PROJECT BEAUTY
As photographers and influencers we are taught to put our best foot “pic” forward. We often feel the need to stand and pose in a way to look the best or thinest that we can. Our culture promotes it and rewards it. BUT I also feel like I am often part of the problem as well. It is not just Social Media. It is my own heart wanting to look good, wanting to be accepted and even “liked” or “followed” because of my work or something I post. I love my job and will not stop taking fun beautiful photos of my clients but I wanted to add another element and to tell a deeper story.
SOOOOO I wanted to be involved in something bigger than pretty photos. Partly because another senior photographer started this project and partly because I love seniors! I love them when they struggle and when they laugh and when they cry. These seniors are so much more than an instagram post. They are complex and fun and sad and anxious and insecure. I feel like our vulnerability is often our greatest super power and we do not even know it. Someone once said the best sermon ever taught is “Me too”
Therefore I wanted some of my model reps to share some of their thoughts and struggles on BEATUY and how social media influences their lives.
I will be sharing their individual photos and quotes from what they shared with me. This was voluntary and they were willing to have photos done without makeup and to share some of their story with my followers.
I did not have social media when I was in high school and I would have crumbled under it. These girls have never not known it but they are learning to live with it, rise above it, struggle through it, give it up at times and even enjoy it. They should all be commended because I know I would not have had the wisdom and grace that they all have.
Caroline:
To me, beauty is what makes everyone unique. Beauty may be someone’s kind smile or their loud laugh, it may shine through their advice or show up when they dance. Beauty is not one thing, but rather all of the little things that make each person special. Beauty is not just physical qualities, it comes from one’s words and actions as well. Everyone has beauty in them & while it’s sometimes hard to recognize on your own, I know the people around you could point out so many beautiful traits in a heartbeat!
Social media has allowed our generation to grow up being more connected to a larger group of people. Through social media platforms, we are all able to share and participate in trends in a much more public way than ever before. Because we are constantly subjected to the images others deem “good” enough to post, we’ve created such high standards for what is postable & high expeditions for what life should be like. Remember that social media is just a fraction of someone’s life, & that no one is Instagram ready 100% of the time!
I put a lot of pressure on myself to look “perfect” all the time. I’ve always thought that by looking and being perfect, I would feel perfect as well. Rationally, I know that perfection is unobtainable & that I won’t be any happier even if I look “flawless.” Throughout high school, I’ve tried my best to remember that authentic is so much easier, freeing, and joyous than perfection ever will be. Being authentic has allowed me not only to feel better about myself, but it’s allowed me to create meaningful relationships based on my real, true self!
Kelsey:
Authentic beauty comes from confidence and security in our identity. In a society where social media is so prevalent and physical appearances are easily altered, it’s almost normal to place our worth and our identity in what we look like. But after finding my worth through middle school and high school, I’ve learned that true beauty is more about our ability to love others than how we look on Instagram. My biggest piece of advice to younger girls is the quote “comparison is the thief of joy”. Find joy and happiness in the inner beauty of yourself and the beauty around you and you will learn how to be truly happy!!
Lily Grace:
“If the whole world was blind, then how would people remember you?” This sentence has always stayed in the back of my head while growing up. It has made me put more of an emphasis on my words and actions, then in my physical appearance. From elementary school silly bands, to middle school hoop earrings, to high school makeup- beauty has always been something hard for me to define. The “perfect girl” will never exist, and I realized early on it wasn’t worth losing myself trying to find her. You are so much more then clear skin, straight hair, and a tiny waist. Start cheering for your own team! Isaiah 40:8 says, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” All the things we define as beauty will wash away, but your heart and confidence will stay! The Lord’s love is never based on you, but in fact it is meant to be placed on you. Use that love for good!
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