Portraits

"A thing that you see in my pictures is that I was not afraid to fall in love with these people."

- Annie Leibovitz

    I am forever grateful for every single person who has ever posed in front of my camera. While I was in college, I often struggled to find models for my photography assignments. My commercial photography professor required that we had a different model for each assignment and we would get marked down if we used a model twice. I found this to be a problem quickly. Because I didn't live on campus and I was commuting from an hour away, (not to mention I am horrible at meeting new people..) I didn't know very many people on campus and those who I did know, often had conflicting schedules as me. Finding time for a photoshoot was few and far between. I resorted to what, and who, I knew best. I used anyone I knew as a model for these assignments. I even had the teenagers who worked at the movie theater I managed at the time posing for me. 

    I often find that my social anxiety has kept me from meeting my full potential as a photographer. During college I found small ways to overcome the anxiety, however in the midst of a global pandemic, I find myself hiding in my house scared of people once again. Photographers with social anxiety is a whole can of worms I don't want to open in this post, but I promise it is a topic I am willing to cover at a later point in time. As this is my first post, I will keep it light and inspirational. Even if you are just picking up a camera for the very first time and you think you don't have anyone to take pictures of (judgement free), think again. Ask your best friend, your siblings or cousins, a significant other, or even someone you just feel close with. Be open and frank with them about being a beginner and how you think the photos turned out at the end of the shoot. Don't be afraid to tell your models how to pose! They will be just as awkward as you are at first, so make them feel comfortable and make them laugh so a smile comes naturally.