Perception is 9/10ths of the Problem

It's the beginning of photography season for me this year.  I usually take the winter off because it's too cold for most people to want their pictures done outside, and everybody looks sallow and washed out.  It's debatable as to whether spring has officially started in Wyoming, but the grass is greening up so I'm going it with.

I was asked to do a series of shoots for a stylist friend of mine who is building up her portfolio.  It has been a blast.  Mostly because when you have a professional on location, touching up make-up and making sure hair is perfect there is a lot less editing to do after the fact.  It also got me thinking a lot about how we perceive ourselves.

Megan

These are not professional models, they are actually just girls from my neighborhood.

Ali

In fact, some of them I go to church with.

Ashley

It's amazing what a little hair and make-up can do.

Lyndsey

Not to mention natural light.  It's my favorite way to shoot.  Natural light doesn't lie.  Which brings me to my point.

The pictures above are my rendition of Megan, Ali, Ashely, and Lyndsey; and maybe not the way they see themselves.  My favorite portraits are usually taken after I've told someone to relax, that I've gotten what I wanted.  Shooting with a DSLR helps, because you usually can't hear my shutter, and I use static lighting rather than blasting people with flash.  I feel like I get more honest shots this way.  Maybe it's my way of sticking it to the people who dreamed up the "glamor shot." Other than a little blemish removal or adjusting white balance, I avoid Photo Shop retouching.  I want people to see themselves the way I see them, with a little bit of what is on the inside showing through.  That is why I think of myself as The Invisible Woman when I'm shooting, I try very hard not to leave my mark in the pictures.