I've always loved looking at beautiful examples of portrait photography, but I've never had any opportunities to practice it myself. I know very little about formally photographing people. My family members and friends dislike having their photo taken. I've never really felt confident enough to practice portrait photography on myself. I also dislike having my photo taken, and even though I sort of know what I'm doing it's a struggle for me to take pictures of myself and not feel disappointed in the result.

Well, I want to change this. I really want to improve and by taking photos of myself it will help my photography skills as well as my self esteem. If you told me, at thirteen, that I'd still have trouble loving myself when I'm going on twenty, I probably wouldn't believe you. Growing up, I always felt hopeful because I believed I would outgrow my insecurities. This did in fact happen in some cases, but overall I am the same insecure little girl I was in my preteen and teenage years. I've been neglecting a lot of aspects of loving myself and it's time to change a few things in my life. 

These two photos, although sort of obscure, represent small steps in my journey of self-love. I hope to improve in more than just my photography abilities during this adventure.