My self-portraiture was born out of a dark place, but over time, has evolved just as we all do.
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As I’m sure you can tell, I’m most drawn to mysterious, dark, dreamlike, and oftentimes weird/creepy imagery. I have an active imagination and I enjoy the process of trying to bring it all to life.
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Did you know I don’t use Photoshop to edit my images?
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I truly enjoy the process of bringing my weird ideas to life. Sometimes it comes with its challenges since I can’t easily add in something during post processing.
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This self-portrait was taken in my backyard. I used a smoke bomb in the woods and wore a vintage dress and hat I found at a local thrift store. I kept my face shadowed to add to the mystery of this ghost-like woman in the woods.
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As an introvert I much prefer shooting my self-portraits in my house or on my property, although I do have a funny story or two about shooting in public places!
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Now that I shared a little about my process, what’s yours like? Do you live for the shoot or the editing process? Does your image come to life before or after editing? Or is it a combination of both? Do you prefer to be out in public or hidden?
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Share in the comments below. Also, I’ll make a post soon for those bloopers I’ve experienced out in public!
The Story Behind the Image
I used a long exposure to create this self-portrait in September of 2016.
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I had reached a point in my life where I almost felt I was in two places at once.
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Part of me was coming out of this dark place I had been in for what felt like so long.
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I could separate myself from that place and look back at that version of me, and to be quite honest, I wasn’t sure what this newer version of me was all about yet.
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As humans we tend to stay with what feels safe, even if that “safe” isn’t good for us.
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I almost felt as if I were turning my back on myself, which is what led to the concept of this self-portrait.
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You guys, there is one thing I will attest to and that is this-
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Art heals.
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My hope and wish for you is that you allow yourselves the freedom to explore, play, create, make mistakes and know that it’s completely fine.
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Let go of any judgments you have towards your work or yourself. That’s only going to weigh you down and hold you back from all of the greatness that is YOU.
What Lights You Up?
Teaching has been a part of my life since I was 17 years old.
I started teaching piano lessons to children when I was straight out of high school. It was such a fun and rewarding time.
When I had my son at 22 I remember some of the parents would ask me to bring him to the lessons so they could hold him and play with him.
Shortly after my daughter arrived I set piano lessons aside and picked up a camera. I quickly developed a passion to learn more and be a photographer.
It took me YEARS to say aloud that I was a photographer. Piano teacher was all I knew. Who was I to call myself a photographer yet alone an artist?!
Now, my teaching continues. I made my dream come true and I teach at The Define School.
But here’s the thing....those children that I taught piano lessons to? They taught me just as much.
The women who have taken my Expressive Self Portraiture class? They have taught me just as much.
Not only that, but they have touched my heart and left an impact on me that’s almost indescribable.
Teaching lights me up. What lights you up?
