I have an extremely rewarding job. I have the opportunity to take someone who says to me, “I want to look beautiful” or “I’m not very photogenic” and make them feel and KNOW differently. It really just makes my week to have whoever I’m shooting say to me “You make me feel so pretty!” at the end of their shoot. But here’s the thing: It’s not me!
Everyone has beauty! They didn’t “become” beautiful as soon as I got them in front of the camera. Nothing changed in that hour and a half of shooting except that the person in front of the camera became more confident and more aware of how it is OKAY to give yourself permission to say, “I am beautiful!” And this is even before they see their images! How luck am I that I get to be a part of that process?! I literally get to see people blossom in front of a camera lens. Going from the beginning with warnings of things they hate about themselves and what to “watch out for” to big hugs at the end and genuine “Thank you so much!” exclamations.
Recently, I stumbled upon someone who had a really bad experience with a photographer. This person was a fan of the photographer’s work, who mostly worked shooting professional models. She simply wanted some nice pictures, knowing she wasn’t a “model” (notice I use quotation marks there), but wanted to just feel beautiful. What did she end up with? She received some poorly shot and very, very badly edited photographs. When she confronted the photographer (which she had a right to), he publicly berated her and even resorted to name-calling on his Facebook page. Personally, I was outraged. I don’t even know this woman, but it hit my heart hard. I reached out to her, hoping to try and make some sort of positive from her negative experience. And I’m so, so glad I did:
I really can’t put into words how much this made my heart fill with joy. I was expecting maybe a “Hey, thanks!” email, but instead I got this. Thank you, Alexis! For really making me realize my roots as to what I do and why.
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