Sharon Curia

Self Portrait, Village of Feltville, Watchung

I began asking for my first camera at the tender age of 9 and received one for my 10th birthday. It was a 110 film Instamatic, with the 10 flash cube sticks. I still have the photo album filled with the pictures I took with it. A couple of years later when an aunt passed away, it was my photos that relatives wanted to looked through. Throughout the rest of my childhood and through my teens, I was always the one with a camera, documenting our escapades. People began to know me as the one with the camera.  

It makes sense that I was drawn to photography. I was intrigued at the concept of capturing what I saw and began documenting people and things around me. All of my life I had an artistic flair and could draw well, paint, write poetry and short stories. I also played a bit of guitar (or any instrument you put in my hands), and liked working on craft projects and making things from scratch. I was drawn to the artistic side of things, always.

In my mid twenties, I worked a typical 9-5 job that had nothing whatsoever to do with the artistic side of things. It just paid the bills. My life had changed, though. I was now married and recently had a baby, and I could not envision returning to the 9-5 routine working at a bank. I was looking for something different.

That’s when a friend’s sister approached me out of the blue. She heard that I was not returning to my regular schedule, and I was offered a position as a photographer's assistant in a booming NJ wedding/event studio. I was blown away at the opportunity. So- I began a new life in the photography industry.

My learning experiences began hands on.  I was immersed in it, and from the first wedding- from the very first rush of adrenaline- I was hooked. Each wedding was its own little adventure and I loved that. And at the end of the night, I felt the reward of accomplishment and that my day had been truly meaningful and unique.  

When I began in the industry, I learned on cameras popular with studios at the time: Hasselblad,  Bronica, Mamiya medium format cameras, & 35mm film SLRs.  I witnessed digital imaging take the industry by storm.  I now use Nikon DSLR and mirrorless cameras & lenses.   

You will see a little of everything in my portfolio.  While my baseline is event photography, you'll see anything from commercial work to macro photography, plants and animals, landscapes, sunsets, edgy band photos, interiors- you name it. 

I have also participated in local art shows and have had shows at Les Malamut Art Gallery in Union,  Casano Center in Roselle Park, Kenilworth Art Gallery, and Elizabeth Public Library, and more.