It is not my job to be pretty…

True story:

I was treating myself to an iced coffee after a sunset session (maybe it was decaf—too long ago to tell), and the barista started up a chat in the quiet cafe. He asked how my evening was, so I mentioned that I had just finished up a photo session. After a beat, he asked if I was the photographer.

That it was so obvious to him that I was not the subject tickled me! 

When I shoot, my entire thoughts are with 1) my subject, 2) the ambiance/composition, and 3) my gear settings. I often run, climb, lie down, and get sweaty. To be clear, these are not things I ask of my subject. Quite the opposite, I want her (or him) to relax and be at ease as much as possible.

The chatty barista, it turns out, not only deduced that I had been unconcerned about my “look” that day; he was also a young hobbyist photographer, and so we swapped ideas and encouragements for a minute.

Photo from that evening’s senior session, of a very lovely, and very pretty, Miss K.