Date: April 3rd, 2010
Have you ever gone to Sears and had your photo taken by the pimply high school kid they pay minimum wage to try and make you look pretty? I have. I don't consider that a photo shoot, by any stretch of the imagination. I thought it would be nice to share some of my photographic horror stories with you, but decided instead to retain some semblance of dignity. What complex am I blathering on about? I like to call it digital leprosy. It is also known as being extremely, painfully, insanely not photogenic.
When I was a baby, I was adorable. I had little pudgy cheeks and messy hair and I made cute little noises all the time. When I was a kid, I was a pistol. I had little pudgy cheeks and messy hair and I talked all the time. When I was a teenager... it wasn't freaking cute anymore. I had little pudgy cheeks and messy hair and it ceased being amusing. See - the same thing that makes babies look amazing and awwww-inspiring in pictures is what makes teenagers run to their rooms, slam the door and scream "I'm SO awkward!".
Now that I'm older and wiser, I'm significantly less self-conscious about the way I look in pictures. I do, however, exist under the constant understanding that I am not a photogenic person. So when my friend Kathryn asked if I would sit for pictures for her photography class, I was a little hesitant. Not really. Because of this project I pretty much said yes instantly. I didn't start getting nervous until we got closer to the actual day.
Mostly, I felt guilty that she would be working with a model who wasn't photogenic. As it turns out, I am just the deformed lump of clay she was looking to mold into hilarious and awesome pictures. It was also not nearly as scary as I thought it would be once I got in there and sat down. I'm not sure how a magazine photo shoot goes or what you're supposed to do, but she basically wanted me to act normal.
What was interesting about being a 'model' for a photo session is that the desired result was different from any other time that I had my picture taken. What I mean by that is that the point wasn't for me to get pictures that I liked.... although I really did like the ones I saw a lot. The point of the shoot was for Kathryn to try and capture something about me. It was as much (if not significantly moreso) about her art as it was about me getting my picture taken.
That was a very different feeling. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed getting to just be goofy and hang out (with occasional, surprising flashes of light in my eye). Also - light meters are about the coolest thing ever. She walked up and put this gizmo right all up on my face and flashed it to figure out what settings to use on the camera. It was the dictionary definition of nifty, in my humble opinion.
Now, as for the actual pictures - they do not exist in my possession. When I get copies from Kathryn I will post them in a separate entry for your viewing pleasure (and/or to cause you nightmares). I wanted to catch up on entries and I was also deeply amused at the irony of posting an entry about a photo shoot that didn't have pictures in it. Good times.
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