Reviews of Sarah Prall Photography (Photo Studio)

Jami-Lynn Lamy

When my husband and I first discovered we were pregnant we knew immediately that we wanted to have a home birth with the River Valley Midwives. When we walked into the River Valley Midwives office, for our consultation, we were taken back by the photos they had displayed on their walls. They were pregnancy photos... but they weren't just photos...you could actually feel emotions beaming from the portraits. At that time, we needed to know who the photographer was because we had to have our pregnancy photoshoot done by this photographer. Turns out her name was Sarah Prall. When we contacted her to set something up, she was very cordial and inviting. She asked that we schedule a one hour meet up with her to talk about what we were looking for. When we showed up, we walked into this beautiful, welcoming barn that she uses as her studio. We sat down on a comfortable sofa with waters and snacks and she began to ask us questions that we were not expecting. She asked us what we loved about each other, what we felt for each other when we first met, why we make each other better people and other questions such as that. Sarah truly wanted to make sure she understood us as individuals and as a couple so that she could provide us with the most perfect portraits during such a precious and beautiful time of our lives. When we left the session, our love rekindled in the most amazing way. We hadn't expected to go back eight years to the day we met and recapture those initial butterfly feelings. When we met with Sarah for the actual photo shoot we felt more than comfortable and never rushed. My husband is great in front of the camera but I tend to be a little awkward and a little shy. Much to my surprise, I didn't feel that way. Sarah knew just how to make me feel comfortable and how to capture us at our greatest moments. We loved our pregnancy photos so much that we had our newborn session done by her as well. Beautiful doesn't describe the job that she did. As a new mom, I cried so many tears looking at the images of our new family. Our beautiful daughter. We can't thank Sarah enough for the warmth she extended, for the depth she discovered, and for the beautiful pieces of art that she gave to us in the form of photos. She captured more than just the moment, she captured our hearts and our souls. Lastly, I have to mention how happy it made us that she lives an earth-friendly life as that matters very much to us. Sarah is not just a talented photographer, she is an inspiring human being and we can't thank her enough.

Lee Collins

She was the best with my new born baby and with teenagers helped us forever remember the best of times!! Highly recommend to any family. Thank you Sarah

Lisa Sanders

The images that I have from Sarah are exactly what I wanted and well worth the price. The experience of working with her went far beyond my expectations. In making the choice to have a child as a single woman, it became very important to me that my child's birth not be a second-class experience just because I didn't have a partner going through the process with me. Knowing that I won't have a partner who can help me to remember the experience and share it with my son is what made me seek out a photographer in the first place. I got far more out of the sessions with Sarah and the photographs I decided to purchase than I knew to ask for. Sarah took "belly" pictures of me when I was 36-weeks pregnant. I went in with some ideas of what I was looking for, but found her suggestions to be extremely helpful in producing the images I wanted to take home. More importantly, the experience of having a photographer point a camera at my sometimes naked body and see something special made me feel more beautiful and powerful than I did at any other point in my pregnancy. That confidence not only came through in her pictures of me, but also helped me through the final weeks of pregnancy and labor. Asking Sarah to take pictures of the birth itself was one of the best decisions I made during pregnancy. Sarah was amazingly graceful about being unobtrusive during the birth, yet managed to capture significant moments I didn't even recognize until seeing the pictures. Having these black-and-white photos of me giving birth has allowed me to share the experience with really close friends and family who couldn't be there. The images tell the story in a way I wouldn't have been able to do on my own. Further, she captured the moment when my son, lying on my belly, first looked up at me. That image brings me back to the joy and wonder of the experience in a way that nothing else can. Looking at the picture, I can almost smell that amazing newborn smell. I was expecting the newborn pictures to be cute. I'm in awe of what actually came out of that session. Sarah was completely flexible in getting the most from a newborn. I found the images of me with my son even more impressive. Like most new moms I was tired, covered in spit-up, and hadn't looked in a mirror in days. However, what I see in the pictures of us together is a strong, capable woman with a thriving and content son. Sarah was able to capture the beauty, wonder, and strength that I didn't see in myself until I recognized it in her pictures.

Carrie Tenebrini

I spent hours looking at photographer's websites, but was drawn to Sarah's site because of her personal statement and the quality of her photographs. Her photos are intimate and personal- not static, stiff and posed. They are stunning, and I wanted pictures of my family like the ones on her website; that's just what we got. From our first contact, Sarah felt like a friend. She wanted to make sure we all felt comfortable so that our true personalities would shine through in our photos. To that end, she usually meets with her clients in person before the shoot. But as we live overseas and were only going to be in the area for a short window, she FaceTimed with our whole family so that we were not meeting for the first time on the day of the shoot. She asked really good questions- things I hadn't thought of about- like what we wanted our pictures to show the most about our family at this time in our lives. Because we made a connection ahead of time, she really understood what we wanted and was able to make it happen on the day of the shoot. We were only to be in Western MA for a few days in July, and the weather conspired against us. Several times we arranged to meet Sarah, but we had to cancel each time due to rain. In the end, she was nothing short of a miracle worker: she was able to shoot on short notice on a wet, muggy day in July and she made us all feel good and look fabulous. She was totally committed to giving us what we wanted. When it came time for us to see our pictures, we were back overseas, so Sarah arranged a video call where we were able to look through all the incredible pictures she took of us. She helped us make good choices about what prints to order and in what size. Just a few weeks ago, our pictures arrived at our home overseas. I actually cried when I saw them. I didn't want just any picture of our family- I wanted photos that would capture genuine emotion and connection we have together at this stage in our children's lives, and that's what we got with Sarah. Worth every penny, our pictures are gorgeous treasures that we will cherish forever.

