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.