Sophie Smith Families

Sophie Smith Families Sophie Smith is a creative family and motherhood photographer based in the Eastern Cape.

Sophie works in a fun and relaxed way to create beautiful, intimate memories of you and your family.

I’m really excited to finally be exhibiting this body of work, Tides, in a month’s time as part of the Barefoot Arts Me...
31/08/2026

I’m really excited to finally be exhibiting this body of work, Tides, in a month’s time as part of the Barefoot Arts Meander - a wonderful weekend of art and culture right in my home town of Kenton on Sea and Bushmansrivermouth 🖤

A little story about the Eve Song Exhibition and the emBODYed workshop I ran at the University of Pretoria UP Fine Arts ...
29/08/2026

A little story about the Eve Song Exhibition and the emBODYed workshop I ran at the University of Pretoria UP Fine Arts

It was quite by chance that Sue Clark spotted the photos Claire Lichtenstein and I had made together and suggested we take part in the Eve Song Exhibition, and it felt like the perfect fit. The exhibition was planned around Ailyn Nienaber operatic performance of Eve Song, a reimagining of the biblical story of Eve through a contemporary, progressive lens.

What I loved about this whole process was how beautifully and organically things flowed (while being masterfully held together by the magnificent Sue). It seemed to have a life of its own, with more than 30 artists exhibiting their work, life drawing classes and workshops, and a steady flow of people moving through and interacting with the space.

In the same gallery where my work hung on the walls, surrounded by beautiful sketches of nudes, I held a Polaroid emulsion workshop open to the public and to students. We used the process of lifting and working with layers, as well as intuitive writing, for an exercise in connecting more deeply with our bodies. Some of the questions I asked were: “How would you describe your relationship with your body if you had to refer to her as ‘she’ or ‘her’ rather than ‘it’?” and “Is there anything she would like to tell you now that you are making space to listen to her?”

I really loved working with such a beautiful and diverse group of women and gender-fluid individuals, and was blown away by the beautiful work they created. As always, the focus was on the process and the learning, rather than the physical outcome of the artwork.

It felt like a beautiful full-circle moment: the work I made with Claire, along with one of her oil paintings, in a gallery full of feminist work, making and creating and connecting to our bodies and our creativity.

A little story about the Eve Song Exhibition and the emBODYed workshop I ran at the University of Pretoria.It was quite ...
29/08/2026

A little story about the Eve Song Exhibition and the emBODYed workshop I ran at the University of Pretoria.

It was quite by chance that Sue Clark spotted the photos Claire Lichtenstein and I had made together and suggested we take part in the Eve Song Exhibition, and it felt like the perfect fit. The exhibition was planned around Ailyn Nienaber operatic performance of Eve Song, a reimagining of the biblical story of Eve through a contemporary, progressive lens.

What I loved about this whole process was how beautifully and organically things flowed (while being masterfully held together by the magnificent Sue). It seemed to have a life of its own, with more than 30 artists exhibiting their work, life drawing classes and workshops, and a steady flow of people moving through and interacting with the space.

In the same gallery where my work hung on the walls, surrounded by beautiful sketches of nudes, I held a Polaroid emulsion workshop open to the public and to students. We used the process of lifting and working with layers, as well as intuitive writing, for an exercise in connecting more deeply with our bodies. Some of the questions I asked were: “How would you describe your relationship with your body if you had to refer to her as ‘she’ or ‘her’ rather than ‘it’?” and “Is there anything she would like to tell you now that you are making space to listen to her?”

I really loved working with such a beautiful and diverse group of women and gender-fluid individuals, and was blown away by the beautiful work they created. As always, the focus was on the process and the learning, rather than the physical outcome of the artwork.

It felt like a beautiful full-circle moment: the work I made with Claire, along with one of her oil paintings, in a gallery full of feminist work, making and creating and connecting to our bodies and our creativity.

