children took pictures of themselves with Polaroid cameras in various assigned poses, compositions and different emotions. The children worked with the printed images of themselves and made a scrapbook every week during those five weeks. Testing the students and teachers at the end of the study showed a significant increase of 37% with regard to the self-esteem of the students.
See me as your personal photo journalist. I spend time with you and your family to take pictures of what is not normally photographed. Documenting one of the first days of your motherhood and paternity (newborn). The
ordinary “boring” moments (something funny or endearing always happens). Shopping. The inbetween moments. From capturing the morning ritual with breakfast, getting dressed, to the evening ritual. From your children growing up to wonderful young adults that you are proud of. With all the emotions that go with it.
Isn’t life about everyday moments? Your daily traditions, habits, routines. They happen in between, the in-between moments. These moments are the most authentic ones of your family. I believe that the most important moments of our lives are disguised in routine and monotony. The moments that your children learn the most, that they remember the most. The moments that shape them. Which gives them the basis on which they rely on for the rest of their lives. It is precisely those daily moments that do not stand out and you take for granted. Which you may forget because everything is constantly changing in a family.
Everything I do, I do to make tangible visual memories for those who may not remember it. I believe it can contribute to a positive life experience and to more self-confidence and pride. I capture memories where the whole family is present, even when a loved one doesn’t have much longer with us. It is precisely then that the importance and value are greatest for those who are left behind. That is why the documentation of the everyday through photos makes me happy. Because I do something that matters, now and later.
The beach.. Photos are part of your identity, history and memory.
Because in the end things will change. The change is likely to creep in slowly without being noticed. The Playmobil is no longer scattered on your daughter’s play table, the toy cars disappear from the living room (as you always wanted to, but differently), no smudged fingerprints on the windows. You realize he’s too big for a piggy back ride and no longer takes your hand when walking. Or that you have to stand on your toes to kiss your son. A bedroom door always open is now closed.
I believe those perfectly normal days are what it’s all about.
What if we only took photos to remember our real life. Not just for sharing on social media. But just our daily reality. Which is a bit messy. Not so perfect. Just REALLY as it is. Photos for ourselves. I ensure that your everyday moments that pass by unnoticed are recorded in tangible visual memories. To hang up, put down or browse through and to keep remembering everything for now and later on in life.
“Children who see themselves in family photos feel they are important, appreciated and that we are proud of them.”
1971 - 1985 International start of my life
IwasborninUtrechtonOctober30,1971.Ispentmychildhoodabroad,Perú,Indonesia,Bangladesh, briefly in London and back to Perú. From moving every 2-3 years from country to country, I learned to adapt and to be very open. You can see that in my work. Even when posted somewhere as a project manager, after two weeks, they felt that I had been there for years. And my photography clients say the same thing. My parents used to write the same in their letters. These statements in particular resonated with me:
“Sandra is a cheerful little one, very sweet, cheerful and in a good mood” (1972) and “Sandra, our iron lady” (1981).
1986-1990 From the big city in Perú to a village in Gelderland
In the middle of the 8th grade we move from Perú to Doorwerth. It is hard to find my place at the Van Lingen College (Arnhem). Difficult to connect with the existing girlfriend groups. Difficult because I have to catch up with lots of subjects and work hard to do well. Ultimately, with a lot of discipline and perseverance, I passed the VWO and met my lifelong dear friend, Belia. In my school is a poster with“When you see someone without a smile, give him one of yours”, which resonates very much with me.
At the age of 18 I saved enough to buy a camera I really really wanted.
1990-1991 Homesickness as an au-pair
Au pair in Washington D.C. The first time I went traveling by myself; somewhere for a longer period without my parents. I feel so homesick the first few months! If Sarah (2yrs) cries because her mother leaves, I cry too. I take many pictures of Sarah and her family. In retrospect, this is the start of documentary family photography for me. In addition, I quickly make friends including my dear friend MaryAnn with whom I spend a lot of time. I slowly begin to get used to life without my own family.
