Know yourself sufficiently and success will come along - MDS 2024#5

This time, the story is related to my photography journey. Recently I received feedback from a stranger with whom I’ve never worked; however, after looking at my portfolio page, where the photos I took were publicly published, he said a thing that I almost forget that it was the reason I started taking portraits of people. I said "almost" because I have already had an idea to shoot before getting started; however, life does not always give me favorable conditions to wholeheartedly pursue it. There were times I was uninspired and demotivated. Ups and downs on the way, but so far, they turns out to be the only way to prove the existence of a matter, that either an ideal that someone carries is not suitable for him and should be better given up, or a training process that makes him stronger and see more clearly that the chosen path is the right one; he should continue even if there will be more downs than ups, after all it still gives him trust and a reliable vision to keep going the path that he belongs and feels good about. Certain achievements definitely awaits him to be claimed and it will be worth working hard to the very end.

The stranger commented like this (in summary of main ideas): "I like the natural look of the models in your photos. Although most of them are not perfect, they look very beautiful through your lens." That's what I usually tell myself when taking portraits of anyone. The perception of beauty is very subjective, but I know I have an aesthetic eye, through observation and experience, to judge at which level something is considered beautiful, according to average and minimum measures. In addition, after analyzing the average & minimum criteria, I also have to train myself to evaluate beauty more objectively, following a scientific method, not purely based on the emotional feelings of an artist with a big ego. A photo of a bloody corpse on a battlefield will make many people feel disgusted above everything, but it can still be beautiful if it shows the courage of a reporter working in a chaotic and risky environment, or when it shows the authenticity of photojournalism and real stories of interest. Science is like that, there is no room for emotions, but it must be boring to live only with. That’s why, all fields and human activities are naturally in harmony with each other to create a colorful whole of life. Therefore, it's important for everything to be used at the right time and in the right place. That's the art of living, if you want to live the fullest yet balanced life (mostly pursued in asian culture).

“I also have to train myself to evaluate beauty more objectively, following a scientific method, not purely based on the emotional feelings of an artist with a big ego.”

In the context of working on people, assessing the subject's beauty is much more complicated, but when you know how to explore and present it, the photo will be sufficiantly beautiful and even more. Simply because nobody is perfect, and I believe that everyone possibly has a good interesting side for others to look at and appreciate. If something is not of shooting interest, we simply don't have to expose it. Beauty perception also works this way in photography creation. Portrait photography requires not only a study on the subject and finding a way to tell it through visual language, but also a capacity of respecting differences and keeping an open mind to accept new things, especially important at the early journey of portrait photographer. It's common sense that everyone has a certain personal interest and focuses more attention and energy on it. No wonder a photographer only wants to photograph a certain group of people they like, classified by skin color, gender, body shape, etc. In the end, it comes from the freedom of personal choice in creativity and the nature of doing what turns them on and what they do best. I also have my own interests, but once I decided to open up more my outlook on life, I no longer allowed myself to stay shooting in my safe zone, which is the group of people whose characteristics I like. Turns out, this is also a form of learning method that helps me explore the world. To explore, people can read stories that happen to people in a far away land, or can watch movies depicting the life and activities of a nation, a tribe, etc. As for me, thanks to portrait photography, I have been able to meet and discover the diverse beauty of people from many different cultures, regions, and backgrounds. Also, their stories come along as we talk and interact with each other.

Some of my work

I still remember my early time of shooting. My thinking was somewhat vague, plus I received words that had the power to destroy dreams, and sadly they all came from people close to me. There was my mom who said: "Nowadays everyone has a phone to take pictures. What difference does it make if you do so on behalf of others?!". There was also my ex-lover who said: "I don't see why you keep taking photos of those people who come (to our house whose living room is my photo studio). I don’t find them beautiful or attractive. Do you?” At that time, I could only give an unpleasant smile back as a reaction since I couldn’t prove anything. A proof, even an ejection, hadn’t come yet. Luckily, I have the character of not giving up easily, especially at that time I hadn't been very involved in the shooting career, and I hadn't tasted failure or glory yet so for no reason that I would be demotivated. Quite well it turned out, that those harsh questions became my companion on the growing path. They reminds me that I have to take photos that are different from what other people do, that are at least more beautiful. I also have to have my own shooting style, and I have to have a unique creativity with a strong personal signature. This is the moment when my artistic personality started to develop. For the second part of selecting model types, the sudden but heartwarming comment from 'the stranger' is a perfect example. That is a very objective recognition, and that proves that the ideology "Be beautiful in your own way" that I cherish brings positive results ​​and inspiration for others. Who doesn't want their path to go smoothly? If I only choose outstanding beauties and well trained models, would I have many beautiful photos, lots of supports, and great success coming soon?! I do like this way, unfortunately I already have a different ideal, so I have to be responsible for it. Not only portraits, I take many different types of photos and I am always captivated by the beauty of each subject. One of the advantages that I continue to shoot is that I know what and how I want to do and to learn. This foundation has helped me focus on achieving goals and building a nice photography world for myself. Dare to do, dare to be different, dare to succeed!