DEAR PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERS

DEAR PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERS

By: Missy Mwac

This is not my composition but from a professional photographer who has a heart and passion for Art named Missy Mwac. I am sharing this post not only to the world but also for my self as a lover of photography. I asked her permission so I can post her work and she gave me that and it is an honor. :D

This may be addressed to portrait photographers but this also applies to landscape photographers or street photographers... just find beauty and show it to the world.

Read and be inspired...

Dear Portrait Photographers,

You do not cure cancer. 

You don’t have the power to stop the path of a tornado

or make rainfall on a land covered in drought. 

You take pictures of people.

And although you aren’t performing surgery or landing a spaceship on a comet

You still have a gift to share. 

And that gift affects lives

For in front of your cameras stand people

And people, well, they often wear masks disguised as a smile

And beneath those smiles are the hidden things

The unspoken insecurities:

“I’m fat”

“I’m ugly”

“I’m not worthy to have my picture taken.”

“I’m going to hate these.”

You won’t know this, of course

Because most won’t share it

I mean, who can blame them?

But rest assured those feelings are there

More often than not

And they bounce around in the minds of those you’d least expect.

It is your job to create images that silence those fears

Images that prove those fears unfounded

Images that shout louder than the lies our insecurities whisper

Images that say:

“You are perfect.”

“You are beautiful.”

“You are deserving of attention.”

Your gift, dear portrait photographers, may not save lives

But never doubt its importance

xoxo

About the author: Missy Mwac is a photography satirist, a lover of bacon, a drinker of vodka, a lover of sparkle, and a guide through the murky waters of professional photography. 

THANKS, Missy Mwac