This next series of photos, I wanted to focus on beauty. Many people struggle with beauty and being comfortable in their own skin. A recent study by the company Dove, explains that “Only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful” (dove.com). This sad reality is something I see in my everyday life and I believe is something that needs to change. I want these photographs to show the unrealistic standards of how beauty is portrayed by society and, on the contrary, how beauty is a choice. Beauty is ultimately a choice because since we are all beautiful, a person has to choose to feel that way. Through society, many people believe that beauty only comes from physical or outer appearance, but really it comes from the inside. It is how we feel about ourselves. Throughout this process, I have come to realize that we are the only person who can make us feel beautiful. The people in the photos are some of my friends I have known for a very long time. I have gotten to know their beautiful personalities and the ways that make them feel beautiful, which are captured in these images.  

Photos Taken in 2017

The Things People Say is a collection of 25 unique photographs that display a phrase or word that has been said to the subject. This project was inspired by the many hurtful comments that are said everyday. The common old saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is far from the truth. Words can be daggers to the heart and mind. Words can add to insecurities and damage confidence. And that is why I wanted to capture this very important message. I wanted to raise awareness that  people should be speaking up, instead overlooking these comments. 

I asked friends and peers to give me one word or phrase that has been said to them and how it affected them. Most of the times, they justified that the person didn’t mean what they said. However, the most common response was that they couldn’t think of anything. I believe the reason for this struggle is that these comments have become so normalized in our society that it is hard to think differently about them. Once the subjects started to open up about these hurtful comments, they said were said by parents and close friends. The most hurtful comments are made by people we know. This is not because of a lack of caring or friendship, its because the use of these words and phrases have become acceptable in our society. Many people say these things in a joking matter - but how these comments make people feel is definitely not something to joke about.

This project was produced on the campus of Valley Christian High School in San Jose, California, which is the school I just graduated from this spring. I used a blank wall that I found outside of the one of the buildings to shoot everY photograph. The only equipment I used was a Canon EOS Rebel T6 Camera with a 50mm fixed lens along with paper and a sharpie to create the messages. I had no studio lighting, no fancy equipment, no assistant - just me, a camera, the subject, and help some from photoshop. This project was made within 8 weeks of the school year and was a creative project for my Photographic Design 2 class. 

Photos Taken in 2018

Photos taken 2018

Portraits

Confetti Shoot

Photos taken 2018

Travel Photography

Nature Photography

Other