What's Beauty Photography?

Hair and Makeup by Kada Issa (Bombay Beauty Loft)

"Beauty Photography can be best described as a hybrid cross between very good portraiture and fashion photography" 
- Paul Kerins, photographer

I couldn't have said it better myself. Beauty photography is known mostly as and advertising media for makeup; though it is indeed used mostly for this purpose, there's another use that hits way closer to home and oh how close it is!

So what's the "closer to home" version? The one that focuses in real beauty. YOUR beauty. Your REAL beauty. The one sometimes we hide inside, keeping it safe from danger and criticism. Ironically, that criticism comes mostly from ourselves. We live in it's denial because we were thought different. I'll prove you wrong.

"Beauty is not on the outside, it's something that shines out from inside you"

- Sue Bryce, Photographer

I've been in your shoes and I did for quite a long time; years actually. To better understand where I'm coming from check the post Ugly Betty And Why I Want To Show Your True Beauty,  where I share my personal experience and how it prepared me for helping you to discover and reveal your true inner beauty. After all, I believe everything happens for a reason.

How do these beauty sessions work?

It's actually more simpler than you might think. As an overall, you get hair and makeup done by a professional artist that knows her way through preparing you for photography. The photographer, being an artist, gets inspired by you, your personality and beauty. Then, the creativity and fun begin.

In order for the beauty session to be successful, you need to trust who you are to the photographer. This is, of course, not a one sided deal. A beauty photographer knows well his/her art and will treat you with respect, professionalism but mostly with kindness. This will help you feel comfortable and in a trusted environment. After all, we want to bring out that beauty you are hiding and what better way than to make you feel relaxed?

It is an intimate experience and it will be treated with all the respect it deserves. 

Here's something one the ladies wrote about her experience. Her words are what motivate me everyday to give my best and bring your best:

"Most people dislike getting photos of themselves and would find it hard to get excited about a photoshoot. 

But then came along Fela of Fela Photography. Working with Fela from start to finish was something of a different experience that every person should be lucky enough to partake in. There wasn't any pressure to look a certain way or need to be camera shy simply because Fela can put anyone at ease. 

As people we often spend all our time putting our energy into our families or spend too much time working -that we don't get the opportunity to spend a selfless hour on ourselves to create a beautiful product. 

The photos of myself are a reminder of how beautiful I think I am but forget quickly. 

They are a reminder of what other people see everyday, but I don't. 

I hope everyone can take the time to invest in an experience of such as this. Because then you too will be reminded of how truly amazing you always where". - Katie

After your session is done, I always recommend to treat yourself, either with your partner or on your own, to an amazing evening. After all, you have had your hair and makeup done. Why not take advantage of it? In fact, plan ahead of time what you want to treat yourself to: a romantic dinner? Theater? Ballet? Go out to dance? A girls' night? Be creative and make it special! You deserve a day of pampering, don't you? Of course you do. We all do!

Revealing Katie

As usual, my partner in crime aka HMUA (for hair and makeup artist) is Kada Issa from Bombay Beauty Loft. She knows exactly what I'm looking for and has the ability to enhance the beauty that's already there without over doing it. I love working with her so much!

But today's story is not about Kada but about Katie. As some of you know, each lady has to fill a form prior to their session on which they describe themselves and someone else (friend or relative) has to fill the other half. The purpose of it is to introduce me to who YOU are because if I don't know you, how can I bring your beauty out? The other reason is a healthy exercise to get an insight to what beauty others (friends, family) see inside of us. 

The day of our session Katie expressed how great the exercise had been, to the point that between her friend (who filled the other half of the form) and Katie, created a little chain were they would encourage other friends too by answering the same question. 

Styling by Studio Intent Boutique

I want to share what Katie's friend said about her because I believe it to be true from getting to know Katie:

"If I was to pick a color to describe Katie it would be yellow, the warm yellow of the sun. Not only is this color bright and cheery, but being the color of the sun it symbolizes so much more. Katie is bright like the sun, she is intelligent and has an amazing sense of humour. Even when it is cloudy, she is like that ray of sunshine beaming through the clouds, with her determination, drive and enthusiasm. She has an eye for beauty, not just in what she wears but with her knack for catching those moments of greatness through film. This woman has always been a force, a force of happiness, pride, beauty, intelligence and support in my own but also in many other people’s lives. Not only is she a beautiful person on the outside, but she has an incredibly beautiful soul and shines from within".

