I don’t know about you, but my Facebook feed has been filled with the “Five Photo Challenge.” The concept is to post any five pictures of you that make you feel pretty, then challenge some of your friends to do the same. The amazing part is, as women, this may seem like a real challenge at first. I am a photographer, and I know I’d struggle to find pictures that make me feel pretty. It’s all a matter of confidence. As women, we tend to lack this confidence to feel pretty on a daily basis. The fun part is, you don’t have to look your best- it’s all about the emotions the pictures evoke.
I’ve seen women posting pictures with their children, doing daily activities, a fun experience, or even making silly faces- even if those may possibly be in jest. The idea is, as women in modern society, we belittle ourselves on a regular basis. I won’t even walk into Walmart if I don’t look at least Leave-The-House-Worthy and we’ve all seen some special sights in the walls and parking lots of that place. Why do we do this to ourselves?
The real challenge, I think is to see ourselves in other people’s eyes. Children are nothing if not brutally honest and I hear children complimenting their mothers on a regular basis. Sadly, many of these women brush the comments to the side, but these are the comments we should be relishing in!
As a photographer, it’s a constant challenge to encourage others to see just how pretty they are. This isn’t reserved just for women, but it is often most obvious in women. Working with young children for so long, it has often been a challenge to get moms into the pictures with their children. “I’m not prepared,” or “I just wanted pictures of the kids,” are excuses I hear regularly. But the truth is, these pictures aren’t just for you. These pictures are for your friends, your family, your children, and even their own children. Your child may be too young to remember what you look like now, so why not capture a portrait for them to cherish for years to come- something that lets them know you were there and care and wanted to share the experience with them.
One of my favorite parts of this five photo challenge project has been seeing the number of pictures women would post that I took. Every time a friend or client posted their five pictures I’d anxiously scan the images. Imagine my elatement when not one, but two or three of the pictures were images I took! It warms my heart and nearly brings me to tears thinking that if even just for one moment, I made them feel beautiful. That’s the ultimate goal. To show others what you see in them. That no matter how insecure they may feel, other people see them for the beautiful and kind women they are. I cannot stress it enough- you are pretty and beautiful and gorgeous whether you see it or not. Beauty is not defined by magazines and media. Beauty is defined by the emotions we feel in a moment that we can hold for the rest of our lives.
So, with that said, here are my five.
Don’t forget to join me on facebook to post your five pretty pictures on my page!
