Sabrina Priddle
Founder of PriddNY
Hair: Erin Hundley
Makeup: Brenna Drury
Photo: Ksenia Poulber
t 2:00 pm sharp, on a Tuesday, I pulled up to the specified location. A massive gate stood open waiting for me to enter. The house glistened with the kind of luster you can only get in the opulent suburbs of Chicago. The interior design was freshly done with every detail polished. The house pulled me in with its beauty and the infinite possibilities for perfect shots.
It has been awhile since I’ve done a portrait session and I was excited. In New York, I mostly worked with models which meant there was a short period of time for us to take the necessary shots. In a portrait session, I get to really focus on the person I am photographing, to see them, to witness their beauty, and often, their vulnerabilities.
A petite woman opened the door and introduced herself in Russian. She had a chameleon face that changed with her every movement. She resembled a different actress in every picture. As we photographed her, we called out the actresses we saw: Sophia Loren, Jessica Biel, Sandra Bullock, and Jennifer Garner, among others.
During a portrait session, I see women transform, interpret, and express their most intimate selves. As the observer I am in awe of their beauty, their power, their exquisiteness. Often when they view their photos I also see them surrender their power.
The moment a woman looks at a photograph of herself, her most important relationship is revealed, her relationship to self. Unfortunately, many women do not see their own beauty. A woman sees her picture and her mind races with hurtful self-critical comments -- her nose, her skin, the shape of her eyes, and all the things people have told her were “wrong” with her become her focus -- while all of the beautiful traits that make her irresistible silently settle in the recesses of her mind.
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