And who better than Katie to talk about her experience with the Reveal Your True Beauty Session:

Katie was simply wonderful. We laughed a lot that day and definitely felt the sunshine yellow warmth of her heart.

The Ugly Betty Story And Why I Want To Show Your True Beauty To The World

Everything started with a real life Ugly Betty. I'm talking about myself.

I thought for many years that I was ugly. I could see my classmates turning into beautiful teenagers as I seemed to be frozen anatomically; I only kept growing taller. On top of it, my school uniforms were always 2 sizes bigger in case I kept on growing (we couldn't afford to keep buying uniforms). I had very long and abundant curly hair I kept in a horrid low ponytail, I admit I didn't shave my legs either, I had big eyeglasses and yes, I was a big nerd. I still believe I'm a nerd but I wear it proudly now.

Not only I felt ugly, I was reassured every day at school. I was called "Ugly Betty" (from the original colombian series "Yo soy Betty La Fea"), "skinny", "whip"... to name a few. I was made fun of because of my appearance, the typical "no dancing material" (I could definitely, most certainly dance, but I wasn't being asked to). I was the never been kissed case. My first kiss was when I was 19 and it was not romantic if you're wondering but that's a whole different story.

My youngest self or "before" photo. This was my "look" until the Yearbook adventure (for aprox. 8-9 years). Sorry for the lack of older versions of me on my "Ugly Betty" state, but I just don't have any.

It wasn't until the yearbook situation that everything changed. We all needed headshots for our graduate pages and of course I had to have mine too. What a nightmare! I felt it was just going to be another mocking tool that would spread my ugliness to the world; I was not going to be able to keep it contained in school, ugh!

One of my classmates had hers done earlier and they seemed very well done, so in a last attempt to restore my dignity my mom and I saved every possible penny to hire that photographer (we were definitely not wealthy at all). I had my hair straighten and they applied makeup on me. I never saw how I looked at all. I just wasn't able to bring myself to look in the mirror.

The photographer was very sweet to me and made me laugh a lot; she made me feel comfortable and I trusted her. It was a great experience. I didn't know if I looked good at all but her treatment made me feel special and a bit beautiful that day.

When the photos arrived and (after a deep breath) I saw them, I noticed they gave me someone else's! There, in front of me was a girl that seemed smart, definitely very pretty and had a smile that shined; definitely not me! I turned to my mom and showed her what happened. With watery eyes she brought me to the bathroom mirror, placed the photo in front of me and said: "that IS you sweetie. I've seen it all along but it was time you saw it and believed it yourself as well". I spent the rest of the weekend looking at those photos; my mind was being "reprogrammed". I think that's a better word to describe what was going on in my head.

My yearbook photo. The photo that changed it all.(2000). I still wear those earrings, ha!

That was a turning point for me. I had a haircut, started tiding up my hair and slowly embarked myself onto reflecting outside what was inside; making the outside "match" the inside.

I'm not saying I'm a front cover hot stuff or anything like that; neither am I saying that you should have perfect looking hair, makeup and clothing 24/7. Heck, there's lots of days when I still don't shave my legs (during winter I need my fur coat hahaha!), I place my hair in the quickest bun, don't wear makeup and grab the first thing I find in the closet (and believe me, hubby still thinks I'm a hottie, fur coat and all). The difference is that I have self worth now. I KNOW I'm beautiful and I FEEL beautiful; I just don't have to prove it to myself anymore.

And that is why I want to show the world but mostly YOU, how beautiful YOU really are. It doesn't matter age, weight or body shape. What matters is to be comfortable with one's self inside one's self. I want to help you discover and reveal your true beauty, one photo at a time.

If any of this sounds familiar to you, please share it with me. 

If you're interested in having your own True Beauty Revelation or know someone who needs it, please email me at feladales@felaphotography.com. 