Montreal, Canada 1991
Spain
Every sumer vacatoin from 1977
France 2004, 2014, 2016, 2018
1991-1997 A busy bee during my student days
I really don’t know what I want to be. I always thought I just wanted to be a teacher, until I recently read one of the letters back to my grandparents: “I want to become a nurse and help the disabled.” My mother tells me about a study at University of Leiden: Languages and Cultures of Latin America, and that seems nice. So I go study in Leiden, rent a room, become a member of the student association Quintus, join a sorority: Atalanta, work in a lot of Quintus committees, stay up late, study hard and go to La Paz, Bolivia for my thesis. After this study I follow the Spanish Teacher Training at the University of Amsterdam, and I teach for a year at a school in Amstelveen.
1998 From Spanish teacher to IT manager
Herne Hill, England
Vacations in Lake District (1978), New Castle (2000), London (2002, 1989), Chester (1989)
Dacca, Bangladesh
The job market in education and certainly for Spanish teachers is downright bad. IT is booming, so I’m going to work at PinkElephant as a project manager. The people, the atmosphere, and the work itself is made for me. Photography is on the back burner in this
Bangkok, Thailand 1980 Singapore 1980
Java, Bali, Sulawesi, Indonesia 1975 - 1976 & 1977
In 2005 I met Michiel at work and after a nice first dinner, with mussels and wine (which I did not like at all, but did eat nicely), I started living with him in Amsterdam in 2006. I immediately get seriously ill and Michiel takes care of me. What a guy! Fortunately, things are going better in 2007, we are moving to the polder (Tienhoven) and I am starting a new job in the IT at the Police.
Tom is born on April 7, 2008 and Marie-Gigitte on March 17, 2010. What a luck!
On November 23, 2010 I witness a family drama with a fatal outcome three houses down from where we lived at the time. This impacted my tremendously. I collapse and am out of the running for a while. It takes a long time before I can be happy again with the most basic things. To be able to really enjoy my three loved ones again. Because of what happened, I became extra aware of the precious moments I have during the day with my children, my partner, my parents and my friends. Looking back now I see that these are also the moments that I now capture as a photographer.
2013-2019 The way back
I photograph a Henna party, put the photos that I can share on Facebook, and get such great reactions! Sandra Stokmans Fotografie (Photography) is born. Gradually I get more and more assignments and discover documentary photography, which I apply to families and events. Halfway through 2015 I stop with my IT job and to really go for photography! In 2018 I win my first international award at the Documentary Family Awards, and since then a couple of others have followed! Including first place in the contest of Focus on the Story for the photo of ‘baby Kay’ from my personal project on kids with a congenital heart defect.
The photography business suits me perfectly and I am entering into a great partnership with Kairos. In 2018 I photograph no fewer than 271 people for their own magazine cover.
And in 2018 our fantastic sweet dog, Pim, who gives us so much pleasure and love, comes into our lives!
If you see someone without a smile, give him one of yours
Maybe you recognize this? You have prepared an event or that important meeting or workshop with dedication, attention and love. Everything runs smoothly (thanks to the good preparation). And then it’s over. Ah, what a pity, right?
In addition to a lot of preparation, the event, the workshop and the meeting often require a major investment. Isn’t it a shame that the experience is forgotten so quickly? With photos and short videos you can relive these moments when you and your guests are visible at their best. They also help you share your pride with the outside world. They even help strengthen your branding and your company.
pleasure.
I will let some recommendations speak:
“You can’t help but smile when you look at the photos, and again, and again ...”
“Gosh, man, I’m really enjoying it”
“I look forward to sharing the photos with others. If you look at them, you experience it over again completely and the pleasure just jumps at you. Super!”
You can share the photos that I take whenever you want. On your website, social media, small printed matter, for promotional purposes. So with that you can extend the investment in the photos.
I am a documentary photographer who can capture connections and moments like no other. After having been a project manager for more than 17 years and having worked in a lot of business environments, I feel at home in work situations. I understand them and I feel them very well. And I love being between and with professionals.
