Being connected to the subject and not the equipment.
I have come to realize something about being a photographer. Not photographers in general, but ME as a photographer.
I do not have fancy equipment. I do not have a snazzy lens with a long name that looks like it should be a license plate. I do not have a degree in photography hanging on my wall (I was top of my class in photography in college, but graphic design was my major.). I do not have computers and cables instantly transferring photos to a photography program. I do not have extreme backdrops.
What i DO have is personality, and the vision to show my clients how beautiful they are. I can charm my ladies into revealing their inner beauty, and the natural skill to bring it to the surface and show it on their face, their body, their aura.
I have had more than one client tell me that ‘the other photographer’ was so sterile and serious, and that I was so engaging, enabling and empowering. They had the big fancy cameras with interchangeable lens, the artistic backdrops and the latest in digital technology.
What they did NOT have was the ability to engage with the client. They offered no direction or attempted to charm the client into brining out her personality. For them, they had the technical equipment they were taught to use and a vision of the photo they wanted, and a client standing before them.
I have no doubt that the photos were fantastic, creative and stunning. Photographers survive on their portfolios and word of mouth. Their clients walk away with stunning photographs.
My clients walk away with wonderful photos as well. But better than the photos, they walk away with an experience, an adventure and an awakening.
My sessions are not just about the end result. They are about empowering women to feel beautiful, for me to show them what they look like from other angles. They only see themselves in the bathroom mirror, they do not see themselves from all the other amazing points of view that others see them from every day. My goddesses walk out of my studio with a new found confidence, a Mona Lisa smile on their face, hiding the secret that they now know how beautiful they are.
There is me, there is my client. In between us is an unassuming well built collection of metal and plastic, powered by a battery. It is there to record a memento of the experience, nothing more, a reminder of the adventure. My studio is a low ceiling yoga studio, full of natural light and beautiful chestnut hardwood floors. My change room is a pilates studio.
The adventure between the woman baring her sensuality and soul, and the woman who stands before her with the camera, is where the real splendor happens.
