32 NORTH BAY WOMAN | S U M M E R 2 0 1 5
From Accidental to
Awesome Photographer
By PJ Bremier
Ask happy clients of Mariah Smith Photography what they think of
her work, and their universal response is, "awesome!" and "amazing!"
Heather Aiello, a personal trainer and group fitness instructor, of
Sebastopol is one of them. Smith was Aiello's choice of photographer
for a maternity shoot, one that included her mother, herself and her
infant.
"The pictures were absolutely stunning, just awesome," she insists.
"I've referred Mariah multiple times for weddings and everyone has
been pleased. She gets her shots immediately, it's all so smooth and
she's so much fun to work with."
Mariah Smith, a lifelong Sonoma County resident, couldn't have
imagined a successful career as a photographer when she got her
first camera, a 110 Instamatic, for her fifth birthday or even when
she developed her first image in the darkroom in her 12
th
grade
photography class, a moment she still remembers as magical.
"I never expected to pursue photography as a profession,"
she says. "I like to think I was too afraid to put my work out there
in case it wasn't good enough and, maybe I didn't
want to attach money to my
art, either."
