Welcome to Sindisiwe Photography!

Sindisiwe Photography specializes in portraiture and photojournalism. We offer portrait sessions as well as event coverage, but our true passion is humanitarian photography. So if you know of a non-profit looking for a photographer, let us know! Sindisiwe Photography is based out of the greater Seattle area but is available for travel anywhere across the globe (yes, we love to travel!). Look around the blog or stop by the website for more information. Thanks!

-Mandie Sodoma | owner of Sindisiwe Photography

So if you haven’t heard yet…the blog got a face-lift and a new location.

We’d love to hear how you like the new look.

Go check it out: http://sindisiwephotography.com/blog

See you there!

I really enjoy photographing people who are close personal friends. Especially high school seniors. It’s fun to celebrate with them and have an extra excuse to hang out for a few hours. This was one of those sessions. I’ve known Ashley and her family for about 3 years. It’s crazy to think that she just turned 18 earlier this month and that she will be graduating from high school in June!

Back in May or June Ashley came up to me at church all excited. She told me that she already knew where she wanted her senior pictures taken. Sweet! I love it when seniors think ahead about what they want their session to be like. Makes my job quite a bit easier.

We finally scheduled Ashley’s session for this past Sunday. I was nervous all week as the weather reports showed 90% chance of rain for Sunday and we had planned to do her session at Scenic Beach (which is a 2 hour trip from Seattle). I didn’t want to drive and then not be able to shoot. But we lucked out, and it didn’t start raining until we were on our way back. Thank you Jesus!

I was reminded on Sunday how Seattle’s very overcast skies can make it a challenge to shoot some days. The light can be finicky, but thankfully it cooperated with us (for the most part). In the end I came home and was extremely excited for some of the images. Go ahead and take a look…

This is why fall is my favorite season…leaves! I’m glad that Ashley was willing to play in them.

 

Ashley definitely is one brave girl to go walking on the rocky beach in high heels. This very well might be my favorite from the day.

Ashley…you are adorable. Just had to tell you that. I’m glad that we got to spend the afternoon together on Sunday. Thanks for showing me this amazing park! And if I haven’t told you lately, I’m very proud of you. Can’t wait to show you the rest of your images.

My new business cards arrived today! I was sitting here working and resting all afternoon. But I literally jumped out of my seat when I heard the big UPS truck roll up in front of my house.

I spent two nights this week working on the new design. I wanted to create something that was perfect for Sindisiwe Photography. And I think I finally found it!

So here they are…let me know what you think!

Is it weird that I really love the box that they came in?

I really like how the back turned out. Simply laid out with all of the information. Perfect!

After going through hundreds of photos, I knew I just had to choose this one of Ali. It showed my love for beautiful images that are just fun and full of life. You can see more from her senior session here.

For those of you who are wanting to know, the cards were printed by the new MpixPro. I was very impressed at how quickly they were printed and delivered, but are still great quality. I’ll definitely be printing my next set through them!

About 2 weeks ago I had the opportunity to take my new camera out for its first photoshoot. My dad and stepmom were looking to get photos for this year’s Christmas card. Guess who was the perfect person to take them?

We headed to North Bend and stopped at the farm that they had recently bought. The lighting was magnificent, Mount Si stood tall in the background, and I had a wide open field to run around in. Can you say “happiness”? I’ll definitely be heading out here for photoshoots more often!

Let me tell you, it was so fun and relaxing to just hang out with the family. We did a few traditional family portraits, but the rest of the time was spent walking around checking out the farm…and of course I had my camera in hand the whole time. I had forgotten how much I like taking family portraits. Family sessions are so low-key. I have the opportunity to become a little part of the family and just watch how they interact with each other. I think I have a few more family sessions coming up soon (just in time for Christmas), and I can’t wait.

Anyways, back on the farm…

 Isn’t Nathan adorable? I can’t believe my baby brother is going to be 6 in a couple of months. They grow up too fast!

 I loved this next moment. Nathan handed his mom some “flowers” and said “Happy Anniversary!”. So adorable! The week of this shoot marked 7 years since my dad and Annie got married.

 

And of course I had to post this one. Here I am with my favorite little brother!

Dear friends…yes, I am alive.

