I have a confession-
The night before every single photoshoot I go to bed and I lie there awake vibrating with anxiety so intense that I pray I don’t wake up. Every single time. I do not know what this means. All I know is that I always wake up. Then I face my insecurities and my dread and I show up. Just like the human I am photographing shows up.
Then we create something that didn’t exist before and freeze time. Afterward, I sit down to edit and I feel like I damn wizard because I MADE THAT EXIST. And I want to do it again and again every day of my life.
Until the next shoot, when the cycle continues.
I think that is maybe why my shoots are so transformative, for both me AND the other person. Because even though I’m the ‘expert’ in the room I’m also just as vulnerable. I have flaws and fears too. I don’t have all the answers and I don’t pretend to. Each shoot is an opportunity for something new with someone new, I don’t do cookie cutter. (Maybe if I did, I wouldn’t be so anxious, but it would also be soul-crushingly boring I would never pick up my camera so no thank you to that idea.)
I’m saying this because most people are nervous to get in front of the camera. And I’m so nervous about photographing you that I want to die. But the beauty is that if you trust me to capture you and I trust myself enough to say yes (and take your money) then we can just be nervous together and make magical art. Feel the fear and do it anyways or whatever.
One day when I’m dead all the images I took will live on beyond me. And when you are dead your images will live on, whatever images those are. Think about that. One day you will be gone and people will be looking at the images of you that exist. So you better make sure some of them are good.
This shoot with Rachel was just what I needed to help break up this long winter. Gorgeous images with simple outfits and an emphasis on using the space. We’ve got floor to ceiling windows, rolling around on the floor, hair flipping, and lots of beautiful portraits. I like to say that I don’t do headshots but I do take one hellova good photo of a face!
