Sarah Small

“I was born in 1979 into a family of musicians and writers. I fell in love with photography when I was 13 and, luckily, I had a photogenic, cooperative, impossibly freckled little sister, Rachel, with whom to endlessly practice my craft.

My constant curiosity, indiscriminate urge to engage everyone, and fascination with entangling myself in human drama guided me through boundless adventures as a teenager wandering the streets and houses of my hometown, Washington, D.C., equipped with a Pentax K1000.

I was formally educated at the Rhode Island School of Design. Since my graduation in 2001, I‘ve engaged in an ongoing pursuit to find and photograph enchanting characters, animals, and bold color within all my projects- personal, fashion, editorial, and commercial. I have taught darkroom and digital photography to highschool and college students. This fall I am teaching the portrait photography class at Parsons.

Since 1997, which is now creeping up on 12 years, I have taken a Polaroid of myself everyday. I plan on pursuing this project for life. (The picture on the left showcases the Polaroids installed in my apartment after 6 years).

My work has appeared in publications such as Life Magazine, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times. It has been exhibited at Exit Art, The Corcoran Gallery, and The Australian Center for Photography. I have been the recipient of several awards, most recently being named by American Photo one of this year’s top 13 photographers.

When not photographing, I sing, arrange music, and perform in Brooklyn’s Balkan Vocal Orchestra, Black Sea Hotel”.

Sarah Small Personal Website & Portfolio.