I want to capture moments, emotions, atmosphere and context so that you KNOW you can relive “IT” later with pride and
Sandra has made a beautiful documentary reportage of an important day in our company history. The positive emotion and energy that was felt on this day is clearly reflected in the report.
Sandra is honest, sincere and has the will and capacities to deliver what is required as a photographer and even more. Sandra has depicted this day in an honest and “invisible” way. I am very happy with her speed and approach.
You have to have Sandra if you want to have a picture of reality or actuality. So for a good memory of a beautiful day or event, I would definitely recommend Sandra. Sandra is there at the right time, the right moments, and Sandra has an eye for detail. An eye for what happens that not everyone notices, but what Sandra portrays. Thanks to this documentary, we look back on a beautiful day.
You get much more than just “photographic similarities” from people or details of your event. I guarantee that you can really feel your event, the moments, the environment, the people. These moments are recorded in a professional manner! Images that make you happy and that you can be proud of. By being able to use it for different marketing purposes you also get a return on your investment for a longer period.
“You are authentic. You get what you see.”
Use real photos for your website or promotional material? Have your workshop, training or meeting photographed! Photos in which you are really working appear much more natural. Certainly, with potential customers. They immediately get a sense of you as an entrepreneur! Veterinarian, baker, coach, dentist, banker, physio ... you can use these images for your own marketing and promotion. For your website, for a brochure, on social media. Everywhere. I would be very happy to do that for you!
Research shows that visitors to your website want to see you! Your company, your people, where you work, what you do. If you use stock photos, there is a good chance that a visitor will look over it. In fact, the visitor is looking for something that is genuine. Real photos of yourself, your company and what you do actually make visitors “stand still”. Have these types of photos taken and use them for your website or for a farewell or retirement. The more real and the more emotion there is in the images, the better they will “score” with your visitors.
My whole youth until the middle of the 8th grade I lived in different countries, and I moved many times. The numerous journeys have, of course, shaped me enormously. I often say two kinds of children come from living abroad: “hard and closed” or “open and insecure”. And I am one of the second category. I will tell you everything. After all, I learned to do that. You have to be open and tell your story, because by doing so you build friendships faster. Friendships that are also rapidly gone in an international environment. The other side is that I have learned to sense situation quickly. I can rapidly adapt to a situation, an environment and the people around me.
And then my languages. My first words are a mix of Dutch and Spanish. Those are quickly replaced by some Indonesian words, which in turn are replaced by English words. Translating always takes some effort, because I have not learned another language via my native language. Throughout my Dutch I used a lot of English words, which the children in The Netherlands find very strange and a bit silly. I have a huge backlog in many subjects when I return, and I have to work hard to catch up. Because of my enormous discipline and perseverance, I succeed.
It is my big wish to go back with my own family to the countries where I lived, especially Perú. I would like to show how I lived there, where I attended (international) school, what life is like and how people live there.
“Use the available space in your heart wisely. Don’t let everyone walk in and out; convince yourself first of someone before really letting this one in. When walking in and out too often, the heart soon becomes overburdened and feels unhappy.” This comes from my father’s speech before I left for Washington D.C as an au pair.
I reread this and realize that I have not really followed these wise words. Because of my deeprooted uncertainty (which I can easily conceal), I am someone who wants to do well. Who wants to do good for the other, and then hopes that the other will see that too.
I have been seeking this confirmation my whole life, with my parents, teachers at school, teachers at the university, friends, colleagues, my loves. To matter, give meaning, being truly seen are the reasons why I do the things I do. I also want to do things that are valuable. Projects or work that bring value, that have
value for others or give value to me. Because of my sincerity, commitment and enormous willpower to work I often get everything done. Only sometimes I go a little too fast for others. I do a lot in my head. There is much discussion there, which nobody ever hears. And when I say something, it often turns out that I am skipping a number of steps, while for a listener it is usually nice to be taken along in my train of thought. On a bad day I can be withdrawn and sad when I feel left out. But at all times I always try to be myself and give my all.
