Perspectives, Part II
How you look at someone influences how you see them, and how you see them influences how you treat them.
One of the things that I love doing is looking at people differently. Showing them a new way of looking at themselves and the world.
In the image above we have L, standing on the edge of a pond as the sun sets behind her. If you were paying attention for my last perspective discussion, you’ll see that this is shot from a very low perspective, which gives her a sense of authority, of power.
You’ll see the rich colours, the sunset, the silhouettes of the trees.
What you don’t see is the fact that the pond she’s standing by is, in fact, a muddy puddle on an ATV trail down by the river.
Because perspective? Isn’t just about leading lines and creating a sense of depth and dimensionality in a two dimensional image. It is also about how you view something, your attitude or thoughts about it.
And this “beautiful pond?” Is just me realizing that if I shoot from a really low angle, I’ll get this great reflection, and you won’t see the fact that it is just a mud puddle. What most people would disregard as nothing special? I try and find the beauty and potential in.
We people, we frequently look at ourselves with a negative attitude. My nose is too big, my boobs are too small, my hair is too curly, my smile is too wide, my teeth are too yellow. I could go on.
Indeed, a few days ago, I discovered a sub-Reddit called /normalnudes, which is exactly what it says on the tin. People post pictures of themselves in the altogether (as you might expect, there be naked people there). The description says “Normal Nudes is an effort to have users submit their own pictures in order to build a library of what normal, every day human bodies look like. We should strive to love our bodies for what they are, and understand there are MANY healthy body types that are beautiful that don't necessarily conform to the standards we might see in magazines or on television.”
Looking through the pictures of regular people posting pictures of themselves naked, there are a lot of people who are stepping outside of their comfort zone. And for every post where someone says “Starting to feel a bit more confident about my boobs,” there are a bunch of others that say things like:
“I find my body repulsive. I am so uncomfortable with myself.”
”I wish I was as thin feminine and pretty as other girls here and had actual boobs, instead I look like a man from the side. I hate the shape of my ribcage from the side.”
”I have always struggled with body image and comparing my body to women with “perfect” bodies.”
”Feeling extremely insecure about my body despite working out.”
”Feeling insecure about my postpartum body lately.”
”Self conscious about my labia”
”Trying to feel more confident and less critical of my body.”
And we overlook the fact that we are minor miracles, just by being alive. We look at each other, and see the beauty, yet we fail to see the beauty in ourselves.
We only see ourself from this one point of view, this one perspective. What happens if we let others show us how they see us? What happens if we shift our perspective? It can be scary, yes, but it can also be powerful. Let me show you how I see you. Let me show you you, from a different perspective. Contact me for more details.