Before it's too Late

​A little bit over a year ago I started photographing women in a glamour style. It was a timid step on a journey that began with asking my friends to be my models so I could practice and I could build a portfolio. I have wonderful friends! The style had been done before and I wasn't sure my tiny city had an interest for it. But I loved it and had to give it a try, before it was too late for me.

Taken at Shambhala Mountain Center

July 2009

One morning I was at Lila's house, talking about the session we would have together, when her friend and upstairs neighbor stopped by to borrow an egg. I had met her a couple of weeks ago at Lila's baby shower: a relocated "southamerican" like myself, Rose was loud and passionate and the mother of an adorable 5-year-old redhead. She said:

-Oh so you are going to take people's photos?

-I do- I replied. Now I want to specifically make images of women.

-Pregnant women?- she clarified, incredulous.

Oh was I going to see that expression in the faces of others over and over after that day:

-Not just. I want to celebrate women and encourage them to have portraits of themselves.

-Oh that sounds great!- she said. I had photos with a local photographer when I was pregnant. My mother-in-law made me do it, although I didn't see the point at the time. I was huge, tired, uncomfortable in my body... but I went and I had such a miserable experience. The photographer was rough and impatient, and at the end she charged my mother-in-law a fortune for a tiny, horrific framed image of me. At first I wished I had waited and had done images with my baby instead, but after the fact I was glad it was done with.

-I'm sorry you had to go through that. I think most women who have children see the point in having their kids photographed but have a hard time imagining themselves in portraits. I want to change that. And I want the images to come with an experience to match. I would love to show you what I do. Do you want to do a portfolio-building session with me?

It didn't take as much convincing as one might think after the experience she had had. She was sold on the idea of having images for free, and since her and her family were moving to a different state two month later, we had to do it quickly. I looked at my then flexible schedule on my calendar and booked her for a session two weeks later: she was going to be my first model. I say "WAS going to be" because a week later she called me to apologize for having to cancel our session. The move had creep up on her and she had no time. Besides, she didn't really NEEDED any images of herself. I told her I understood, and I did, but the truth is I was disappointed. I took that one step back as a sign that maybe this city wasn't ready for it (imagine that!). I encouraged her to look for a beauty photographer once she settled in Texas and went on to prepare for my other sessions rather sluggishly. The weeks went by, I photographed my three friends and had two sets of models scheduled to test a couple of hair stylists and makeup artists... life moved on  for me.

One evening, a month after my canceled session with Rose, I got a call from Lila, who I had photographed the week before:

-Hey! Your images are not ready yet, lady- I said

-That's not why I'm calling- she replied- I wanted to tell you Rose passed away. She had a heart attack. Jack called me to see if I had any images of her that he could use for the church service.

I was stunned. Six weeks before, I had sat at a table with this woman and we had talked about life, and living abroad, and the full-of-life images I was going to make of her. Images she would love and could pass on to her son. She was 40 years old. This didn't make sense.

I didn't know Rose very well, but I know Lila and they were close. I walked with my friend through her grief, and her fears as she birthed her baby into a world were death comes without warning. I held my own children tight. And I took that experience of not having had the chance to give Rose's family the last images of her as a sign that I had to photograph women. Passionately and unwaveringly.

After my next cancellation from a dancer friend, almost a year later, was followed by an accident in her house that injured her back and left her temporary paralyzed (she has since then fully recovered!), I am not hesitant anymore to insist when people want to cancel. To do everything on my end to ensure that women give their portrait session the priority it deserves. Of course in the great scheme of things, of life and death, of being able to walk, see, hear, of wars and famine, spending time and money on an experience and a product such as photos may seem superficial. But it is the mind behind the thought of wanting to have a portrait session with me what I find transformative, and it is what I want people to follow and commit to. Because a person that wants beauty, who gives half the time and care necessary to invest in this experience, who wants to have heirlooms to pass on to generations that will remember her mostly for her actions, and who have the courage to follow through, can only make the world a better place by extending that mind to everything she does.