“Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.” – Dr. Brené Brown
On this Friday afternoon, I was fortunate enough to be invited into this lovely couple’s home. Full disclosure: This is one of my favorite photo session, so get ready for an extraordinarily higher amount of photos than usual from this shoot. I love capturing authentic imagery and these two made this shoot effortless. The moment I stepped into their dwelling I knew that they were honest people and that everything they had was, simply, enough. From their wooden toothbrush to their jar can of actual tooth “paste” and ways of laundering. These two are, to me, the definition of ‘wholehearted living’. Their home, nestled in the hills, is surrounded by beautiful light throughout the day – a perfect space for an artist. She was raised to be an artist at a very young age. He was hockey player who also dabbled in art here and there, but these days he likes spending his time writing.
For this photo session, I wanted to create something that was more real and authentic – ‘unposed’. To create this, I did a simple interview and asked them “If I wasn’t here what would you guys be doing?” They began describing their typical Fridays to me and told me that they like to keep their Fridays open so they can spend time exploring their creativity. Every Friday, they would spend their day in a relaxing environment and work on the creative aspects of their lives – art, writing, acting, etc… She would start with her ritual for the day by doing some Yoga stretches, burning sage for good aura, light a subtle fragrant smelling candle for the ambiance, and begin painting. Meanwhile, he would be working on his screenwriting. To prevent a creative block, somewhere in the middle of the day, they would take a small break and rehearse their lines for their acting roles. They would then switch places with each other and he would then start painting and she would be playing the guitar. They will do a small jam session with each other. When the weather is nice, she would then go out to the balcony for some fresh air and continue on her artwork. As it gets closer to Sunset, they would both finish their quiet afternoon in the balcony with a beverage and enjoy the rest of the day in each other’s company. After hearing their Friday’s agenda, I asked them to just do exactly that. I started preparing my gears and just quietly captured their story as it unfolds throughout the day. I absolutely love how these turn out and I hope you guys enjoy the story, because I know I sure did!
Sincerely,
Viet Le
