#reverb10 - December 8

Beautifully different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different - you'll find they're what make you beautiful.

I am one of those few people who is okay with wearing her heart on her sleeve most of the time (like a female sensy). Clearly, I'm blogging about my thoughts, some of my deepest feelings and most difficult times in my life out in the open, where friends, acquaintances and strangers alike can sample from the beautiful chaos of my life.

Which is not to say I'm one of those people who will just come up and start talking inconsequential babble at you if you're in the middle of something. But it doesn't bother me when people I don't know well tell me their problems when they clearly need a friendly ear. I know it helps them heal just to have someone listening.

My boyfriend thinks I'm a kook sometimes for giving people more than the required minimum amount of information. Say, a grocery clerk asks a question about our plans and I say excitedly that we're taking the day off to go to Kirkwood. Maybe he's interested and we chat for a few more seconds. I get that embarrassed eye roll that says, "you could have just told him we're going skiing."

The truth is, that's how people connect and build new relationships. That's how we relate to each other and reaffirm that we are not actually so different. Those small, interesting details we share with each other break up the potential monotony of each day. No man is an island, and certainly even if some try to be I don't want that for myself.

I guess the quality that makes me most different is that I'm honest. Always. I don't hide pieces of myself away because I'm afraid of imposing or being judged. I don't enjoy people who only want superficial connection, because the second things get real they bolt. I love who I am; considering my shy nature, it's taken a lot of work over the years to learn to put myself out there and trust that who I am is wonderful enough for the rest of the world to celebrate, too.

That's one of the reasons I don't mind my clients, or potential clients, reading my blog. As a photographer I'm selling my personality as well as my talent and expertise. Interaction is a huge part of the fun, creative, beautiful finished product that my clients and I create on a portrait shoot or wedding day.

Of course, as a professional picture-taker there are several less nebulous differences that set me apart. My versatility, since I can photograph everything, from sports to weddings to food, and do it well; my ability to capture a moment rather than just set people up with some cheese; that I can calm down even the most keyed-up bride (zilla or not) or become fast friends with the two-year-old in front of my camera. The many different facets of my unique personality make these tasks possible.

I'm a perfectionist, and I'm a passionate, curious learner. That's why I photograph so many different genres and I've worked hard on learning to do all of them well. I can capture a moment because I'm not afraid of emotion - I know exactly what I'm looking for/how to observe it because I'm deeply in touch with my own thought process and can therefore read others' better. And the ability to put people at ease and make friends? I guess that's just learning to listen and have fun.

Unlike many people I don't shut down when an uncomfortable truth is mentioned. In my personal life my ability to share and let share has brought me a handful of very close friendships and a long list of acquaintances who trust me. In my professional life it's helped me go from unemployed journalist, barely squeaking by, to a successful freelance photographer with many happy clients, mentors and champions in less than two years.

I'm happy to be different. It's ironically what makes me so relatable.