A few favourites from a sweet little home shoot ✨
26/08/2026

A few favourites from a sweet little home shoot ✨

Happy accidents ✨💛 (the film flop, not the baby 😄)
25/08/2026

Happy accidents ✨💛 (the film flop, not the baby 😄)

I’ve been circling this part of my story for a long time, but when I got the scans back of this pretty pink church, it’s...
24/08/2026

I’ve been circling this part of my story for a long time, but when I got the scans back of this pretty pink church, it’s given me the courage to share it. I made the whole family wait at the side of the highway on a road trip while I got the shot, drawn to the image for reasons deeper than a pretty picture.

Leaving Christianity was necessary for me. There was a lot of anger, grief and untangling involved in finding my way out of a belief system that had shaped almost every part of my understanding of myself and the world. But with time, I’ve also come to realise that leaving something does not mean I have to reject everything it gave me.

There are things I learned there that are still deeply woven into who I am, and I’m learning to hold those things with gratitude while also being honest about the parts that caused harm.

My understanding of God, faith and salvation has changed profoundly. I no longer believe that I need to look outside myself for something that will make me whole. In fact, I’m beginning to wonder if much of the spiritual journey is simply remembering what was already there.

I know this will resonate with some people and perhaps challenge others. I’m not sharing it to convince anyone of anything. I’m sharing it because this is where I am, and I’m learning that being fully myself means allowing all the different parts of my story to belong.

✨Wild Light Workshop in JHB✨ There is a moment that happens at Wild Light that I have come to love. We begin the day slo...
20/08/2026

✨Wild Light Workshop in JHB✨

There is a moment that happens at Wild Light that I have come to love.

We begin the day slowly. This one was a classic winter day in Johannesburg, so we arrived wrapped in layers, gathering around hot cacao and getting to know one another. We sat in circle, made photographs, worked with our hands and gave ourselves permission to move more slowly than we usually do.

As the day warmed up, we started shedding those layers, and somewhere along the way something else began to soften too.

We took time to let go of some of the things we no longer wanted to carry. We made art without worrying too much about what the finished piece would look like. We spent time in nature and with one another, and then, almost imperceptibly, the whole atmosphere shifted. This is the moment I love.

I came around a corner to find women playing in the water, climbing trees in old wedding dresses, prancing through the gardens, taking photographs, laughing and twirling. There was something wonderfully childlike about it. For a little while, we seemed to forget how we were supposed to behave, and how we were supposed to look.

This is the part of Wild Light that is difficult to explain if you haven’t experienced it. The photographs and the art-making are important, but they are really just a way into something deeper: creating a space where women can put down some of the things they have been carrying, feel safe enough to be seen, and reconnect with the curious, playful and creative parts of themselves.

One woman described it as being given “permission to play”. Another said, “It felt like permission to allow for all the chaos, mess and beauty that comes with being human and to feel less alone through it all.”

This is what we want Wild Light to be. Not another space where we are asked to improve ourselves or become a better version of who we are, but a space where we can exhale, feel connected, make things, play, and remember that there is so much more to being alive than the version of ourselves we usually present to the world.

I think we all need a little more of that.

Photos on digital and film by Sophie and Chloe O'Doherty

It’s a special kind of magic to document more than one chapter of your life ✨ swipe to see some moments from their city ...
18/08/2026

It’s a special kind of magic to document more than one chapter of your life ✨ swipe to see some moments from their city wedding.

One of the main reasons I shoot film is to create space for happy accidents. In this case I had shot what I thought was ...
17/08/2026

One of the main reasons I shoot film is to create space for happy accidents. In this case I had shot what I thought was a full roll of film with a client, and was on the way to lab to get it developed when I realised there were still 3 shots to use. I saw a flower seller at the side of the road, flipped a u-turn and shot off some double exposures in the space of a minute or two to use up the film. I feel like the photos are the perfect visual representation of the juicy spaciousness that creative creates in my brain to play and experiment and not be too precious about the outcome… also just a good representation of the general chaos of the inside of my mind which I’m slowly learning to meet with radical self love and approval 😄💛✨

If fun, creative play is something you would like more of in your life, come and play on our Wild Light Retreat at the end of October ✨

Slow slow days ✨💛
15/08/2026

Slow slow days ✨💛

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Kenton On Sea

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