Sam Oster has over 30 years’ experience in photo-media as a freelance photographer, photographic educator and photo-media artist. She is based at her co-working studio at Cog Creative in Norwood, and specialises in photography for the arts & entertainment industries, commercial photography for corporate and government organisations, and headshots for actors and professionals.
Sam works in film and television as a still photographer and has worked on over 20 productions including feature films and TV series. Sam’s work using moving image technology has seen her working with contemporary dancers and choreographers on various projects, and many artist-in-residence programs and exhibitions. Sam also runs a mobile darkroom creating unique handmade images using the wet-plate collodion process from the 1850s, and teaches workshops in photography processes from Tintype to Photoshop and everything in-between. Sam is a professional, approachable, and engaging photographer with a passion for working with people and ideas to create stunning images.
Silvertrace represents Sam Oster’s work in the creative industries. She has worked on feature films like ‘Red Dog’ and ‘Hotel Mumbai’, TV series like ‘Wolf Creek’ (Stan) and ‘McLeods Daughters’ (ch9), and with many actors including Hugo Weaving, Toni Collette, Eddie Redmayne, and Jack Thompson.
Sam’s work in performing and visual arts has seen her work with dancers, choreographers, theatre companies, actors, musicians, visual artists, and festivals. Sam has a creative background in visual arts and understands the creative process and how to connect ideas to best represent the arts & entertainment industries.
Your headshot is a critical, career-forming image that honestly captures your own individual character, look and presence. Headshot Laboratory by Sam Oster specialises in headshots for performers & professionals, offering exceptional headshots for a broad range of uses. Sam has trained with international headshot guru Peter Hurley and is a member of the international Headshot Crew.
She is exceptional at making people feel relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera, and at supporting people to pose and engage genuinely with the camera. Headshot Laboratory is based at a professional studio just 5 minutes from the city in at Cog Creative in Norwood, and also has a mobile studio to work on location.
Sam Oster works as a commercial photographer for a variety of companies and businesses. She works with Universities, Advertising Agencies, Architects & Interior designers, Local Government, Wineries, Trucking Companies, Hotels, Aged Care Facilities, Schools and events, amongst others.
Sam’s approach is to create bold, fresh, crisp images that capture a moment, an idea, a space or a purpose. Sam is very easy-going and professional – she loves the adventure of working on location to craft the best outcomes of whatever crosses her path, and enjoys both contriving a scene or working in an observational capacity to capture the most interesting and engaging elements of the scene.
Sam has a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) from the University of South Australia. Her arts practice has evolved over 30 years to include a variety of solo and group exhibition, and artworks covering analogue photography, digital photography, experimental techniques and the moving image.
Sam has worked as an artist-in-residence at a variety of places including Flinders Hospital, various Primary and High Schools, and Forestry SA. She has exhibited as a core artist at the Ballarat International Foto Biennale and Shimmer Photography Festival, and has shown work consistently for over 30 years. Her practice is generally conceptual, but sometimes works responsively to a sense of place. Sam enjoys exploring challenging techniques that push the boundaries of her understanding of the medium, such as bullet-time, lenticular imaging, infrared photography, time-lapse, and most recently the wet plate collodion process (Tintypes).
She has been shortlisted for prizes such as the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year (2022), and the Heysen Landscape Prize (2022) and has had work on the cover of Art Almanc (2010).
Cog Creative Space is a co-working studio space with 12 creative professionals (plus many associates) representing all forms of photography and video production. The studio provides a friendly co-working space with shared resources. Our 2 studio spaces are available for hire by photographers and filmmakers, and are comfortable, well-resourced, and affordable. Our cyclorama and ceiling track lighting in air-conditioned and heated comfort offer an excellent standard of studio for visiting interstate creatives and South Australian freelancers. Cog Creative also offers photography workshop and professional development events.
Cog Creative Space is Adelaide’s answer to affordable, well-equipped photography studio hire in Norwood, South Australia.
The Tintype Traveller is a vintage caravan that has been lovingly converted into a mobile darkroom. The darkroom is currently based in Macclesfield in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia, but it regularly travels out to events, shoots, workshops and on creative journeys.
Whilst the darkroom is currently used primarily for Wet Plate Collodion Photography, it is also used for traditional Black & White film processing and printing, Cyanotypes, and regular large format photography. Sam and her team of analogue photography enthusiasts offer workshops, demonstrations and portrait or product shoots using the Tintype process to evoke old-world charm using the hand-made craft of traditional photography.
Contact details
Visit the studio
20 Boskenna Ave
Norwood SA 5067
(parking available in our rear carpark on North St)