{Sabrina} New York Teen Session | 13 year old
Being a Teen
Worthier than you believe. Stronger than you know. More beautiful than you think.
Being a teen is one of the hardest years for most kids. Boys & girls both. Not only are they trying to navigate their way socially, they are often struggling with self esteem and lately, body image more so than ever. In their eyes, they just don’t seem to measure up. My motivation to launch a new program for teens of all ages is coming straight from my heart and is driven by my passion. My passion to build confidence in teens by creating photographs that capture their beauty. Teens are bombarded with imagery that seem so unrealistic to them because the images are in a magazine or showcasing a famous music artist or model. The truth is, having a hair and make-up artist, a stylist and a really good photo retouched is part of the formula.
My idea is to create an experience for teens and create photos that could be on the cover of any teen magazine. Whether your teen likes fashion, is a musician, is an athlete, loves theater, sings, loves the city, etc… the experience will be unique to them. I have always been told that my portraits are different, that I truly know how to make kids shine. The most rewarding part about what I do is showing teens their images and watching their eyes light up with disbelief and joy. This session took place in the city on the Lower East Side. Because Sabrina has such stunning features, that she might not be 100% comfortable with yet, like most teenage girls, I wanted to create photos that she could have to remind herself that her beauty is all her’s and all natural. Her eyes, her brows, her dark hair but most importantly her easy going, innocent, sweetness that shines in all her images.
Here is an email from Sabrina’s Mom after showing her the images. “When I first received the photos of Sabrina, she was looking through them, and turned to me and said, “Mom, do I really look like that or did she do something to these pictures?” When I said, “No, you really look like that”, I could see on her face that she had seen herself in a new way, a good way.”