Freedom. What a huge topic. Working with refugees this year opened my eyes to so much. I began to question if I actually understood what freedom means. If I have never fought for it, know nothing else but it, am of a color that in my country means no discrimination, have never had to flee because of someone challenging my rights…do I understand freedom?

I’m not ready to answer that question. I may never be.

Instead, I’m inspired to get to know what freedom means to other people.
I’m inspired to celebrate the freedom I do have. This video has such a sense of freedom to it.

Because when we can create freely, we can express ourselves freely.

My video this week brings the idea of freedom to life. On any given day I can wake up, get in my car (that I can afford), drive to a beautiful location (that I am allowed to create openly in), take pictures of myself dressed however I see fit (because I live in a country where, as a woman, I can make those decisions without fear), and share online without worry of what people think.

What a LIFE.
Seriously, what a life.

I take this for granted. I want to take the freedoms I am given with a full heart and a serving of gusto. I want to take them by the horns and blast full steam ahead, because if I gave these same freedoms to some of the people I have met in my travels, they would do so, so much.

Which do you prefer?
Monochrome or Color?

I had a meeting with The Light Space teacher in Greece this week. The Light Space is a photography school for underprivileged groups that I started alongside Laura Price of Blossomy. We began in India and now have chapters in Thailand and Greece. Our Thai chapter serves anti-trafficking organizations in the area, teaching photography so that they may create better images for press and fundraising. Our Greek chapter serves refugees.

During my meeting with Olga in Greece, she told me about how one of the students got approval to move to Sweden. Many of the refugees in Greece are there for a safe haven but are looking to relocate somewhere permanently. It is a joyous thing when they are able to move on.

Olga told me our student moving to Sweden wanted to take a camera with her to continue her photography journey, but we couldn’t let her take one of the school cameras. I’m sending her one of my older cameras to her new home in Sweden so that she can continue her artistic life there.

When I agreed to be sponsored by Sony, it was only after a big condition – that they provide cameras to my schools in various countries as I continue to run The Light Space program. They agreed happily, and so raised my respect for a big company that didn’t have to agree to anything of the sort.

Another big factor has come into play. Because a perk of sponsorship is getting new equipment so that I have the latest to shoot with, that means I can give my older cameras to graduating students of The Light Space to further support their dreams of becoming photographers. The camera I’m sending to Sweden will be my third personal camera donation to a graduating student of TLS.

Which brings me to this: If you have a camera you want to donate to a graduating student of TLS, please let me know in the comments or email me. Because the students often move away from the TLS headquarters after graduation, they can lose access to cameras. Giving a camera to a graduate of our program ensures that they can continue to express themselves through a medium they have come to love. Plus your camera is going into a specific person’s hands, and you know it is going to be thoroughly loved.

If you feel in any way moved by the work I’m doing with The Light Space, you can donate here.

Finally, congratulations to Ale Fragoso for winning the free mentoring space this month! Signups for mentoring will take place on August 1st, 2018.

1. You may never be as talented as you wish you were. 

Always strive for more. If you reach a place of contentment, growth has stopped.

2. You deserve to FAIL.

Not just that you will fail, but you deserve to fail. Everyone has to fail to understand the sweetness of succeeding. So not only will you fail, but you should want to fail. Failure is how we measure success and how we gain perspective on the world.

3. You will be told NO more than YES.

Understand that every no is another way of getting to where you want to go, and perseverance is key. Hearing no is validation that you are doing something meaningful.

4. You are only as good as your weakest deed.

When you try to be the best version of yourself you gain a better vision of yourself. Think about the best person you can be, and then be that person as much as possible. Change and growth are always within our control. How you see the world and respond to it make you unique, and you can be better than you were before.

5. People WILL NOT like you.

No matter what you do or how kind you are or how great your intentions are, people will not like you. Good. Take it, let that digest, and tell the world you’re okay with that. Love yourself first, and more will follow. Never all, but you’ll have a great foundation of support and love. After all, the saying “You get what you give” is one of the truest I know.

In the few times that I have photographed industry models, I have had a much harder time getting what I want. Most people aren’t used to modeling, and that is what I count on when it comes to taking a picture. I don’t want the model to run through 100 poses based on practicing in front of a mirror. That has it’s time and place, but that time and place is never when and where I’m working. I need someone who can become a character. I need someone who has no preconceived notions about what a model does or does not do.

When I shoot, I shoot quickly and decisively. I tell the subject how to pose, often times demonstrating what I mean, and if that doesn’t work, I pose them myself. The great thing about friends is twofold. Usually they are very open to the weird ideas I have and strange poses I pull sometimes. The other good thing is that you have less pressure when trying to get a shot. They are will to go above and beyond for you because they care about you.

In this video you’ll see two different photo shoots. One is with Olivia Clemens, who has been modeling “unofficially” for the last 4 years or so. The other is with KD Stapleton who has had next to no modeling experience. Even though one is very experienced while the other is not, I believe the images, as far as final intent goes, turned out quite equal and I adore photographing them both equally.

I hope that you’ll feel encouraged to create no matter who it’s with. Every person has the potential to be a model, or a character in your story.

Every story is worth being told.

So create…no matter what. Challenge yourself and others to be something more than what meets the eye.