(***Disclaimer: I am not a photographer and have only been involved in like four photo shoots my entirely life. I'm no expert. This is all merely a plea based on my many hours of social media lurking.)
Recently while perusing my Facebook newsfeed, I came across this post by a professional photographer I follow:
"I'm looking for a model for an upcoming project! Preferably blonde, sizes 0-6, at least 5'7" and available to shoot in Shreveport, Louisiana."
My initial reaction upon seeing this post was something like, "Woah! That's mighty specific!" Now, don't get me wrong! I understand that there are certain reasons why you would need someone so specific looking. Maybe you have a dress you want the model to wear that only fits a certain size. Or maybe it's a very specifically themed project that requires a specific look in your models. I get it! But I gotta be honest. When I look at those qualifications all I can think is that they obviously want someone very good-looking.
Now, once again, I understand that photographers want to photograph good-looking people. A lot of the projects photographers undertake are not only a fun creative outlet for them or jobs for specific events, but they're also very important for the marketing of their specific brand. Photographers want to display pictures of good-looking people on their websites so that when potential clients take a look, they'll think "Wow! These people look great in these photos! I bet they'll be able to make me look great too!" It's an amazing marketing strategy, one that has specifically worked on me many times.
But that's not the only reason why photographers want to take pictures of good-looking people. It also makes their job much easier. Good-looking people tend to know their good-looking and, therefore, are much more comfortable in front of a camera. The more comfortable people are, the less amount of work a photographer has to do to get them to flash a brilliant smile, strike the perfect pose, or do something a little silly that will just work because, hey, these are really photogenic people we're talking about!
I don't have a problem with photographers wanting to take pictures of good-looking people. What I do have a problem with is when people who are not quite so photogenic get their feelings hurt because their photographer isn't as excited about their photo shoot as they are about someone else's.
I see this all the time on social media. A photographer posts a picture from a photo shoot calling a person or a couple "gorgeous," "beautiful," or "perfect." I look at these photos, and these people, sure enough, are gorgeous, beautiful, and seem to be perfect. Then they post another picture from a different session with different people and merely call them "cute," or don't even say anything at all about their appearance and instead choose to focus on how pretty the lighting is. I look at these photos and these people are obviously not quite as photogenic as the others. But I have to ask, does that make them any less gorgeous or beautiful or perfect?
I personally don't think so.
I happen to have experienced both ends of the spectrum throughout the different photo shoots I've had done throughout my life. Sometimes the photographer has gushed about how gorgeous I look. And other times they've merely posted it on their Facebook page out of duty and gone on to talk about how beautiful and perfect another person or couple is. It made me feel like a million bucks to have someone think I was pretty. But it made me feel embarrassed, inadequate, and downright ugly when I felt like my photographer didn't really enjoy taking pictures of me, either because I wasn't pretty enough or because my clothes weren't cute enough, or because I just wasn't photogenic enough.
And I know I'm not alone. There are many people out there who feel inadequate when it comes to having their pictures taken. On the Facebook post I mentioned earlier, comments ranged from "well, if you ever need a short, chubby model, I'm your girl!" to "I fit everything expect for blonde!" to "remember, beauty is not a size and we are all beautiful humans!"
I want to echo what that last commenter wrote. We are all beautiful. Some people may be smaller or bigger than others. Some people may be very tall or very short. Some people have brown hair or black hair and some people have blonde hair. Some people are very "stylish." And others have their own specific and wonderful sense of style. Some people happen to be photogenic. And others are just not. And that's okay. Because every single person is gorgeous and beautiful and perfect.
So photographers. I understand that you enjoy taking photographs of people who are good-looking and photogenic. I understand that sometimes you have a project in mind that requires a specific looking person. I understand that these types of people make your job easier. I get it.
All I ask is that you be careful. Be careful about how you treat and talk about the photo shoots you loved, and the ones you didn't love as much. Be careful about how you make your clients feel when they're not as comfortable in front of a camera and you're not quite getting the shots you wanted. Be careful about making sure every single person you take a picture of feels gorgeous and beautiful and perfect in that moment because they truly are gorgeous and beautiful and perfect no matter who they are and no matter how well they photograph.
"We are all beautiful humans." So please let us all be kind to one another and treat everyone with the same level of respect and kindness no matter how good-looking they are.
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