Fortunately, my Opa was right when he said during one of our telephone conversations just before his death: “when you are together, the proximity, when seeing each other gives joy and pleasure, you don’t have to say anything. You feel the warmth.” And this is so true when I feel comfortable recording an event, a Day in the Life or doing an assignment for a website or Kairos!
Work that matters, in which I do well, and which gives so much value, is a nice job!
A large part of my history takes place in Benissa, Spain.
My Opa and Oma discover this beautiful place and in 1978 they migrate. They live in a valley with all Spaniards. Friendly, nice Spaniards. They don’t speak a word of Spanish and still know how to make it their home. They are interested and are known as the cheerful señor Derk y friendly señora Clementina.
Living abroad, every leave is spent on traveling back home. From the age of 7, each trip we stay in the Netherlands for about one week and then drive to Opa and Oma. My Opa with the “iron fist,” I look up to him. Eating tapas in bar Palleter, going to the market in Calpe, eating out at different restaurants where the corresponding trips were always beautiful and carefully selected. Even in my student years I still go, and my Opa brings me to the beach every day because “you have to get a tan!” With Oma it is fun at home. Playing Yahtzee for two hours! Sometimes serious and quiet or laughing and chattering. When the dice land on the ground, my Oma invariably calls “that’s good for slimming”. In Benissa I feel happy. This is my home. This is where I feel at home. What wonderful, loving and beautiful memories there are!
Spanje is my happy place
“You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.”
Khalil Gibran has been a common thread throughout my life and inspires me time and again. The poem “Your children” in Spanish hung on the wall in Oma’s bathroom in Spain. At Christmas (1991) my Grootmoeder gave me the book “The Prophet” written by Gibran. The quote above comes from the English version of the poem “Your children” and the bottom two quotes from the Dutch version of the book “The Prophet”.
“If you turn your back on the sun, you only see your own shadow.” So true. Literally in photography, and figuratively in your life. “And let the present embrace the past full of memories, and the future full of longing.”
And I want to do the latter for myself in the coming years!
My grandma wrote this poem (in Dutch) for me on the occasion of my birth.
Just arrived to this world
You are being taken in two arms
You are so small, so sweet, so sweet
And with you the world seems so good.
You will laugh and cry
You will scream and pout.
You will be sweet and sometimes naughty
You will be right and sometimes wrong.
But what you do and what you do not
There are always parents behind you. Whom will support and help you And want to wipe all your tears.
The feet will kick
The hands will grab.
The eyes will look longing
To where the horizon will reach.
The heart , full of dreams
Will come to an own reality.
But one thing is certain for every person
The love for the other is the key that fits on everything.
My dear crazy Omaatje
We have always had a lot of fun during our Yahtzee games, where we knew very well when one of us was cheating. Until the end you threw your legs up in a crazy mood. I miss you. I love you so very much.
The bells from the garden of my Grandpa and Grandma in Spain
The careless hand movement with which your daughter strokes the hair behind her ear. The dreamy look in your son’s eyes as he reads his book, sitting cross-legged on that chair from your old student house, which you should have thrown away long ago. Your mother walking down the forest path among the old oaks, a hopping grandchild on each hand, her head slightly bent and talking to the little people.
It is in the countless small everyday unnoticed moments that nestle deep into your subconscious mind that make the people you love who they are. How nice would it be to capture these daily moments in a beautiful photo album?
Valuable memories of precious, everyday moments
You can relive these moments through the photos. That is what Day in the Life documentary family photography does. It’s about capturing precious, daily moments. Sweet, tender moments, crazy moments, moments of joy and sadness. Real life photography.
For yourself, but even more so for your children and loved ones. As a tangible, lasting memory.
“How beautiful is it that you can just be and do as you are. That you don’t have to worry about how your child behave, how you want your child or your partner to be photographed. I think that is the best gift you can give yourself. A relaxing day, your day, out of your life.”
