Daily Inspiration: Meet Sabrina Carmo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sabrina Carmo.

Hi Sabrina, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Hi! My name is Sabrina Carmo, 31 years old and I’m from Brazil. I was born and raised in Sao Paulo, the largest city in the country, and often compared to New York City. I came from a very low income family. Actually, my family never had money to pay for English classes for me, and, funny story, I had to learn English all by myself, watching video classes on youtube.
But lets get to the story. I think it can sound like a cliche, but I always liked taking photos. Not much of myself, mostly because I was self-conscious about my look, weight, and everything else that goes on a teenager girl. So, I was the one who would be behind the camera, taking photos of my friends and cousins.
When I got to college, surprising paid by my father, I decided to take an extra course focused only on photography. But I didn’t have a camera at the time. So I’d get the bus and metro for an hour to go to my uncle’s house, borrow his camera, go to my course about an hour away, come back to uncle’s, give back the camera and go straight to college. I’d do that three times a week, every week.
I started working with my photography aunt a few years later. I was still in college at the time, so my routine was waking up around 6am, get to work around 8am, get off work at 6pm, go straight to school until 11pm, and get home after mid-night. All of this taking buses and subway. On Saturdays and Sundays I’d go to photograph weddings and birthday parties the whole day. It was a lot, I barely had free time, but I loved every second I was behind the lenses.
But long story short, my father decided to stop paying for my school and never told me about it, so I wasn’t able to graduate and he left me a really big amount of debts with the college. Photography wasn’t paying me enough to cover the bills, so I had to quit and get a “real job”.
I lost myself through the years. I ended an almost 7 years relationship, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. In 2018 I had an episode of attempting ending my life, which as you can see, it wasn’t successful. I went back home taking 5 different pills and unable to being left alone for more than 10 minutes.
So I decided I was done with that life, and I’d just change my whole life. I sold all my belongings and I came to America, but not after the American dream, but I was, honestly, trying to find myself.
And here, in Colorado, I found my way back to photoggraphy and to the new chapter of my life.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all. Debts, self conscious, not believing at myself.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a portrait photographer. I like to give back to my clients the self-steam they lost along the way of a challenge life. I’m proud of myself for getting back on my feet everytime I fell. I’d say that what sets me apart from others, is the way I can find beauty in every detail, and capture that as a photo for you to keep for the rest of your life.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Don’t be scared of failing. Even a small step is already moving forward.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sintonia.photos?igsh=MW1hMmFqYTludDNrbg==