Expressive Photography: Beauty
By: Author: J Bakken

Every picture tells a story. Photographs reveal a great deal to the viewer and they can be interpreted differently by individuals. When photographs feature people they often display a variety of emotions ranging from happiness to loneliness and every possible feeling in between. Capturing 'beauty' in a photograph takes the right photographer, the right subjects, and the right setting.
When I think of my photography where I have captured beauty I think of last fall when I photographed my friend and colleague and her two young daughters. They spent an hour or so in a local park playing, exploring, and simply enjoying a brilliant fall day while I snapped away with my camera. I have one fantastic shot of my friend as she stood beside a tree where she looks absolutely beautiful. I have pictures of the two little girls looking down at the leaves where they are absolutely breathtaking, and the backdrop that day was beautiful in itself.
The photographs look as though they could be featured on a billboard selling everything from the clothes and accessories they were wearing, to make-up and hair care products, to the concept of 'beauty' itself. They were naturals in front of the camera and felt comfortable standing, sitting, bending down, lying down, or walking away while I was snapping photos left, right, and centre. I managed to capture a handful of extraordinary shots where you can just see their inner and outer beauty.
Other occasions where I have captured beauty is in my photographs of flowers. Each flower that I have photographed is beautiful in its color, uniqueness, brilliance, and they give great pleasure to anyone who looks at them, smells them, or holds them.
When my friends looks at these pictures they cannot help but comment how beautiful they are. Beauty is the quality in a person or thing that gives intense aesthetic pleasure, and to capture that on film is gratifying and even if you only get one great shot out of 36, you know you've got 'the one'and that's all that matters.

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