Sandra Stokmans
“The everyday moments that make us “us” are the moments that we want to hold on to.”
Do you only take photos of your family with your smartphone and do they remain on your phone or computer afterwards? And do you realize that this means that you are never really in the picture with your family? While what you really want is a beautiful, tangible photo album full of family moments that capture your real life.
Documentary family photography is about capturing your family, in whatever composition or phase of your life, exactly as you are.
Professional documentary photography of an ordinary day in your life. A Day in the Life reportage tells your story as a family or couple or as a person, just like you are in your own familiar surroundings. Everyone is in the story, including your pets. Nothing directed, nothing posed.
You can choose from different packages. Look at my website, www.documentairefamiliefotografie.nl, for more information or contact me so I can provide you with more information.
“Sandra, not many people can take very beautiful photos, you can! But you can do more ... you tell a story with your beautiful photos that are so striking for the situation and personalities, it looks like you have always known us and are part of our lives. That is very special! Thank you!!”
Hanneke
What I often see is people, especially with a smartphone, making photos vertically. Stop that! Go and shoot more horizontally (unless you have a good composition or reason, eg if you really want to make a portrait of someone in the vertical position). After all, we have a horizontal view, we are used to that. Moreover, we look from left to right (or right to left). This small adjustment will have a big impact on your photos!
Often pictures are taken from a standing position downwards. If you take a photo this way, you just look at the scene, you are not really there. A viewer feels this too. Not really all that interesting.
We are programmed to smile or get in a pose when a camera appears. Stop photographing when they start posing. Choose your place (composition), be patient and wait for a good moment. If you have the time, just try to be there. Start a conversation. Connect and see what happens. The photos that you create this way will have more life and emotions in them than the photos you have taken before!
A photo’s perspective determines the feeling, the atmosphere and the experience of the viewer. When you vary this, you also get some more variety in your images. Lie down on the floor, stand on a chair or table ... If you drop to your subjects same level and you take a picture, as a viewer you have the feeling that you are “there”. You are, as it were, drawn into the image, so that you are directly emotionally involved in the subject. So no more just aiming and shooting!
Committed
Think-alonger
Quick
Sandra has recorded our annual event for EWPN (European Women Payments Network). Sandra captures the atmosphere, the environment and the moment. It’s almost like you can get in the photo and feel what is going on in there. You can really feel the vibe in the photo. All these women smiling, it’s very warm, and you connect directly, it’s almost like you attended the event, like you were there. The way she captures everything in one picture is beautiful. Just perfect. You did, you should be proud of yourself!
The added value is that Sandra has managed to record moments at our event, our ‘tribe’, of our network in a professional way! Images that we are proud of. The authentic person. Applicable not only just for the present but
also for the future. And being able to use it for various marketing purposes, you get a return on investment for a longer period than just that moment.
I am happy when the final product, in this case the photos, makes me happy. If it something we can proudly show on Social Media or on our website. That is the best thing. Photos that perfectly represent our brand. Professional. Good quality. Capturing the moments and the atmosphere that we are really trying to build, comfortable and inclusive. I am happy when I can build a long-term relationship with a person, who is involved, who could be part of my ‘tribe’. And that’s what we found in Sandra!
You are my best friend and we have known each other since the start of high school. Sometimes we don’t see each other for a while, because of our busy lives, but it always feels good to be together again. You are very important to me and I would not know what I would do without you.
I can chat with you about anything and everything, children, men, work, frustrations, parents, brothers. So actually I can count on you for anything! But I find it especially relaxing to be near you!
You pay attention to details, which to some may not seem important at first, but which
ultimately perfects the photo! Furthermore, you photograph with your heart and you commit yourself for more than 100%. This makes your photos so beautiful, you see that you love/care for the people you photograph.
The image of a sweet, honest friend who will always be there for me, when I need you or just for socializing.
I find a metaphor difficult, but I found this on the internet, and I think it applies to you: I see you as a lotus flower, with the power to be reborn and overcome setbacks every day.
