Every single day, we are blown away by the talent at Unraveled Academy– we are a small community, but the talent here is bursting at the seams. Every week we feature beautiful works of art from the talented artists who call Unraveled home and in 2022– our goal is to not just share art, but also the incredible humans who create them. These people are more than just our Artists of the Year– they are family, and their work covers every inch of our walls… and their hearts can be felt in every corner of this home we call, Unraveled.

Meet: Marisa Sabatini.

Marisa Sabatini Photography
2022 Unraveled Artist of the Year

Marisa Sabatini, Massachusetts
website / instagram

“What’s your go-to gear?”

My trusty Nikon D610 and almost always my Nikon 35 mm 1.4 lens---goal for 2022 is to upgrade my gear and go mirrorless, but I have also learned that you don't have to have all the newest gear to be a good photographer.

"How long have you been doing photography?"

5 years!

"What do you primarily shoot?"

I mostly shoot families and lifestyle newborn sessions. I dabble in the occasional wedding, couple, or branding session but documenting families is my bread and butter.

"Who is a photographer that inspires you?"

Just one? Impossible to answer. I could name 100.

When I very first started out I stumbled across the amazing Sarah Driscoll's IG and have been inspired by her ever since. Her creativity and the way she documents her daughters is so beautiful.

Brittany Grubbs - Her images evoke so much emotion and I love her vibe.

Tiffany Benaquista- Because she is creative GOALS in everything she does.

"Outside of photography... who are you?"

I am a mom, a wife, a L&D nurse, a master procrastinator who works best under pressure. I hate conflict. I can be pretty introverted but once I'm comfortable with you I am outgoing, and a little weird--- always singing and dancing with my daughters.

I love meeting new people and getting to know them on a deeper level, small talk is for the birds, give me the good stuff. I am a crier, all the time, happy, sad, anything. I cry at births with my patients, I cry at sessions sometimes at an unexpected beautiful moment. I am a huge empath and I absorb all of the emotions around me, which can be overwhelming, so when that happens--- catch me in sweats, alone, reading a good book.

"What pushed you to pick up a camera in the first place?"

My children. I know that people get so sick of hearing that answer but it is the truth. I still love to go through all the photos my parents have of us from when we were children and I wanted to be able to preserve every single moment of my own daughters' childhoods. I hold photos and home videos to such a high level of importance, that I get insane anxiety thinking that they could ever be lost.

"How do you get through creative ruts?"

I shoot my own kids. When I am questioning everything that I do, I bring it back to where it all started and I take photos of my daughters. It relieves all of the pressure to create something perfect and we just have fun, and because they're my children, I love everything I create when they are the subjects. It also gives me a chance to play around with different techniques and editing and to feel inspired by photography again.

"Has there ever been a time when you wanted to quit photography?"

So many times. The most recent being the end of busy season this past fall. I overbooked myself so badly and I burned out fast. I questioned everything I was doing and just didn't want to do it anymore. I did a really bad job at finding balance between work and home life and I could barely keep my head above water. So much guilt, so many feelings of inadequacy in all aspects of my life. Now that things have slowed down, I don't want to quit, but I do want to set better boundaries. I'm hopeful 2022 will be better!

"Describe to us your dream shoot!"

In home newborn session, flowy dress, neutral colors, perfect light. Real life snuggles and love amongst siblings and parents, music on, dancing in the living room. Truly capturing a family in the moment. Perfection.

"If you weren't doing photography– what else would you be doing?"

Helping mamas birth babies all day! I do this now, but aside from that and photography, I can't imagine a single other profession that would be right for me.

“Proudest you’ve been of yourself as a photography?”

This moment.

As artists, we are the first to pick apart our work... even when we receive awards like "Artist of the Year!" It's time for a little self-love... tell us something you really love or admire about yourself as a photographer and your work!

I think that I am really good at making clients feel comfortable. Especially when documenting so many mothers who are recently postpartum, or children who may be shy, husbands who don't want to be there--- it can be a very vulnerable time for everyone in front of the camera, I always try to make them feel comfortable in my presence and assure them them that we are creating something beautiful, that they are beautiful, and we try to have fun.