It’s the last Tuesday of the month and that means it’s time to join with Carolyn and talk about my One Little Word, practice.
This month’s prompt from Ali Edwards was, fittingly enough . . . practice. Ha! An entire month focused on my word, it doesn’t get much better than that. The suggestion was to find one thing and practice it in whatever way felt right. I chose to do a daily selfie as my monthly practice. My goal? To become more comfortable with how I look right.now as part of my journey towards accepting my body. My plan? To take a selfie every day, incorporating different angles and body parts.
I met my goal of taking a selfie every day. I didn’t really do much with the different angles and body parts, though. And honestly, I’m okay with that. I liked that I was able to capture a range emotions on my face, from curious to frustrated to tired to content. I will share a mosaic of all the photos later (I haven’t taken today’s yet so it’s not complete) but in the meantime, here are a handful of my favorites.
I enjoyed this practice quite a bit. I’m not entirely sure what I’ve learned from it yet but I know my editing skills have gotten better and, as a photographer, I’m glad about that. And allow me, for just a moment, to comment on editing photos. I never, I repeat never, share a photo straight from the camera. No matter the subject, as a photographer, I always edit the photos I take. Whether it’s to remove a shadow, enhance a color, adjust the lighting . . . every photo needs to be tweaked before it is shared. I don’t for a second believe this makes it fake or perfect but it can be tricky when it’s a photograph of a person. I try not to do anything to make it less than authentic while also showing someone (including myself) in the best possible way. Photography is a practice that takes skill and there’s no shame in using those skills to make a photo more impactful.
Practicing selfies this month was fun, I learned some things about myself, I improved my photography and editing skills, and I call that another successful month of One Little Word living.
Beautiful photos. That sounds like a fun project.
Good for you, Carole! A nice, quick, do-able “practice!” XO
Great photos. I feel including fluffy cat butts is photo enhancement enough, no?
Such pretty/beautiful photos of you Carole. Love your dress in that last photo.
Love it!!!
What fun, Carole! Great shots… I especially love the backsides of Fred and George… so fun! But that dress… you are gorgeous in it! XO
You are doing something I could not do. I don’t even look in the mirror more than twice a day. It’s not that I hate the way I look, I just don’t want to dwell on my aging, aging body. Great pictures!
I’m rarely happy with how I look in selfies or even pictures of myself that someone else has taken, so I say good for you! You look pretty comfortable and happy, so I think it’s working. Love the one with F&G!
This is inspiring, Carole! I always struggle with taking photos of myself, I think because I’m always dissatisfied with some feature of how I look, and I think using this daily practice as a way to feel more comfortable in your own skin is a really brilliant move. I think I am not alone in loving the selfie with the cat butts best!
I’m totally impressed with anything you can do for 31 straight days … especially if it involves a photo of your own self! and I hope you’re planning to share a bit more about the editing process (especially if you use apps on your phone!) … that all sounds like Practice in a major way!