what do YOU want?
After shooting all these years, how I want to live as a photographer shifts, but it’s ultimately about keeping things simple.
A famous quote by Peter Lindbergh truly embodies how I feel: “...the responsibility of photographers today is to free women, and finally everyone, from the terror of youth and perfection”.
This shot of me by my dear friends, Mark Schafer and his wife Kathryn McLeod in their Hamptons garage, does just that. It shows me, as me. I did my own hair and makeup. The shoot was fast but thoughtful, and I love the results.
Having been on both sides of the camera since my 20s, I believe the one thing that remains is that a simple photograph reminds us of a moment, the people we love, the struggles we are experiencing, the joy or fear of a milestone. You can’t literally put all of that into a photograph, but you know what it was. It matters.
That’s what I want. But what do you want?
Would you like to be reminded?
In recollection, sometimes our hardest moments become the most meaningful.
Waiting to be the idealized version of yourself should never be the point of a photograph. We now have AI for that (and, seriously, do you think that looks good?). The greatest impact is in placing yourself in a vulnerable position and getting a value you could never have expected. I can’t prove that in words, or by showing my work, but reach out, and let’s evoke your “why”.
…my promise to you is, you’ll walk away with something unexpected (with maybe a beautiful print or album), and of course a new or deepened connection.