Bruce Baird

Humiliating. My wife was crying. My wife ran into this woman at a fair, but didn't know how much she charged. So she had her brother buy her a gift certificate. Big mistake. She came to our home and we knew within a second that it was a mistake, and that we could never afford her. Prall's prices are outrageous, that the gift certificate for 200 dollars wouldn't even hardly buy one picture. But when my wife asked for our money back, Prall wouldn't give it back. There is some fine print in the gift certificate that says no refunds. My wife was crying and humiliated, and Prall just sat there smug. Don't deal with this woman. Its not worth it.

Adl Gf

(Translated by Google) She is a great professional and very pleased. (Original) Es una gran profesional y con m uchisimo gustó.

Liz LaRaia

You couldn't find more beautiful work and Sarah is such an incredibly conscientious and thoughtful photographer. It shows in every part of her work.

HeatherJoy Pratt

Describe your experience......hmmmn. Pretty hard to do without sounding like I'm exaggerating. Having my portrait done with Sarah was simply fantastic. The photo shoot itself was a TON OF FUN (naked in the woods in November, really, that is fun??), the end results I don't have words for, I have the portrait to speak fro itself. Actually I have more than one portrait, because I loved them so much I could not pick just one. I look at them every day and say a little thank you to Sarah for her amazing ability to do what she does. As time goes by, I love the portraits more. My third pregnancy was a time of big changes, soul searching, a rebirth of my self so to speak. When I look at the portraits there is so much in them that I cannot describe. Sarah and I talked on the phone a lot in preparation for my session. She has an incredible ability to get right to the heart of what matters to you to get out of your session, and then she just does it. Even if you dont know exactly what you want from the session. I would love to do pictures with her again and again just for the experience itself, but the portraits, ummm just go look at her work. She sees beauty, she captures light, she illustrates emotion.. I find her to be amazing, inspiring and I could REALLY go on all day about it. The portraits I have thanks to Sarah are an investment for myself in myself. I cannot look at them and not be reminded of the strength, the power the beautiful gift it is to have birthed my children. Sarah you have a VERY special place in my heart, you gave me so much more than 'just a picture'. Thank you! If you are considering professional photography, do something wonderful for yourself for your family, go see yourself through Sarahs lens, there's a beauty there waiting to be discovered.

Lori Pelliccia

I wasn't feeling well at our newborn session and really didn't want to be in a photo, but Sarah encouraged us to take one family photo...and I'm so glad she did. That photo is now hanging in our living room and we gave framed copies to our parents, too. It's my favorite photo and I'm so glad we listened to Sarah!

Scott Rebmann

Sarah has photographed myself and my family members on numerous occasions. I'm always amazed at her ability to make others feel completely comfortable, which allows her to truly capture the emotion between family members. Her photographs are a prized and cherished posession of mine.

Michelle Lombardo

Sarah Prall has an excellent eye, makes one feel at ease, and the result is spectacular photography. We did a pregnancy photo shoot and loved the photographs that came out of that session so much that we went back for infant photos. Sarah is warm and professional. She took time to get to know us, and genuinely wanted to see us in depth. This lessened our self-consciousness and made our time with her a pleasure. This also enabled her to take photos that showed us in a genuine and authentic way. We were photographed outdoors in her lovely landscape, as well as indoors in her converted-barn studio. She provided some props including cloth drapery and blankets, baskets, other items for the baby shoot. Sarah is adept at giving direction when necessary, and taking advantage when things unfurl organically. Overall, we were extremely satisfied with our experience, and the resulting photographs are gorgeous works of art!

Melissa M

Sarah's vision, talent, and genuine warmth translates into phenomenal photographs unlike any you've seen before. She captures the best of the moment, and makes it look effortless. For several years we'd thought about having family photos taken, but just never seemed to get around to it; other things took priority. So when the opportunity to work with Sarah came, we were primarily hoping to capture two things: a point in time while our children are young and our connection with them is so strong, and the love and playfulness we have together as a family. We were also looking forward to finally having all of us in the same photo! Sarah's process was amazingly personal, caring, and thorough. Her genuine commitment in meeting her clients' needs was evident from the very beginning. She openly shared her passion for capturing emotion through the camera lens, and we left our multiple personal meetings with her feeling totally confident in her talents and completely reassured that she "got it." Our hopes were realized: her approach brings out the best in people, kids and adults alike, and we were free to be our natural fun-loving selves. The last thing we wanted was to look artificial or staged in our pictures, and the end result was anything but. Instead, our photos are so "us." Our session with Sarah gave us a window of time for our family to just be together, enjoying one another. Now, when we see the images we are reminded of those precious moments where we got to just soak each other in. Our lovely new photographs on the walls are testaments of our family's love, and daily reminders of what matters most--a true gift when chores or struggles threaten to distract us. We had high hopes for our session, and in turn we received something so precious; skillful photographs that capture our joy, our deep connection, and the best in our family relationships. We will be grateful for many years to come.

