I was surprised to find out
that many people hate to be photographed after I self-learned portrait
photography for more than ten years. It puzzled me for a while. Finally, I
realized that many people don't appreciate the ways they appear. This group of
people includes me. Whenever I look into a mirror I can not bear it and want to
go away as soon as possible. What amazed me is that many women I talked to
shared the same feeling about themselves although they spent time looking into
mirrors and tried to make themselves pleasing.
As I continue to photograph
faces I learned that we have been brained washed to know only the structural the beauty of faces. Actually, of everything. We have never learned through formal education the other kinds of beauty. It sounds like many of us know the
existence of the other kinds of beauty but we don't have a way to talk about
them, let alone capturing them on paper through pens or lenses.
At least one of the other
kinds of beauty is important in portrait I found. I would call it spiritual
beauty for now.
Everybody I have talked to
agree with me about how the structural beauty is beyond our reach but the
spiritual beauty is within our range. Besides, we can not retain structural
beauty forever but the spiritual beauty would stay even after we disappear into
our permanent resting places. This reminds me of what President Lincoln said I
heard some years ago in a Sunday sermon. It was said that Lincoln told one of
his staff about people older than 40 have to be responsible for his or her
appearance while discussing some issues of personnel appointment.
In a simple term, we can
operate our spiritual beauty. Here is our opportunity.
A photographer can facilitate other peoples' spiritual beauty. When we see one spirited face we can
capture, preserve and pass it on to extend the effect to the world. What nice
work an ordinary snap-shooter can contribute to the world!
The most rewarding of
portrait photography is that we can instill spiritual beauty in others and
enhance or raise the self-esteem of them. All the portraits I have taken has never
bored me a bit when I look at them repeatedly over the years. Not because they
are taken by me but because they all show the good spirit that stimulates and
encourages me back.
Have you? Have you been so
satisfied and feeling so rich in life?
Come to my studio and we will
give it a taste.
(Thu Mar 10, 2005 2:29 pm Post subject: More on portrait / word count 1965 / started : Saturday, March 19, 2005 1:30:06 PM)
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