What Makes Us Beautiful? It’s that we are confident women of the world…

 I was really moved by this TED Talk (see below). A makeup artist talks about how her clients apologize for their faces when they sit in her makeup chair.  But she feels, as I do, that all women are beautiful, whether they have makeup on or not.  The makeup is there to help us feel confident and go out into the world armed with a feeling of being pretty. 

Photo credit Makeup artist Emilie Paige www.emiliepaigexo.com

The same goes for my photography.  I think about it as photographing women to show them how I see them - through my lens.  I don't see flaws when I look at a woman's face. I see life and light inside. I see a beautiful soul, and experiences. I see someone who is absolutely unique to this world, who has distinctive features all her own. I see faces that have seen things I have not, that have experienced the world from behind those eyes.

I don't coldly snap pictures and then try to change what people look like in Photoshop.  I photograph a PERSON.  I try to get to know my clients - who they are at their core.  Then I photograph that individual in a way that tries to capture their personality and the beautiful soul inside them. 

Yes, I do use Photoshop, and that's OK. No one wants to see my pimples or dark shadows under my eyes because I didn't sleep last night.  I don't think of myself with dark shadows, so I don't want to see myself with dark shadows in photographs.  But I will never alter someone's features or change them into someone they're not.  I prefer to slim the body with a flattering pose. I prefer to create a gorgeous portrait with wonderful light. Photoshop is a tool I use, but my primary tools are beautiful light, great posing, and the right lenses. 

So as you watch this TED Talk, think hard. Do you ever apologize for your face? For your hair? For your body?  I know I've done it. But let's make a promise to ourselves to accept who we are, and love that no one in the world is like us. We are unique. We are women of this world, and we are all beautiful.

Click here or on the image to see the TED Talk In My Chair - A Makeup Artist's perspective on beauty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gto6w0a13B0 

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 It’s about shining from the inside ...