A LITTLE ABOUT ME
Hi! My name is Sera Stancil Rice. I'm from Russellville Alabama, but currently live in the Shoals with my husband Michael and our daughters Ella and Stevie!
My entire life I’ve loved photography! I remember doing “photoshoots” of my friends in middle school with my little hot pink digital camera and being told “you should be a photographer!” Taking photos was just something I loved doing for fun with my friends and family. I knew I had a visual mindset for it, but I never saw myself actually making a business of it!
After High School I attended Northwest-Shoals Community College and had a full scholarship in Chorale, where I met my husband, Michael. We married in 2019 and he has been my biggest supporter since! Shortly after getting married I decided to take a leap of faith and buy my first “professional” camera... and let’s just say there is A LOT more to it than one would assume! Having a visual for photography is one thing, but learning the technical side of it… completely different. I’ll be honest, I wanted to give up quite a few times. I had been doing photos for family/friends on the ‘DL’ for a little while, but I never felt confident enough to share my own work. I knew so many local photographers whose work I admired greatly, which caused me to be hesitant towards putting myself out there. Eventually I had friends of friends, and even strangers reaching out with interest in a booking with me. Again, I was hesitant because I knew how much I loved getting to take photos for FUN and I never wanted that to change. I feared turning something I loved into a “job” would make me hate it.
Fast forward to now, I can wholeheartedly say my love and excitement for photography has only grown tremendously since launching an official business in 2022! For me personally, nothing about this business feels like a “job”. My over-all goal with photography has been, and always will be, to simply have fun capturing memories for others to cherish for a lifetime !
...THE MEANING BEHIND THE NAME...
My inspiration behind the name "It Is Well Photography" is my late Nana, Linda Rains Stancil. She was a mother figure to me, the one I could always count on, to say the least.
She was a Praise and Worship Leader in many churches throughout her lifetime, including the small church she and my grandfather Bobby Stancil started together in 1994 in Russellville Alabama. My grandfather is still currently pastoring there and my Nana was the worship leader for 25 years prior to her passing. Afterwards, I willingly took on her role alongside my father, Derrick Stancil.
Linda is the inspiration behind so many things that reside deep in my soul; God, photography, and music at the top of the list.
"It Is Well With My Soul" was one of my Nana's favorite hymns. We sang it in church as a family many times over the years and it brought so much joy to her heart to not only witness her children and grandchildren sing praises to the Lord, but also, to hear those lyrics. So much so, that we sang it to her at her bedside as she left us to be with our Lord and Savior in Heaven. Overall, the song "It Is Well With My Soul" is very meaningful to me. Not just because of my Nana, but also because I truly try to live my life by its meaning.
"When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like seabillows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul."