be a mirror

I’m not sure how I wound up on this, maybe it was all the Youtube videos I’ve been devouring on portrait photography, or documentaries profiling coaches or people that seem to have their shit together, but I landed on the theme of vulnerability– a state in which I haven’t always been keen to. Like many families, I’m not in one that’s quick to say, “I love you” at the end of a conversation, or openly talk about how we’re doing. My wife’s family, however, is and it’s refreshing. So in this “discovery” period of observing and listening to people I’ve come to respect and emulate, I realized being vulnerable, albeit difficult and uncomfortable at times, may be the necessary vehicle to improving my work (and general outlook on life).

After telling my wife, Adele, about my newfound pilgrimage to the land of vulnerability, she said, “Brené Brown would love this!” So, I googled Brené Brown and watched her twenty-minute Ted Talk, along with 60 million other viewers, on the power of vulnerability. Much of what I had been ruminating on she discussed and filled in the gaps. Dr. Brown is fixated on expanding our perception, which as a photographer trying to piece the world together, is essential. Because to me what makes an image great is the ability to portray vulnerability through nuance. And what I am slowly discovering in achieving this result is the need for me to be vulnerable – and humble, and courageous, and compassionate and that it is necessary for a connection to be established between me and the subject, and ultimately the camera. One way to develop this skill is quieting the voice in my head, and listening to the one in front of me, wholeheartedly, because good art and artists are mirrors to the world around them, letting people know they are worthy and they are seen, and they are loved.

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