Authentic Views: Before "Selfies" Were a "Thing" There Were Experiments in Seeing Who I Was (and am)

I am not one who looks through a camera lens and bellows, "Smile!" or "Say cheese!"

I would much rather see the moment in the subjects forehead or chin,  not a wide smile plastered over whatever emotion is really alive in that moment.

I did my first self portrait series in 2007. In December I finished my second complete, 365 project. The first go around was blind photography. I enjoyed it, actually - and learned a lot about how to get a decent photo through a combination of intuition and lots and lots of rough drafts.

During that time, I learned the power of the "anything but smile" photo.

Today, I took a series of selfies I fell in love with almost immediately.

I remembered then the wide variety of photos I have taken that were indicative of moments in time I want to remember always but not because of the bliss necessarily but because who I have been becoming over the last decade.

For today, a sampling of who I was on the way to who I am.

 

I've been known to smile, even while crying. This morning, the same thing....

 

 

 

Katherine took this one. Emma looks entranced. She was listening to my heart, I was hugging here and listening to the muses. Lovely evening. She was and is a dolly.

 

 

 

At an unlikely spot close to my home, I discovered last year's leaves in huge piles. They've now burned away and many of the trees have died. For a moment in time, it was my personal playground.

 

 

 

I had overloaded. Autism, Cancer, Abandonment, Loss of Life Work - all of it. I couldn't take it anymore. While crying, I knew photos should be taken. So I took them. And now am grateful.

 

 

 

Early morning porch writing saved me. I was wearing my nightgown in this contemplative shot which remains one of my favorites.

My Mom was having cancer surgery. I went to the porch for a moment of quiet prayer and respite.

 

 

There are so many more I could share - but what I would rather do is for you to look through your photo collections for some soulful, not smiley photos. Also, be aware of opportunities for incredible, authentic portraits.

Be bold. Capture it all, not just the "perfect" moment.

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Do you have a photo blog post you would like to feature? Link up with Pierced Wonder's Photo Friday.

 

 

 Julie Jordan Scott inspires people to experience artistic rebirth via her programs, playshops, books, performances and simply being herself out in the world.  She is a writer, creative life coach, speaker, performance poet, Mommy-extraordinaire and mixed-media artist  whose Writing Camps and Writing Playgrounds permanently transform people's creative lives. Watch for the announcement of new programs coming in Spring, 2015 and beyond.

     To contact Julie to schedule a Writing or Creative Life Coaching Session, call or text her at 661.444.2735.

       Check out the links below to follow her on a bunch of different social media channels, especially if you find the idea of a Word-Love Party bus particularly enticing.

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      © 2015

 

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