For quite awhile, I've been caught up with other portrait photographers and of course I did try some portrait photography and I guess it turned out quite ok?
(You can leave a comment if its nice or there is something I should improve on btw!) I don't really have any specific reason on how I got interested in photography especially in the aspects of portraits but one thing I know is how portrait gives me a sense of
'life lesson' that we should accept the flaws and appreciate them while we're at it. The details of each portrait photograph; from the little freckles, the little scars, the moles, the eyes to each and every part of the face and body shot from - It shows everything in detail and it shows it
WONDERFULLY, at least to me; that's how I feel.
We can see most of us girls tend to cover up our faces with layers of foundation and concealer and that is fine! It's really pretty and I understand that some would only feel confident with makeup on but one thing that hit me hard is that we girls were trying so hard to cover up our flaws with powders and cream that we tend to forget we will never find out who will accept our flaws just as we are if we continue covering up completely. We hid it so perfectly but once we reveal it, who will accept them? We tend to think so much about it and sometimes it may lead to anxiety and depression and that is bad of course! BUT no worries girls, makeup is fun but try not to overdo it till you realized you tend to rely on makeup too much and can't accept your flaws AT ALL. You've got to appreciate them ONLY then people will appreciate your perfect imperfections too. So 'balance' is the key to everything girls! ;) LOVE YOURSELF is what you need to do :)
Portrait photography also taught me how to accept others' imperfections. Yes, its others' imperfections we are talking about too and not only ours we need to appreciate. We should understand that some people never wanted to have these flaws on them but ended up having it and we should accept them just the way they are. Just like how we accept our friends just the way they are; they may be talkative, they may have acne on their faces, they may have weird personalities but at the end of the day there are people who will accept the way they are and that of course the people might be us too! Also, God accepted the way we are too so there's no fret in worrying who does not accepts your flaws people!! The ones who accepts you at your worst and ugliest are the ones who are true to you - they are basically your true ones.
Not only that, portrait photography shows what you truly feel in the picture that you were shot of. Well, some might be poses directed by the photographer themselves BUT for me, no matter how they instructed you on how to pose; your eyes doesn't lie in the picture; they reveal your inner feeling someway or another. The eyes of yours can never deceive the ones who can see through you. They'll know it; what you are and how you are feeling. That's why I like portraits; it shows me the true feelings of the ones I took of. They tend to show what they feel at the specific moment too when one shoots them; some might be looking everywhere and not the camera lens because they are camera-shy and have no confident in posing, some might be confident and potential in posing, some might feel demotivated at times too without smiling maybe because they had a rough day but still; posing effortlessly. Again, the eyes doesn't lies and those who shoot portraits; I believe they'll know it too somehow and someway.
In conclusion, Portrait Photography tells a lot of a person's character, personality and feeling and it depends who wants to accept them for who they are and who wants to be in their life as a support and encouragement for them. Well, of course, It's not all about accepting and appreciating the flaws, it can mean nothing but as an enjoyment too cause photography is an activity to have fun and experiment anyway as we pick up our camera and press the shutter button to shoot with everything we've got to produce a good portrait. :)
There are some portrait photographs that I've taken and would like to share with everyone too! So please do enjoy my artwork hehe ;)
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Model: Clarisse
Place: Garage 51, Petaling Jaya |
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Model: Jia Ai (Kailyn)
Place: OW:L Espresso Lab, SS15 |
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Model: Carmen Phuah (My twin sis) ;)
Place: Pier 84, New York, USA |
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Model: Annabelle Cheah
Place: Sampling on the Fourteenth, 14th floor, Berjaya Times Square |
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Model: Joel Song
Place: Merchant's Lane, Petaling Street |
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Inspired by Brandon Woelfel (check out his Insta!)
Model: Carmen Phuah (My twin sis)
Place: Ota-Ya Japanese Restaurant, Newton, Pennsylvania, USA |
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Model: Carmen Phuah
Place: Rawang (My hometown) |
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Model: Joel Song
Place: Wild Sheep Chase Cafe, Taman Desa |
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Model: Random kid I saw HAHA He looks cool so yea :)
Place: Statue of Liberty Island, New York, USA |
Sincerely, Shannon.
