Brenda De Los Santos loves that she can make a living through her art, photography. But her true passion is helping people. Very often, De Los Santos combines the two.

Born and raised in New London, De Los Santos was always creative and as a child could often be found drawing or painting. “I was the artist and drama kid,” De Los Santos said.

De Los Santos left New London to attend college in Boston, where she discovered photography and decided to change her major to photojournalism. It was there that she learned technique and honed her craft.

The evolution from being a photographer for a small-town newspaper to being a successful entrepreneur evolved over time. De Los Santos started taking portraits and photographing weddings part-time and was working full-time for her own photography studio within four years.

“Either way, the work was different every day, but it was all telling people’s stories,” De Los Santos said.

De Los Santos recognized that photography is a way to make a living while being creative day-to-day. “If I’m not doing something creative, I’m not fulfilled. Photography satisfies my soul,” De Los Santos said.

De Los Santos’s soul is clearly satisfied through giving back to her community as well. She spends her down time volunteering with organizations including the Hispanic Alliance of Southeastern CT, Fiddleheads Food Co-op, and Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.

Volunteering with Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, De Los Santos provides professional portraits that help parents experiencing the loss of a baby. This act provides healing for a family while honoring the baby’s legacy. De Los Santos, who has built relationships with many families over the last seven years, said, “It’s easily the most fulfilling thing I’ve done.”

De Los Santos understands the unique quality of photography to immortalize moments and how special, and even sacred, that element of the art form is.

“Whether it’s weddings, family portraits, headshots ... it’s such an honor to do this for people. It’s a way of helping others,” De Los Santos said.

De Los Santos is living her best life. She chooses to remain in New London to be near family and the beach. Both are very important to her.

When not working or volunteering, she can be found on the sidelines watching her nieces and nephews play sports. Naturally, she takes photos so they will always remember these times.

“Photography is not the same as painting. You capture the truth, capture a moment. And that’s amazing,”

Emma Palzere-Rae is Associate Director for Artreach, Inc. and founder of Be Well Productions. If you have a story about how creativity has helped you heal, please contact emma.artreachheals@gmail.com.