Permission to be Authentic

I recently did an interview with Denim + Grace, and I must have drank a truth serum when I wrote it because I revealed all sorts of dirty little secrets...such as me retouching my own pimples on Photoshop when I was a teenager.  I honestly can't believe I even wrote that, but there it is for the world to see.  Acne was a really touchy subject for me.  I had it bad junior and senior year of high school, and I had it all the way through college.  Somehow, most of it magically disappeared after I graduated, but the scars still last.  I'm not talking about the acne scars.  I'm talking about the emotional scars of feeling inferior, less than perfect, feeling less pretty than other girls.  Even if nobody else was saying those things, I felt those things, and I judged myself.It's really hard for girls, and I know how much my high school seniors go through.  There is so much pressure for them to perform well on their grades, rank high on SATs, and socially, it's such a blow when someone doesn't ask you to a party, homecoming, or prom.  I felt all of those emotions and more when I was in high school.  I'm not defined by those terms anymore, but I believe that one of the reasons I am a senior portrait photographer is so that I can take away those fears.By taking beautiful photographs of my clients, I want them to see their beauty for what it is.  I want them to have photo reminder that they are an amazing creation of God, and that they don't have to measure up to anyone else or compare themselves to anybody else.  Life is not a competition, even if our schools make it so much about that.  As I age, I've realized that the best way to have a peace of mind is to see life as a collaboration.  Those that don't care about you and don't want to be a part of your life, just let them go.  It's not that they don't like you (well maybe it is), but they probably have problems of their own to deal with, or they just can't relate to you.  You can't be everything to everybody, and you can't please everybody.  For every person that gives you a compliment, there will always be someone that's ready to tear you down.  By accepting that there will always be those people, the next best thing to do is to focus on the positives.

Here's a photographer's secret:  If you want to appear lovely, all you have to do is give love.