BELIA HOEKSEMA – DE JONG Friend & Physiotherapist
“ It’s almost like you can get in the photo and feel what is going on in there.”
MARTHA MGHENDI-FISHER
Founder @EWPN, @AWFP, @BIF Leading a Tribe of Women in FinTech
“You take photographs with your heart and you commit yourself for more than 100%. This makes your photos so beautiful, you see that you love the people you photograph.”
You have both an open view of the world through your travels and photography as well as experience in “office life”. You combine that in your work.
You empathize with the client’s request. You make real contact easily, and you also work efficiently. In my case, that quickly yielded a lot.
You are energetic, smiling (which is very nice in communication, not everyone does that!), talk easily and are adept. With you I get the feeling that you there is no prejudice or judgment.
& VP HROur life is busy. Three children, a dog, cat, hamster. Running to school, work, sports, children, friends, family and dear neighbors in our village. But we enjoy it. I would like to see what our lives look like through the eyes of someone else. Who is the De Wijer family?
Sandra can record this for you with her surprising “Day in the Life”. She is very open and has a clear goal. She
immediately gains confidence through her enthusiasm and her laughter. She takes colorful photos that bring you back to that one moment and that other moment. All those memories are tangible from now on.
When I think of Sandra, I immediately think of a bubble of energy. She is like a spicy cup of tea that energizes your life. The warmth of her work makes us smile.
You need Sandra for high quality natural photos. REAL photos. Your warm personality makes people feel at ease. You need Sandra for her experience and knowledge of photography, so really the quality of her work.
Your easy accessibility; working with “what is”, so instead of a studio, a garage. In my eyes you think in terms of possibilities, or you see it quickly. And that might be the result of your open mind and your traveller’s mentality.
“You are energetic, smiling (which is very nice in the communication, not everyone does that!), talk easily and are adept.”
“The warmth of her work makes us smile.”
You ‘connect’ with people, you are driven and you also enjoy having fun.
SANDER DE WIJER & PETRA DE WIJER-BOSMA
Teacher automotive engineering MBO Producer music and radio events
MARJOLEIN WEHRMEIJER Friend
Proud mother of Tom and Marie
Child of the world
Michiel’s love
Mercedes Sosa enthusiast
Herman van Vener
Former Nanny in the USA
Old cheese & Jamón Serrano
Reused Jewelry Maker
Non-alcoholic
High activity level
Loyal girlfriend
España es mi casa
Loves Pim, that’s our dog
Extroverted introvert
Young by Canyoning
Magnolia snuff and viewer
Marie’s hockey coach
Netflix addict
Salteña (Bolivia) enthusiast
Ex-violin and piano player
Music = emotion
Detail neurotic
Elizabeth George (detective) reading fanatic
Tea, Coke Zero and Water drinker
Cooking chef from cookbooks
Ham Cheese and Lonka devourer
Ice cream addict mainly at Tutto Frutto in Moraira
Social Media ambivalent
Self mocker
Yahtzee with Grandma
“Hablante español”
Former Amazon
Spoon user
Narrator
Injustice hater
Open book
Oreo cookies
Cuzco (Perú) admirer
Oprah Adorator
Sneaky As the World Turns viewer
Day In The Life Sessions with Kirstin Lewis follower
Flying security officer
Miss commissions and Atalant
Sucker for Chicklits (Bridget Jones, Shopaholic)
Before, - after and thinker about In my dreams a fast young deer
Water lover
Grunt-laugher
Does not go for 100%, but for 200%
Flashdancer and Footlooser
Cleaned up house = calm feeling
Rob Lowe hung above my bed
Marco, Robbie and Jari fan
Loyal customer ... at barber Rick, recently Modehuis Blok
Attended international schools in Bangladesh and Perú
Swimmer with Dolphins
VINEA camp supervisor
In 2018 I started volunteering for Stichting Hartekind, the only charity in the Netherlands that finances scientific research concerning heart defects in children. I was asked by a very good friend, also a ‘Hartekind’, but now all grown up, to photograph the CircuitRun 2016 for Stichting Hartekind. I liked doing that for him, and I was struck by the perseverance and zest for life of these children. Our friend has now passed 40 due to the placement of a new heart valve and a second valve when he was 30. But a third time ...? Through him I feel connected to Stichting Hartekind.
