Tessa's Photoshoot

 

            I haven’t had many professional photoshoots done before, and being in front of a camera isn’t my most favorite thing.  I feel silly posing, and worry about how my eyes will look.  Having albinism presents a different challenge for photographers, and the images don’t always turn out like everyone is used to seeing.  I have always been very critical of how pictures of me turn out, and over the years I’ve just come to expect my eyes or face to look less than perfect.  The bright lights used in a studio, the backdrop colors, and the flash all have a major impact on the quality of what comes through in the pictures.  Editing has come a long way where a photographer can now remove the red of my eyes and turn them blue, they can now digitally fix the contrast in the photo so I stand out against a not so flattering background, and they can sharpen the image so you see the difference between my body and hair.  The one thing that can’t be fixed through editing is my eye direction, or the scrunchy looks on my face from squinting due to brightness. 

 

            I was pleased with how well Justine with Natural Impressions: Photography by Justine did on my pictures.  More importantly, though was how much fun I had in the studio.  I always have a ton of energy, and Justine just worked with it.  She had me jumping and leaping, and doing poses that had some more dramatic lines to them.  I felt very comfortable being myself, being silly and energetic, and relaxed to the point I wasn’t stressing about the face scrunch or weird eye direction.  One of my favorite pictures is of me in my gown wearing running shoes instead of pretty dress shoes because I would totally pull that off away from the camera! My second favorite is in my running gear, barefoot, holding my shoes and crown because that captures my everyday attire and comfort zone (minus holding shoes and crown). I’m so thankful to be on this journey and for the opportunities the International Pageant system has given me.  I’m thankful for the ND directors who’ve built standing relationships with people like Justine who are not only wonderful at what they do, but truly a great person to be around.