Putting yourself in their shoes

As I mentioned in my "About Me" post, I've been working on a project called "52 weeks of Me" since the beginning of January. Basically, I take one self portrait a week for a year. Sometimes I follow a theme list, and other times I just do what I want. It has been quite a journey so far.

I always knew that I wasn't a big fan of being on the other side of the lens, but I didn't really understand that it was so much more than not liking how I looked in them. It turns out....I feel like a dork in front of the camera. I don't know what to do with myself. I end up looking "angry" when I want to look serious. I look "goofy" when I wanted to just look happy. Forget about looking "sexy". I just don't have it in me. I get nervous....and anxious, and uncomfortable.

Back on March, the theme was "over-exposed". Most of the ladies working on this project just went with the obvious. They over-exposed the shot using more light. I found myself wanting to be different. I had been feeling so very "over-exposed" in the process of the project. I felt uncomfortable in my own skin. I wanted to capture my feelings in a single shot. So....Corey went outside the box BIG time. HUGE. I took a set of photos of myself that I NEVER imagined I would. It was an interesting experience to say the least. While capturing what I hoped would say, "over-exposed" and "vulnerable", I actually liberated myself a bit. I forced myself to sit in my skin. Be who I am....Modest...but not ashamed.

If you are interested in seeing the photo I am speaking of you can go HERE.

I feel that this photo shoot was a transitional moment for me. I accepted ME in my skin. I let go of the "what would people think?" and the "How do I look?" mentality, and let myself be captured exactly as I am.

This week, I decided to have a little fun with a fan! I wanted to see how it felt to be a model. I mean, aren't we asking our clients to be a model? I'm not saying, we ask them to be "perfect", but we are asking them to let go, and feel comfortable in front of the lens. If you shoot senior girls, especially, you'll find that they want to get photos of themselves that reflect who they are.....only BETTER! They want to look GREAT, and to look GREAT...you have to be comfortable....and that is harder than it looks.

I tend to get goofy, when I'm feeling uncomfortable, so I wasn't' surprised that out of the 105 photos I took....many of them looked like these:

However, it took 97 photos to get this one:

You can read more about this photo shoot HERE. The majority of the shots were taken at an ISO of 100, f/2, and a shutter of 1/80. I wanted the movement of the hair, so I purposely picked a lower shutter speed. I used my 135mm lens, just because I love it, and I didn't want the camera up in my face. I used a fan to get the movement in the hair, but stood still so as to not blur my face with the slow shutter.

Did I feel like a dork standing in my back yard doing BOTH the above photo shoots? YES! but I learned so much about what it feels like to be the subject, and I think that is so very important.

Lastly, I have learned to not take myself too seriously. I think it's good to have the ability to be free with who you are. Put yourself out there without worrying about being judged. It has released more of my creative side, and I love that.

Thank you for letting me share. Tell me how you feel about being in FRONT of the camera. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Can you challenge yourself to a self-portrait photo shoot?