If you doubt of yourself, or think I would have to work my "magic" or perform "miracles" (I have heard that said to me before), I insist, PLEASE contact me; you will NEVER regret it!

You can read the sequel to this story on the post "I'm not Ugly Betty, now what? The beginning of a journey"

Desiring a Cover Model Image

I recently stumbled upon the video above and felt inclined to give my humble opinion since it hits close to home; in my personal life and my photography business.

First of all, is not news that as women, in one way or the other, we tend to wish the body and image of a magazine cover model. This is subject of many, many articles, videos and even marketing (Dove, anyone?).

Well, here I am adding to the list. I agree. There's a reason why there are many before/after Photoshop retouching videos so that we get to see the reality of it. It is not real and therefore we shouldn't aim at it but all the contrary, be proud of what and who we are. 

As a photographer I want to add though that is not always the photographer who makes these changes and therefore we should not be pointed at when talking about who sets beauty standards. To make it more clear, when we are hired as photographers for a magazine, depending on the magazine, we might or might not have to do the retouching. When left to the photographer, there's a high chance we won't "plastic surgery" you on Photoshop, though there's always the exception to the rule. We are all individuals and artists with different perceptions; you'll find all kinds of tastes and preferences, just like in everything else. But most of the time (in the case of magazine covers for famous magazines), photographers provide the images, the magazine orders the retouching through freelance or in-house retouchers and ta-da! Transformation complete.

That's why is so important and sensitive matter for me and my team to not over do it in our sessions. It's actually harder than you might think to be in that middle point. When you're constantly preparing people for photos and creating the images, is easy to take it that step further without noticing. Many times I've had to stop my editing, and step away from my computer to refresh my view and find that I'm removing too much or polishing too much, so I have to undo a couple of things.

My team might do too much contouring to the point the whole face structure seems to change (remember that infamous photo of Kim Kardashian with a lot of bronze and corrector on her face?), so they're careful about that as well but polish enough as to not assume I'll "fix it all" in Photoshop. Some things need to be done on-site, it saves time. 

For us is about exalting the beauty we already see in you (inside) and on you (physical), not about changing you into someone you are not. 

Here's a list of what I usually do on Photoshop:

- Create a "mood" (general colouring of the image)

- Color saturation

- Sharpen eyes, mouth and hair

- Apply highlights and shadows to the hair and cheeks (these last 3 bullets have to be done always since once the images are transferred from camera to computer, they lose certain properties that have to be restored).

- Fix skin (because I'm sure you wouldn't want that blemish there, would you? A blemish doesn't define who you are, is just temporary).

- Polish skin (yes, I do it very subtle, because sometimes the makeup applied for photography can make the skin look dry and older than it really is. I bring it back to real but not too much as to make it look porcelain; after all, we all do have pores and wrinkles, the contrary is unnatural).

- Sometimes I'll remove undesired objects from the background or change the background all together but this doesn't affect the subject.

I NEVER chop or add pounds to anyone or make them look younger or older, taller or shorter. That's non-negotiable for me.

I remember once a client said: "but you'll make me thinner on photoshop, right?". My answer was "Why would I want to give you a confirmation that something is wrong with your body when there's nothing wrong with it? You look beautiful, you ARE beautiful. Trust me, you'll be happy when you see the photos". And indeed, she was. But most importantly, she was happy with her own self. 

Why Aging IS Ok. I mean it.

Hair and Makeup by Kada Issa (Bombay Beauty Loft)

In modern times, we are thought that old is not good. You should avoid getting old at any expense. There's also multiple options to avoid looking old: beauty products, plastic surgeries, botox, facials, are just a few of an almost infinite pile of what's call now an industry. Yes, there's a trend now about being beautiful at 40, 50 and up but is fake! Yes it is. Look at the photos of celebrities stating "beautiful at (insert over 40 age here)". Do they look like they aged gracefully, froze in time or had surgery? Let's be honest here, these people are cheered on the fact that they STILL LOOK YOUNG at their age. 

