Sandra van der Star is born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. As a child she loved to draw and to paint. But she decided to study first. After her study she worked in a financial business for many years. But her passion for art and being creative never went away. In 2014 she followed her heart and decided to study photography at the university of applied Photography. In 2016 she graduated. She is specialized in portrait photography.

Most of her portraits are children and young adults. Sandra believes that they don’t wear social mask. They are pure. She believes in purity and her images gives them a moment of being themselves. In this society people still do not show everything of themselves. They often wear social masks that conceals their actual thoughts. Our society encourages the wearing of masks. Masks are socially acceptable. They adapt to their environment, to their role they have at that moment. By not showing their true face, they can protect themselves not to get hurt. They don’t want to show their weakness. That makes them vulnerable and fragile.

But Sandra wants to show the vulnerability. She believes that being yourself is a not a weakness, but powerfull. It is important for her to visualize the real character of the persons. She is looking for that moment where people forget their mask. Besided vulnerability her portraits are also characterized by serenity, emptiness, fragility and stillness. Her images have a calm atmosphere.

She also likes to go out on the street with her camera. Important for her is to capture the real life. At the street she sees the moment she wants to capture. A moment that actually happens.It is pure and realistic. Her streetwork often resembles a still from a film.