Be you. Be loved.

In 20 years of being in the photography business, there is one thing that happens all the time that continues to make my heart swell. When someone see’s themselves on our big viewing screen and says, with a look of shock on their face and their hands up on either side of their mouth, “I can’t believe that is me!!!!!” “I LOVE THEM!” “I have to have them all!” Especially if this person believed themselves to be unphotogenic or unattractive or physically flawed in some way … basically someone who normally hides from the camera and therefore has little to no photographs of themselves inside of their life.

I’m not saying this happens because of photoshop or a makeup artist or stylist. This is how they were captured straight out of the camera with a couple of tweaks to the color and crop. It’s them and they know it. It’s who they really are, shown in the best light at a moment of comfort. Maybe there with someone they love, maybe it’s just them. Either way, you can see the confidence boost immediately. You can see the relief in there eyes, that maybe they’ve been wrong about how they look.

How does this happen? Well first, this doesn’t just happen at Little’s Photography. I assert it happens everywhere there is a professional dedicated to the art of photography who has mastered their equipment AND their ability to bring comfort to someone who is, at the moment, uncomfortable. Also, the better the equipment you have, the closer it gets to the way the human eye actually sees. Now don’t trap me in the details of the difference between our eyes and a camera but that’s what expensive cameras do. They see like the human eye. They adjust to light, depth, and movement in an instant. The opposite would be an inexpensive camera, paired with a non professional or anything less than mastery in the area of portraiture. You’re friend (or a stranger) with a smartphone is not going to do you justice. Which, in my opinion, is the reason people think they are “not photogenic” in the first place. They’ve seen the scary, shocking, or embarrassing images on that little screen and thought to themselves… “delete. Delete! DELETE!”

THIS IS GREAT NEWS FOR PEOPLE WHO HIDE FROM CAMERAS!

Why? Because a professional photographer, who has mastered their equipment and can bring comfort to their subjects is equal to the eyes of those who love you. When you fall in love with a professional portrait of yourself, you are getting to experience yourself the way your friends and family experience you. Comfortable. In perfectly exposed environments. The focus is on what’s special about you, what’s beautiful about you, what’s interesting about you. A person who has mastered the art of portraiture is able to show you something in you, that you’ve never seen before but is so so familiar to the ones who love you most. Don’t hide from a master. You’re doing yourself and your legacy a disservice.

Be you. Be loved.

#theartofphotography #portraitartist #portraiture #professionalportrait

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