Friday, August 28, 2015

Small Town Beauty | Model | Southern Pines, NC Photographer

Took a drive out to Southern Pines a few weeks back to photograph this beauty again. Alisha is a natural beauty inside and out. She's a joy to photograph.


That being said, I wanted to continue on my campaign of helping you see the beauty within yourselves. You and only you can feel comfortable in your own skin. Yes, not every one will agree with how you hold your own, but they don't matter ... I'm serious, they don't.



Think about it, how is anyone going to respect and follow your lead if you don't even respect yourself? Isn't it hard to go day to day hating the way you look, feel or what you do? Wouldn't it be easier to actually be happy? I mean, truly happy?


I'm constantly in a struggle being of TRULY happy. I mean, I've got it pretty good. I've got people who love me, people I love, a job, a house, and a table full of food. But I'm not going to lie, sometimes I peek over that fence and try to see the greener grass on the other side.

But you see, I have to remind myself that like in my other blog about self worth, that grass might be as fake as a Playboy Bunny's breasts. <---- LOL I'm serious. People put on facades all the time. They want you to be jealous of their perfect lives. They want you to be them. That's what feeds THEM.


Why feed their hunger when you can feed your own! Embrace what makes you different. There are always ways to better yourself. You just have to be willing to work for it. Stop waining over someone else's life and work on yours. I'm not saying you should just spray paint your lawn green and call it a day. You have to really get down to the roots and figure out why your grass is a tad brown. You have to find it within your heart to love yourself.


I'm telling you, once you love yourself - everything else falls into place. It's not going to be a piece of cake and everyone has to deal with the downs along with the ups. But life was meant to be challenging. You learn from mistakes and you better yourself by not making those same mistakes.


The secret to life is that you live it moment to moment and take every ounce of each moment and drink it in. You want to be heading to the afterlife not looking back for a should of, would of, could of. You will know fully that your life was lived to the fullest and the people you leave behind are better because you were in their lives. You matter. 


*** Please remember that all images are copyrighted to Sharilyn Wells Photography, LLC. Please do not copy or alter any images without SWP, LLC consent. ***

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Self image is nothing without self worth | Concept | Fort Bragg, NC Photographer


When you look in the mirror who do you see? Do you see what YOU want to see or what THEY want to see? Are you happy with who you see? Is the person staring back at you someone you like? Is it someone that you would hang out with? Or someone you're forced to hangout with because you want to be liked so badly. Has that person changed the real you? Where is the real you?

Truth be told, only you can be YOU. It doesn't matter what you wear, what color your hair is, or who does or doesn't like you. Your self worth is untouchable. 


In other words, self-worth is about who you are, not about what you do or how you look.




Sure, you can change the appearance on the outside or put on an act for the crowd, but you, only you know how much you are worth to this world. Only you have the power to stand tall and block out the haters.


Face it, it's too hard to be accepted into today's society. And really, who wants to be? How has uniqueness been lost and cookie-cutter been accepted? Don't mold yourself into society's way of thinking and looking. Be you. You matter. No matter what anyone says or does to you. You matter.



Break the glass that is holding you back from seeing the true you. You are special.



You matter. You can walk away from the haters. You can let the facade shed. After all, why base your value on how you measure up against someone else? Not one person is equivalent to you. You ... to be blunt ... will never be number one. There will always be someone "prettier," someone "wealthier," someone "better" than you. But are they really? I mean, step back and REALLY look. She may be considered prettier, but is she happier? But wait, is she REALLY happy or is it a facade because she wants you to THINK she's happier, wealthier, or better than you.

You see where I'm going with all this? I struggle with this on a daily basis. There is always someone better at the business aspect of entrepreneurship. Someone always has better photography skills than me or is more creative than me. Always someone who seems to handle being a business woman, a wife, and a mother and doesn't break a sweat. Someone will always knock me down. Why isn't she more focused on her children? Why does she make/pickup pizza more than once a week for her children? Why does she drop off the children at a daycare for "someone else to raise them? How come she can't control that screaming toddler? Why can't she do that, why can't she do this? Why can't she look like this? Why can't she talk like this? Why can't she edit my photos in two days? How come her family comes before my family? why why why why ..... blah blah blah.


You matter. You are worth so much more than people's opinions. You are amazing. You keep up with what you got. You chase those dreams, those goals, those aspirations. You can achieve anything as long as you value who you are and what you stand for. Appearances mean nothing if you don't stand up for who you are.

 Check out this link for more info on Self Worth

***Off my soapbox*** Again, I wish this was my concept, but it wasn't. It belongs to Will from (darkroom portraits). Tysha (Tysha Hallman Photo) and I just tagged along for the ride. LOL Paige, our model was a great sport and love how everything came together. And hey, the interpretation was all me! ;)

*** Please remember that all images are copyrighted to Sharilyn Wells Photography, LLC. Please do not copy or alter any images without SWP, LLC consent. ***

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Out of the Darkness | Concept | Fort Bragg, NC Photographer

This is a tale of a woman who was lost in her darkness. There was beauty all around her, but she could not see the color that surrounded her. Every day she lived her life, dull and unseen. The darkness seemed to swallow her.



Alas, one day, her interest was peeked. Why was she doomed to be in the darkness for eternity? Did she not deserve better? Did she not deserve a colorful, exciting world? She decided to find the light with her own two hands and followed her heart.


She searched and search. She felt determined as ever; as she was not going to let the darkness defeat her. She had too much to live for. Too much see and do. Too much love to give. And suddenly, the light shined down on her. She was warmed by it's presence and then .... it happened.


She saw the world in color. She saw the beauty that was hidden beneath the darkness. She finally understood what she was missing and was thankful she never gave up. Her candle burned brightly. It was a gorgeous shade of yellow and red with a hint of blue. She followed her light and cautiously explored her new world.



For she knew that the danger of darkness returning was high, but she was ready to fight for her new, colorful, bright world. She had found herself within the darkness and was not going to let it go.









If you find yourself lost in the darkness and contemplating harming yourself, please find help!

1-800-273-8255 or www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Everyone deserves a colorful, bright world and you do matter!

I would like to take the credit for this amazing session ... but it tis not mind. *sigh* I had the pleasure of shooting Alisha with my photog crew, Will (Darkroom Portraits) & Tysha (Tysha Hallman Photo). I may have taken this darker than they might have intended, but that's the joy of photography and perception. Everyone is different and comes to different conclusions. Art is a wonderful thing isn't it?

I never know what I'm walking into with the concepts they come up with. But I'm pleasantly surprised 95% of the time! The other 5% you ask? They already know I won't dig the concept and usually don't invite me! :p HAHA!

*** Please remember that all images are copyrighted to Sharilyn Wells Photography, LLC. Please do not copy or alter any images without SWP, LLC consent. ***