You Are Beautiful.

This morning I was catching up on blogs and came across this post by Elizabeth Halford.  She talked about how image is superficial, and how supermodel Cameron Russell agrees with her, in the video below. Watch it, and then continue to read.

As she shows you the pictures of her work, and then her in everyday life, you see how constructed and perfect she looks when she’s on camera compared to what she looks like off camera. She even uses the word constructed. This really hit home for me. As a photographer, I don’t want my clients to feel like they are “constructed” and “made up” on camera. I want them to feel like my images of them are real and true to their personality and who they are. My goal is for them to look at the pictures and say "Yup, that's me!" not "Man I wish I was like that in real life."

Cameron got free stuff not because of who she is, what she stands for, who she voted for president, or what agency she works for. She got free stuff because she’s tall, skinny, and tan. She’s symmetrical. She’s beautiful, even though she doesn’t believe it. Why doesn't she believe it, I mean come on, she's this super successful model for crying out loud! Because everyone around her is saying that nobody cares about who she is inside: just her curves, her thin thighs, and the way her face is shaped. 

So many girls are insecure about themselves because photographers are producing images of women that look nothing like what came straight out of camera (sooc.) I believe that's wrong. It's providing a false hope for girls, because it's highly unlikely they'll ever look like that, without looking like bones with skin on them. And therefore, they hate how they look. Cue insecurity.

Be happy with what you look like and people will notice. It will radiate from within you, creating a beauty once known years ago. And if you hire a photographer who tends to make images more superficial than realistic, then don't let them. Because you will not be happy with what you end up with.