I am so sorry that I’ve neglected my blog. My much needed break ended up being a lot longer than expected. When I returned home from South Africa, I was still having computer problems. Thankfully that is all dealt with now and I’m getting back into work.

Besides my computer being all fixed, I’m finding myself more focused and ready to go. I walked out of this summer with a greater vision and plan for what I want to do with my life (this business included). It has taken me a few months to get moved and settled into school and my life back in the states, but now I’m ready to go. I can’t wait to tell you about some of the exciting things in store for Sindisiwe Photography.

Okay, I really can’t wait! But I can only let you in on one for now. The blog is getting a facelift! That’s right. Over the next few weeks, I’m working on designing something new that fits Sindisiwe Photography better. I’ll let you know when it is launched.

So stay tuned!

For those of you who didn’t know, I have been in South Africa for the past 2 and a half weeks. I’m currently interning at a non-profit organization called Thrive Africa. The internship is 2 months long. The plan had been to get some work done before I left, and also while I was here. Unfortunately, I ran into a few computer problems about 2 weeks before I left home. So I was unable to finish work on the website before leaving the country.

I also wanted to be working on my portfolio while I was in South Africa, but once I got here I ran into another computer problem. It doesn’t look like we can fix it until I get back to the states. So the computer is out. Which means no working.

At first I was extremely frustrated, but now I’m okay with it. So for the next 5 plus weeks that I am here, I will be taking a break (probably a much needed break). Yes, I’m still taking photos while I’m here, just not as many as I normally would. But unfortunately, I probably won’t be able to post as many I was hoping I could (if any) throughout the summer. But I’ll post an album once I return to the states.

As for now, you can keep updated on my trip through my other blog. I’ll be around soon. Have a great summer (well, winter here in South Africa)!

–Mandie

I met Melissa at church about 3 years ago, I believe. Little did we know then how much we would end up having in common later on in life. Like me, Melissa has a heart for nations and people, and also music. Currently Melissa is taking a few fashion design classes in school. So when I asked if she would be willing to come on a shoot with me for my portfolio, she was all for it. We spent a few hours laughing and having a great time at Cottage Lake Park in Woodinville. When I got home and went to run the images from the shoot I was excited. I got some of my favorite images so far during this shoot. I think it helped that Melissa came prepared with her bright blue prom dress and a few other accessories that I absolutely adored (the trunk and sunflowers below). It was a great mix of modern and vintage. So take a look at some of our shoot below.

Probably my favorite from the shoot! Love this little trunk that Melissa brough with.

Ashley is yet another friend that I met through the intern program this year. With her outgoing personality and great Oklahoma accent, Ashley is hard to not love. With her returning back home to Oklahoma at the end of the intern year (only a few weeks away!), she wanted a few images that would be representative of her time here in Seattle. Specifically, the Seattle skyline. We spent some time walking along Alki Beach before heading to Pike Place Market. It was a great afternoon, full of all of the reasons why I love Seattle. Here are a few of the best from Ashley’s shoot.

In February, Ashley went to Uganda with a group of other interns (needless to say I’m slightly jealous and wish I could have gone too). She came back excited and even more in love with Africa.

Shawndra is an intern with me. The two of us became good friends during my first trip to Washington DC in February. During the trip we had gone a short shoot around DC. We had talked about completeing a real photoshoot together when we go back. It only took us about 2 months to get around to it. So here are some of my favorites from my afternoon with Shawndra!

So like I said last week, I’m in the middle of this challenge to finish 15 shoots to help boost my creativity and give me a little more experience. With this week being my spring break and me having some down-time I decided to take on a few shoots. Well, somehow “a few” has turned into about 5 (and possibly more). So much for break.

Yesterday I spent a few hours in the afternoon with my friend Ali. We wandered around Kirkland for a while before heading to Lake Sammamish State Park. Throughout the afternoon Ali kept saying that she felt awkward being in front of the camera and she didn’t know what to do. But by looking at these pictures you wouldn’t be able to tell that! That girl is so beautiful and extremely photogenic. There were so many great images captured from the afternoon that it was hard to narrow it down. It took me a while to decided, but here are a few of my favorites from the afternoon.

Ali :: Thanks for a great afternoon. I so enjoyed hanging out with you. Let’s please hang out more often!