As told to Cate Scaglione - Life As Fine Art

“There is a space between imagination… and attainment…that may only be traversed by… longing.” ― Khalil Gibran, Sand and Foam

The story of Cindy Harter Sims is about more than going from part-time hobbyist to full time award-winning photographer. Cindy’s is a tale about longing for all that life has to offer. Photography just happened to be her way of finding it.

There is something about an image by Cindy Harter Sims. It’s an inexplicable surge of emotions that make you feel as if you’re part of the moment, without actually knowing exactly who or why it’s happening. Why is that?

“Warning… My name is Cindy and I’m an over-sharer”, she joked. Through our conversation, I discovered that it was precisely this quality that drew me in closer. This was immediately someone I liked. And, perhaps this is precisely why Cindy has been able to build her flourishing, international award-winning Georgia studio within just six years.

“My story is behind every image… It has everything to do with how and what I want to shoot,” she said.

Growing up in a conservatively religious household, Cindy adapted to her fixed role as a wife and mother of five at a very young age.

“I had five kids by the time I was twenty six,” she recalls. Though she was emotionally fulfilled as a mom and her career as a teacher for many years, a silent gap existed.

“I longed to have a love story as others had… as a wife, a woman and an emotional being,” she said. “I resigned to a life I was given and what I thought was my destiny. Going through a painful divorce led me to pick up my camera, as a consolation, to try and document the love stories I longed to have. It was a therapeutic device to heal.”

While Cindy directed her camera outward, documenting profound connections, her camera actually pointed inward, helping her recognize a calling she never knew existed. She was an Artist.

“What you see in my body of work is entirely about the theme of ‘thankfulness’,” Cindy said. “With every couple, I’d always start our session very conversationally, reminding them how lucky they were to have true love. I’d remind them that not everyone could find that.”

Cindy told me she’d often see their expressions change, with unfettered gratitude. Emotions would uncoil. This is the impact we relish as the viewer of her images.

Cindy’s practice of looking for love and, in her words, “choreographing connections” between people was visually magnetizing. Initially, she was shooting for family and friends, but as time went on a slew of solid referrals built a business. Soon she made the decision that she would transition to a full time photographer.

Was she afraid to take the leap? “I was terrified… As a single mother, I was incredibly nervous about the overhead. Refusing to be paralyzed by fear, I made a decision to save one full year’s teacher’s salary; all while make a living off my photography income. This full year of teacher’s savings was a reliable backup to keep me grounded, while I figured it all out.”

It was no simple task. “At one point, I was working full time as a teacher, shooting full time after hours as a photographer, and being a mother full time to my children,” she recalls. “I love the saying that you have to put in 10,000 hours to be an expert in anything, because it's true. It's not going to come fast, or easy, but you need to have hours of shooting and editing under your belt.”

Through an extensive education process reading books, studying YouTube videos, attending WPPI, entering print competitions and taking “virtually every workshop you can imagine,” Cindy built a solid technical and business foundation. Combined with her innate gift of human empathy, she had the makings of an elite pro photographer. And yet, her learning process continues…

“I never want to get so sure of myself that I don’t continue to learn,” she says, “Sometimes as photographers we can get so isolated that we forget to grow. Everything helps us grow, from the vendors we work with to workshops - even bad workshops!”

Within Cindy’s first three years, she built a solid business off about 85% referrals. Many of these come from Facebook, surprisingly.

“Social media fits my philosophy of being entirely open, I am my business and my business is me. I keep a public Facebook personal page and all my clients are my friends. Posts are open to the public, sessions are posted, and I share my stories, my family and my gratitude daily. Social media has been incredible for me, launching me and consistently sustaining me.”

Getting to know Cindy, it’s no wonder her referral network is so loyal. But how does she do it, besides being her amazing self?

“I visualize each session expecting to get three more sessions from it. I take it a step further by telling my client this. I think if they know exactly what they need to do they are happy to do so. They want to help. I don’t have referral bonuses or incentives, I just get authentic referrals, which is the kind I want. Authentic.”

Today, Cindy is happily remarried to the man of her dreams. Her children are now grown and flourishing. And, just three years after her journey began, she’s built the amazing “Main Street” studio that she envisioned from day one.

Though Cindy and I have been Facebook friends for a while, one night I noticed an awe inspiring post that beautifully sums up her fairy tale, better than I ever could attempt.

So, I leave you with this passage by Cindy Harter Sims…

“I'm feeling so humbled and thankful tonight as I soak in my tub I have been wishing for... It may seem like a simple thing but changing your life isn't simple at all…. I struggled for at least the first 40 years of my life. Even in the struggle there were bright spots that gave me sweet moments. Photography found me it wasn't something I was seeking. It sought me out and saved me. It began because I needed a beautiful place to put my divorce guilt and shame and sadness and made something beautiful. I have a beautiful way to make a living and bless others and make my heart and head content. I turn 50 in December and it took a while to get here. If you are struggling- trapped in a hard life- longing for love - feeling as if you know you have purpose but you haven't found it? Don't lose hope.... Push past the hard part.... Look for the sweet path.... I know everyone has one and even though it took half my life to find mine, I am so thankful to have found it and I am soaking up and celebrating every single second."