She said, “I know when I work with you, I’m going to get a creative portrait.”

I was standing in the threshold of my studio, and I felt so seen that I caught myself do that shrug that I do when I’m not sure how to receive someone’s words, and then I just nodded my head in affirmation. As an artist and an entrepreneur and a woman, I want the people I photograph to own their power. If I could distill my worldview into a single statement, it would be this:

Who you are and what you do matters. You make a difference in the world– simply in the way you show up.

I’ve been speaking those words and writing those words for over a decade now. I don’t believe they my words. I think they came from the part of my consciousness that’s on loan to me while I’m here. It’s the part of you that I’m always seeking to draw forth when I photograph you. And, so, I try not to shrink myself. I’m small in stature to begin with, so when someone eloquently reflects back to me who I am and what I do that matters, I want to resonate in that.

I have been photographing Isabella since 2015, I think. She was a teenager, and now she’s 21. And, well, I was not a teenager then, and I’m several years older now and beginning to feel vintage. She came into my studio last week to celebrate with some creative portraits, and I felt honored. I wanted to push the edges, of course, and also offer the timeless portraits that Abuelita will also love. That’s my style.

For years, I’ve received emails in my inbox from people who want a creative portrait– “something unexpected”– they might say, but they’re not sure they deserve it or can afford it or if it’s worth it or if they’re beautiful enough. You are. Everyone has beauty. You are not the unique human on the planet who is exempt from beauty. A portrait photographer’s job is to draw it forth. I’m sorry if you’ve walked through this life for this long and nobody’s every captured it. I’d love to shift your paradigm around what you believe about how you look with creative portraits. So, what I’ve created since I have a studio where creating a variety of looks in a short amount of time is a short portrait experience. If you’re interested, you can read more about it HERE. I’d love to help.

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Posts tagged with Amber-Shumake

The Studio Portrait Experience

Shadow & Light | The Studio Fort Worth Yoga