You Don't Have to Be Scared

I can’t tell you many people I’ve encountered that are terrified of being photographed.

“You want to photograph me? No! My daughter is much more photogenic.”

“My sister is much more photogenic.”

“I don’t look good in front of the camera.”

Those are just a few of the excuses I hear regularly, but I want to tell you today, YOU are exactly the type of person I want to photograph. Because YOU are the type that needs my photography the most. I know how it feels to be terrified of being photographed, and having that awful picture you hate be immortalized on facebook forever. Being photographed can make one feel naked, exposed, and completely vulnerable. In my teen years, I struggle with horrible acne, which made me hate photos of myself. Every candid photo of me I saw, I felt like someone was making fun of me. I carried that mentality into college, where I kept to myself a lot because I didn’t think I was good enough. It wasn’t until after college that I started to blossom.

After college, I wised up and got photos done for my website, which at the time was for my vocal coaching. I took the plunge and hired fashion photographer, Wesley Stringer, in New York. I had seen his work, and I trusted him to make me look good, and sure enough, he made me look good! He blasted away my acne scars on PS, and photographed me at flatter angles. I was thrilled! And something happened when I saw those pictures – I felt confident! I felt proud of who I was. I felt with the photos I had, I could bring in more clients, and I did.

You see, the scars we have on our faces, then extra 10 lbs from the holidays, and the slight imperfections in our bodies. They don’t define who we are. Who we are on the inside is what really counts. Who I was on the inside was this girl that didn’t have blemishes, who could do incredible things if I was given just a little bit of a nudge, who had the potential to offer so much goodness to the world. I knew in my heart I was that girl, but I couldn’t believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. When I saw my photos from the photoshoot for the first time, I saw a vision of who I was in my head come to life in photograph.

Do you know how much that means to me?

I’m tearing up as I’m writing this because I was in such a dark hole with my self-esteem, and these photos changed me and my life. They made me realize that I AM that person, that I’m not inferior to anybody else, and that I am good enough. My body may not be magazine worthy, and I may not have silky smooth skin, but gosh darn it, that’s not going to stop me from being an awesome person!

Wesley once said to me, “You can’t take good photos if you don’t fall in love with the model at least little.” He photographed with love, and I learned to love myself a little more. To this day, we are still great friends.

Let me be that photographer for you, to give you that extra self-esteem boost, that extra encouragement to love who you are, at this moment. I promise to take good care of you throughout the session so you can look and feel your best. I promise to photograph you so well that you can’t help but fall in love with who you are, and others will love you too. I promise to give love first because you deserve it.

I promise.