Portraits: a Story of Self Love

PLEASE SEE YOUR BEAUTY?

This is a story of love.

Not romantic love between two people.

No.

This is a story of true love, of self-love.

This is the story of how Samantha Barkley’s portrait session made her see exactly what the rest of the world sees; a beautiful, strong woman who can conquer the world.

You see, Sam is an incredible natural beauty, but has had a bit of a self-esteem issue. Her sister wanted her to see just how beautiful she truly is, and thus contacted me to book a portrait session for Sam.

CREATING A VISION

I know how daunting it can be for (especially) a woman to get into the right head-space when it comes to having her portrait taken. Not all women are comfortable in front of the lens. In fact, most women aren’t.

This being said, I know people in general feel more comfortable when they have a properly laid out plan of action, a clear vision of what to expect, and have a sense of control of that vision.

I found that requesting a client to create and share with me a Pinterest board of images that resonate with them, gives the client a sense of control, as well as gives me insight into who my client is or perceives themselves as.

So that is exactly what I did with Sam. And as she started adding pins to our board, I included some which I thought may interest her as well. This is how we came up with her shoot plan, the mood of her shoot, and what story she wanted to tell in her photos.

GET READY FOR YOUR CLOSE UP!

Sam had two looks she wanted to be shot in. The first look was laid back, casual yet sporty look, the second a gorgeous, bomb-shell yet elegant formal look.

We also didn’t want to settle into just studio shots OR just outdoor shots. Nope, we wanted to do a combination of both.

We started off with Sam’s casual look in studio, just to get her warmed up and settled in; getting her acquainted with the camera.

It can sometimes feel super awkward standing or sitting there, looking at this big round piece of glass attached to legs and a bum (that would be my legs and bum; which is kind of all you can see when I’m looking through the view finder). This piece of glass telling you how to stand, what to do with your arms and legs, where to look, followed by a snap and ooooh’s and aaaah’s of photographer admirations.

Yes, the short legged glass does supply you with riveting conversation and does give you a bit of a giggle every now and again, but it still feels awkward. I get it. I’ve been there. 😛

BUT THEN YOU RELAX...

Sam became more relaxed and her lovely, warm nature started to peek through, and AMAZING things followed.

Sam popped on her formal dress, a stunning midnight blue, deep v-neck dress, and she rocked the bazooka out of the entire session.

“DAMN DAVID!” has nothing on Sam! Her incredibly sweet soul came pouring out of every single teeny pore, and it became abundantly clear, Sam’s outer beauty is a true reflection of the exquisite person residing within that body.

YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL!

Samantha, I truly hope your photos show you the truth of how stunningly beautiful you are.

Your outer beauty is just an absolute reflection of the person you are, and I for one am so incredibly grateful for meeting you, and more important, to be able to show you how the world sees you;

A stunning, strong, sweet, humble, warm, loving, ridiculously intelligent woman.

Yes. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!