Imperfect Beauty - It's Exactly Why We Should Be Photographed Now!
What is imperfect beauty? I stumbled upon this concept while thinking of a personal photography project to work on. The words just popped up and forced me to dig deeper into why it resonated so profoundly within my core. Imperfect beauty, as I came to see it was the notion that people initially see the flaws in oneself before they acknowledge the true beauty in themselves. So why did it connect so well with me?
Growing up, life was pretty good until I hit puberty. That was when my relationship with moderate-to-severe acne began. I battled with this disease from the age of thirteen well into my mid-twenties, which was when I was finally able to get the treatment I needed in order to help me control it. Afterwhich, I can recall the time when I went a week without an outbreak, then a month, then a few months, until finally I was able to not obsess over potentially waking up and feeling a new pimple forming somewhere. I had broken free from it's grasp, but not fully...the scars from over the years were still there to remind me. Of what? In my mind, how ugly I was. It's amazing how damaging to one's confidence that very thought is. It is a thought, that fortunately visits my mind less frequently these days and when it does, I know how to quickly let it go.
I want to point out though, that while I was hyper-focused on my external appearance and feeling at times down about it, life was and is still, really good. Reflecting on it all, I had friends who accepted me for more than who I was on the outside, I managed to get a college education, found a career I loved that paid well, met the love of my life and started a family of our own to lately turning my photography passion into a business. So many great things, beautiful things, to grace my life and I am grateful to be able to step outside of myself a little to see them and appreciate them.
I share all of this to say, I would love to connect with you and photograph you. Perceived flaw and all. For me it was, acne scars made me look ugly, but I still booked a professional portrait session for myself and the talented Gérson Lopes (http://www.gersonlopes.com) helped make me look and feel like a million bucks. I would like to offer you the same experience as part of my imperfect beauty project. Would you be up to helping me build a body of work showing the world just how beautiful imperfect beauty is? If so, I would love to hear from you! There is no cost to participate, though a model release is required. Please feel free to reach out to me via email at hello@neonhowe.com to discuss further. Check out the following images as a sample of the look and feel I'll be aiming for with my project. Of course I wouldn't ask anyone else to join in on the fun without stepping up to the plate myself :).
