Main Street News

In honor of Photographer Appreciation Month in October, we’re highlighting some of our local photographers. Get to know more about Marlena Aakjar of Photos by Marlena below! 

Your name and type of camera you use / prefer?

 Marlena Aakjar | Photos by Marlena, I use a Nikon D850

What type of photography do you most often do or prefer (subject matter)?

 I love photographing people and everything they do — I shoot weddings, events, families, couples, children, etc, etc etc.!  I very much enjoy capturing people as they are and their relationships to those around them.  I also love photographing our local community.  I photograph events like the Memorial Day Parade in Sharon every year, the Arts & Craft Fair on the Green, the Cake Auction at the Sharon Historical Society, the Sharon Classic Road Race.  I photograph all the concerts that the Sharon Park & Rec Department sponsors in Veterans Field during the summer.  I have done some work for the Sharon Playhouse, which I loved, because my father was a playwright and I feel very comfortable in a theater.  I’ve also done a lot of (very cold!) shooting at the Salisbury Ski Jumps.  I photograph the graduation at Salisbury Central School and have been helping local photographer Brian Wilcox shoot the graduation at Salisbury School.  I do a fundraiser for the local volunteer Fire Department every year, Santa at the Sharon Firehouse, where all proceeds go right to the fire department (here’s the link for this year’s event:  https://book.usesession.com/s/93nxbDCQ_l)

How did you get into photography?

I’ve always loved photography and people-watching, and they go hand-in-hand!  My mother was a photography major at RISD, so there was always a camera around when I was growing up.  As I got older, I started to see how important it is to have pictures of everything and everyone — I can’t tell you, sadly, how many of my images have been used at people’s memorial services, celebrations of life, or funerals.  I just love everything about capturing special moments for people because I know, in my heart, what it really means to them.

What’s your most favorite photo you’ve ever taken and why?

I have so many favorites!  One photo that stands out in my mind is one I took for a friend at her wedding — it’s of her and her father during their dance.  The wedding was in late September and her father passed from terminal brain cancer in late November, of the same year.  In the picture, you can see all the emotion on her face and she’s turned away, crying.  You can also see the heartbreak on her father’s face, looking at his daughter and the pain she’s going through.  The raw emotion and beautiful father/daughter relationship is what makes this image one of my favorites — I was crying so hard during that song I don’t know how I got any shots!

 What inspires you and your photography?

Everything around me inspires me and my photography.  I am constantly seeing things I want to capture and kicking myself if I don’t have my camera with me!  There are two local photographers that inspire me a lot, Brian Wilcox and Lazlo Gyorsok.  They are both artists (and friends) and I always find myself trying to emulate even a fraction of their talent.  Every time I’m frustrated about something photography related my husband says, “Ask Brian, ask Lazlo.  If you don’t know something, ask someone better than you who does.”

What is your background – did you study photography or are you self-taught?

I am 100% self-taught.  I find that the more you shoot, the more you learn.  There is a great community of photographers in our area who are always willing to help anything and whose members have taught me a lot.

How has technology impacted your artistry and photos? 

I learned how to shoot on film — I even learned how to develop pictures in a dark room when I was in high school.  I shot my first wedding on film!  It’s amazing to me how different it is shooting with a digital camera as opposed to film.  You used to be limited to 24 shots before you’d have to stop, take out the film, reload.  Now, I can shoot an entire wedding on one SD card and come home with 2000+ images!  I haven’t made the jump to using a mirrorless camera yet, but that will probably come within the next year or so.

Where do you photograph? What are your most common locations? Do you have a favorite place to photograph either as a subject matter or as a background?

I am primarily an outdoor, natural light photographer.  I like to stay local, but I’ll travel if I need to.  I used to use Daisey Hill every fall for mini sessions and it broke my heart that they closed last year.  I have a new location, Fairfield Farm in Lakeville, CT, that I’ve been very lucky to be able to use this past year and that’s where my fall mini sessions are, on October 18.  I usually let whomever has hired me choose where they want their photos done, I’m pretty easy-going!  I have a lot of clients who love Topsmead State Forest in Litchfield, CT, Kent Falls in Kent, CT, or Lakeville Lake.  Sometimes a backyard is the perfect location, sometimes MY backyard is the perfect location!  This past year, I did two events where I used backdrops and photographed inside, once at the Sharon Legion Hall and once in Canaan, CT, at Ultimate Dog, LLC.  Both events went very well and I plan on doing something similar this year, once the weather gets too chilly to be outside.

How do you market yourself – do you have a website or social media that you use to promote your photography?

I have a Facebook business page, Photos By Marlena.  I also post as just me on Facebook, Marlena Baker Aakjar.  The Park & Rec Department sponsors concerts at Veteran’s Field every Wednesday night in July and some of August — I photograph those and share the galleries in the Town of Sharon Facebook group, which people love. My website is: https://photosbymarlena9780.mypixieset.com/

 How do people find you and your photos – do you sell your photos or are you more “to hire” / commission-based?

People find me a lot by word of mouth or Facebook.  I have actually been hired by many brides who have posted in open forums on Facebook, looking for recommendations for photographers.  I am also very community based, so I give gift certificates if local organizations are having raffles and that helps get my name out there.  I am a “for-hire” photographer, who believes wholeheartedly that people deserve to have beautiful photographs of everything important in their life.  If you don’t think you can afford me, come to me and ask and we will work something out.

Have you (your photos) won any awards?

I have won a few awards, for photos I entered at the Goshen Fair.  I have also been published in a few photography-centered magazines, Shutter Up Magazine and Chasing Light Magazine.

To learn more about Photos by Marlena and her work, visit her website here.