Not everyone can be a model. Some people are not conventionally attractive. Others are downright ugly. What do you do when you have to photograph ugly people? The answer can not be found in a lens filter, photoshop action, or paper bag.
My very first ‘paid’ job as a photographer was doing family portraits. Sales people would hook in moms at the grocery store, sell them a session, and I would photograph them the next week in a big pile of props and old timey clothes. When I started I had never used an autofocus camera or professional film. I was green. My biggest fear was the ugly baby.
We all know that our own children are beautiful. What would I do if they sold a session to the mother of an ugly baby? Then I found out. One day the world’s ugliest baby was carried into the studio. I panicked internally. Then I picked up my security blanket camera. I realized in that moment that every baby is beautiful to someone. I have since had countless mothers that have requested that I photograph their baby’s crooked toe, or hairy back. These aren’t imperfections to a mother’s heart, they are unique qualities that make their baby special. Maybe not every parent is that enlightened, but many are.
Portrait and wedding photographers exist because of love. We capture the images of people’s loved ones. We aren’t there to hide their flaws, we are there to show their best. That awkward bride and groom are beautiful in each other’s eyes. We are in the fortunate position of focusing on a person’s best assets and making them accessible forever.
When faced with societies’ ugly look at them with the eyes of a loving parent. Focus less on trying to hide their “flaws” and more on the beauty that every human being naturally carries. It will make your job easier, and I will like you more.
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3 Comments at "There are no Ugly People, Only Mean Photographers"
Bravo!
So long as they pay – they are all beautiful!
Ugly people have money too
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