David Merritt

Sarah Prall creates artwork, she doesn't just take pictures. My wife and I had the absolute pleasure of having maternity pictures and new-born pictures of our baby boy taken by Sarah. She truly took the time to get to know us. It was a very enjoyable experience getting to know each other during our pre-photo shoot meeting. She wanted to know who we were; what made us work as a couple and as individuals so she could capture that in the final prints. Let me tell you she did not disappoint! Sarah has an amazing ability to connect with people on such a human level and is able to translate that understanding into her photography that it is truly breathtaking. Sarah takes photography to a level I didn't even know existed. The personal touch, attention to detail, hard work, communication, the care and passion she exudes are like nothing I have ever seen. My wife and I are thrilled with the final prints and canvases we got. We will return to Sarah for any and all of our professional photographs we will want in the future.

Sandra Costello

I live in the Pioneer Valley and feel so grateful for the wonderful community of folks who make my home so amazing. That includes Sarah Prall who is one of my favorite portrait photographers. My wife and I wanted meaning, beautiful portraits of ourselves to reflect our love for one another. And despite the cooler weather (I wanted them in December...call me crazy!), Sarah captured these warm, lovely moments between us that feel authentic and real. The light, our expressions, and even our rowdy beagle felt relaxed and happy. Beyond the beautiful photographs Sarah captures, she has the ability to put you at ease. She sees your true self and the magic within your relationship. We found that to be true during our portrait session and everyday after when we look at the beautiful portraits that decorate our bedroom. We feel so lucky to have Sarah in our life!

KPNunes01

When my husband and I walked into Sarah's studio for our maternity session I was very nervous. I really wanted to have a session that would produce the beautiful belly shots that I had admired on her website, but my body had gone through so much during my pregnancy that I had become very self-conscious. Sarah's warm, and kind nature and her gentle and reassuring words created such a comfortable environment that I soon found myself letting go and reveling in my big, beautiful belly and the love that created it. With her help, we were able to get the most amazing photographs that just oozed the love that my husband and I share and the love we both had for the little man that we were so anxious to meet. Once our little boy had arrived, we were so excited for his newborn session. We had discussed having a more organic vision for our baby's first photographs and Sarah did not disappoint. The images she was able to create and capture of our son are nothing short of spectacular. It was so comfortable and easy letting her take our little boy and create art. Viewing our final photographs, re-living those moments and actually seeing the love she was able to capture within our new little family brought tears to my eyes. Sarah has an amazing gift. She does not take pictures, she captures love in the most beautiful way. I will always cherish the images of love she was able to capture for us forever, and will never be able to thank her enough for it. -Patricia N.

Deborah Marshall

“Sarah is caring, patient and extremely professional in all aspects of her photography.” Words cannot describe how overjoyed we were with the pictures. I cried during the viewing when I saw my family captured so beautifully. We went to Sarah for maternity/family pictures as well as newborn pictures. We first started with maternity photos. Sarah is so great at posing. Seeing Sarah's style I definitely wanted the same for my session. She suggested using scarfs only. Usually the thought of wearing only a scarf would have scared me out of it but Sarah made me feel so comfortable. During the session I was made to feel beautiful and it showed in the pictures. I was so happy to have pictures capturing my big belly. The second part of our session were the family pictures. Our 18 month old son was of course energetic. Sarah had a bag full of tricks to get his best expressions. We got him naked and she really got the most amazing photos. She has a ton of patience and really knows her craft. Our second session was the newborn session. It was truly such a great experience having our baby girl photographed. It was therapeutic. Her birth was supposed to be a homebirth. However, since she was breached I had to go to the hospital. So the experience was not was I planned. Doing the session was such a great celebration and took away a lot of the negativity I felt. Also, my husband and I are professional photographers and with confidence we can say that Sarah is the best at what she does. She is smart, confident, knowledgeable and professional. As well her product is beautiful and very high quality. So it's well worth having a photography session with Sarah. If you feel it's going to be too much while planning for a baby or just after giving birth don't feel that way. It's therapeutic and such a great treat!

Christine Viens

Sarah Prall preserved the past, present and a glimpse of the future in her photos of my family. She worked with us to understand and capture what was truely most important. Incredibly accommodating, Sarah captured a priceless moment in time which generations will treasue. Sarah's talent combines the very best of artistry, craft, and instict to produce a treasured and flawless product