For the Project Hartekind I capture (the different facets of) the lives of families with a child with a congenital heart defect. The children often get the question “Hey, what have you got there?” I would like to answer this question through photos and see how the ‘Hartekind’ and the family are impacted by the heart defect.
Project Hartekind is an informative awareness project, a photojournalism project, to help raise awareness about the children with a congenital heart defect in the Netherlands. I would like to help this cause by stimulating financial means through my photos so that the chances of survival of these 25,000 children and their daily quality of life are improved. My goal is also that the photos are used by the Stichting Hartekind for their campaigns and publications in order to increase the awareness about children with a congenital heart defect.
Sandra is a very involved and inspired woman. Sandra has an eye for the picture and for the person in the picture. Sandra followed our family for a day for a “Day in the Life” session as part of her Hartekind Project. She was present but not in the foreground. This allowed us to be ourselves and her to make the photos that show how our family really is. In my opinion, that is Sandra’s strength!
Sandra is a photographer who matches people with a story. When I talk to people about photographers and someone indicates that they are looking for someone who can tell a story of people with photos, that is something for Sandra.
Sandra’s added value is her boundless energy and commitment. And her ability to be there during a session, without coming to the foreground. She merges with the environment, so that people who come forward in the picture can be themselves to the maximum!
JOOST RIPHAGEN Managing Director DOOR Training & Coaching and Chairman Stichting Hartenkindchildren born
Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.
-Kurt Vonnegut-
Cambia lo superficial, cambia también lo profundo, cambia el modo de pensar, cambia todo en este mundo; cambia el clima con los años, cambia el pastor, su rebaño y así como todo cambia que yo cambie no es extraño.
Cambia el más fino brillante de mano en mano su brillo. Cambia el nido, el pajarillo. Cambia el sentir un amante. Cambia el rumbo el caminante, aunque esto le cause daño. Y así como todo cambia, que yo cambie no es extraño.
Cambia, todo cambia, cambia, todo cambia.
Cambia el sol en su carrera, cuando la noche subsiste, Cambia la planta y se viste de verde en la primavera. Cambia el pelaje la fiera. Cambia el cabello del anciano. y así como todo cambia, que yo cambie no es extraño.
Pero no cambia mi amor por más lejos que me encuentre. Ni el recuerdo, ni el dolor de mi pueblo, de mi gente. Y lo que cambió ayer tendrá que cambiar mañana, así como cambio yo en esta tierra lejana.
Cambia, todo cambia, cambia, todo cambia.
That which is superficial changes Also that which is profound the way of thinking changes
Everything in this world changes
The weather changes as the years go by The shepherd changes his flock and just as everything changes the fact that I change it’s not in the least strange
The finest diamond changes its brightness as it travels from hand to hand the bird changes its nest So does a lover change the way he feels The traveler changes his path even if this proves to be harmful and just as everything changes the fact that I change it’s not in the least strange
Changes, everything changes
Changes, everything changes
The sun changes its course to give way to the night The plant changes and gets dressed in green during spring The beast changes its fur the hair of an old person changes and just as everything changes the fact that I change it’s not in the least strange
But my love doesn’t change no matter how far away I find myself neither the memory nor the pain of my country and my people What changed yesterday will have to change tomorrow Just as I change in this foreign land.
Changes, everything changes
Changes, everything changes
Let us make photos to remember the real life. Not just for sharing on social media. Or to leave on the computer or smartphone. To hang, put down or browse through and to keep remembering everything for now and later in life. Our daily reality. Which is a bit messy. Not so perfect. Just REALLY as it is.
Photos for ourselves.