Photographing the “Average” Girl Next Door
It happens all the time… my friends and perhaps future clients ask me “all your girls are really beautiful – do you ever photograph “Average Looking” women?”
Let me say this in all honesty. I’ve been a professional beauty Photographer for most of my life and there is nothing “AVERAGE” about any women. It doesn’t matter how old she is, how tall, her skin color, or if she is thick or thin. All women have one or more (and usually more) beautiful features that are screaming to be captured on film – by a talented professional Photographer!!!
Very few of our “models” have ever been on the business end of a Professional Photographer’s camera. You see … a professional photographer, especially one who makes a living capturing & creating beauty, sees the world in a way that few can imagine. Those Photographers see beauty everywhere. With a women it could be something really obvious like a pair of long curvy legs. However that same Photographer is going to see the more subtle beauty in a pair of gorgeous hands, the graceful curves of a lovely long neck, or perhaps the classic beauty in your silhouetted profile. Each and every women has something amazing to reveal to the camera. The real challenge is for her to open up – to drop her guard – and give trust to that Photographer who probably has spent one or more decades learning, practicing, and experimenting in the art of photography.
When I sit down in my Atlanta Studio for a pre- session consultation with my client, I’m asking questions and studying them for answers. You see… photography is as close as one can possibly get to “magic”. If you think about it, the ability to capture a person’s face and body and then somehow recreate that exact same face and body onto a piece of paper is truly magical. With digital the possibilities are endless. If you don’t like that tattoo you got of some long lost lover then tell me and in seconds it’s gone. What to drop 10 pounds… click click click on that mouse and you are high school skinny. Is that magic ??? I’d say YES !!!
We are living in a “photography revolution”. Just 7 years ago we were all dropping off rolls of film at the local drug-store to get back a handful of 4×6 prints from a Disney World vacation. Clicking a picture with such ease has made most of us take photography for granted. In fact, few of you even get a 4×6 Print made at that local drug store these days. Why would you pay even a nickle for a 4×6 Print when you an click hundreds of iPhone pictures for “free”? Hmmmmm !!!!
There is and has always been 2 distinct types of photography. There is the capturing one’s surroundings. For example your pet hamster or your newborn baby girl. These are the Kodak moments that a snappy camera or a camera phone were made for. However the exact opposite to these “snapshot” moments is what I call “the art of photography”. I know most of you have flipped through the pages of a National Geographic Magazine and marveled at the photography that NO snappy camera or cell phone could have captured. The difference is not even the camera. The difference is “the Photographer” !!!
As a professional photographer I live for the moments when I create an amazing portrait of one of my models. You can rest assured that a professional is going to see you in ways you could never imagine. We use our god given talent and years of experience to pose you in just the right way and to have you dress in a fabric that is going to enhance your shape, help you choose the right make-up, and most importantly build a rapport to gain your trust. If you let us do what we do best I guarantee you will receive some amazing and unbelievable portraits. The best Photograph is going to exceed your expectations.
Let me close this post with a true story. About a week after a photo session the client comes back to see their portraits on our big screen projection system. I’ve turned on the projector and clicked through a handful of images. I turn to my client and ask “what do you think so far”? My client says, “these are really beautiful – who is the girl?” I tell her to look really hard and all of a sudden her jaw drops to the floor as she recognizes herself. I hear her whisper… “I can’t believe that is me… I look amazing”. From the moment I met her I could see the possibilities and now she sees them too.
Trust in your Photographer – leave your comfort zone – have fun – experiment – and play. There are so many ways to capture a person’s personality and beauty. Sometimes it’s obvious and sometimes we have to dig a little deeper. There are no “Average Women”… Everyone of you is awesome and beautiful and completely one-of-a-kind!!! Treat yourself to a professional portrait session. I guarantee that the “experience” is half the fun and the resulting portraits will reveal a bit of your outer and inner beauty.
All My Best,
Don S.