But aging in the earlier civilizations and for many, many centuries, was considered a great deal. Age (wrinkles and grey hair) was considered equally proportional to wisdom. The older you would be, the more important you would become for the community. In ancient Israel for example, the elderly would seat at the city gates and people would come to them for guidance on solving situations, big or small, and to help on solving quarrels. Why? Because they had a lifetime experience to know better. They had lived what the younger ones haven't yet. People wanted to learn from them and they were respected.

At some point we were taught that aging was wrong and obsolete. And as women we bought and swallow the whole thing entirely. We buy beauty products to slow the pass of time, to erase the wrinkles, to hide our aging. I personally haven't bought into that completely. I DO use beauty products but more for caring for my skin than anything else. I'm 32. Yes, I'm still young and I might not be stressed out about wrinkles yet, but I honestly don't see them as a curse. It will eventually happen and I'm hoping to wear them all (and my grey hair) proudly instead of succumbing into the lies.

My great grandmother, my grandmother and my mom (for some of her time) fought/fight endlessly against aging. I would see them spending big lengths of time in front of their magnifying mirrors pulling strand by strand of grey hair off their scalps, spending lots of money on beauty products (specially the anti-wrinkles products) and let's not even count the hours at a hair salon dying their hair. My grandma even had a surgery to stretch the skin of her forehead so she could look younger (she thinks we didn't notice the whole thing but oh we sure did!). We all know better than to dare ask their age. After years of living under the same trend, my mom decided it was time to stop. She still dyes her hair (mostly to be playful with colours) but she leaves her grey strands out of it because she wants to show them. She doesn't see her wrinkles with worry but happiness (check out My Wrinkles "Dictionary" post) and she doesn't feel embarrassed anymore about her bifocal glasses when she wears them.

She is leading by example at our house and we're very happy to see this change. She's empowering herself through the beauty of her aging self. That's why my 50+ sessions are important to me; I want to empower mature women through the beauty God gave them and the beauty that has been drawn onto them by the wisdom learned through their experiences. 

I did this session of my mother because of that. Because I see beauty all over her and because (her knowing it or not) she brings light with her smile, everywhere she goes. I love you mami!

Hair and Makeup by Kada Issa (Bombay Beauty Loft)

My Wrinkles "Dictionary"

I'm 32. I'm starting to notice how my wrinkle slowly appear. They're barely there but I'm aware of their presence. I'm not worried at all. I'm actually feeling proud!

This is how I see it. Make a different approach to how you see your wrinkles and it will change everything about how you see yourself. You are not "rotting" with age but "ripping" in maturity, remember that.

Wrinkles are accumulations of lifetime experiences; the good experiences I must add. In my humble opinion, this is what they mean:

- Eye Wrinkles: Laughing wrinkles, attentive wrinkles, focus wrinkles

- Mouth wrinkles: Smiling wrinkles

- Lip wrinkles: Kissing wrinkles

- Forehead wrinkles: Surprise! wrinkles, awesome adventures wrinkles

- Cheek wrinkles: The it's-so-funny-it-hurts laugh wrinkles

And I'll throw a bonus one:

- Grey hair: Silver hair. Awards of wisdom

Happy Friday everyone!!

A Podcast Headshot

I was very happy to be called by Phyllis Valois last year to do the headshots for her promotional banner. Firstly, because Paul Spenard had referred me to her (how awesome is that? I'm still thanking the guy) and secondly because I found the concept exciting.

I had to match certain requirements from the web radio site so they could work with the image. Basically what they do is crop the person from the background and design the banner around it. So I had to be sure lightning would be the proper one so both graphic design work and photo wouldn't clash or become a hiccup for each other.

I like using natural light mostly because of it smooth and subtle effects on the subject, creating the perfect volume and shadow/highlight ratio. So I chose this option as best for this case.

I setup at her house with a big window on one side, a light bouncer on the other and a white background. She got "beautified" by Stephanie Tran from Luxe Artistry and we were ready to go. She was comfortable right away in front of the camera and was amazing at following instructions; I just had to shoot! 

 By the end we got some time to get some quick photos with her precious child (by quick I mean, the time he allowed us to do it; had to shoot fast!).

Image sent to the Graphic Design Department at Voice America

Final Image

In Phyllis' words: "I absolutely love that photograph. Thank you for capturing the person I see inside and the way that I truly see myself".