Vanity remains a weakness of mine. The notion of exposing onself to the world in a superficial manner is not appealing to say the least. Granted, I accept the value vanity possess in a visual world composed of immediate impressions and gratification.

When does an opinion of oneself translate into self-conceited? If you’re an author, entrepreneur, performer, or anyone who is driven to success must at some level have an extremely high opinion of oneself. To think that other people will actually want to read what you have written indicates a level of self-importance that your opinion is worth the time to read it.

I have more respect for people that embrace their vanity than those who deny it. I stumbled on an article which an actor responded to a question:

I am vain. I think vanity is a good thing. It’s done more good things for me than it has not.

In the article, it was clear the interviewer thought the admission that the actor was vain was scandalous enough to print. Yet the idea that actors, especially film actors, have a vain archetype should not come as a surprise. Vanity is the motor that runs the film industry.

In the book Alchemist by Paulo Coelho the author built upon the Greek story of Narcissus different drwaing a unique perspective of vanity:

He said that when Narcissus died, the goddesses of the forest appeared and found the lake, which had been fresh water, transformed into a lake of salty tears.

‘Why do you weep?’ the goddesses asked.

‘I weep for Narcissus,” the lake replied.

‘Ah, it is no surprise that you weep for Narcissus,’ they said, ‘for though we always pursued him in the forest, you alone could contemplate his beauty close at hand.’

‘But… was Narcissus beautiful?’ the lake asked.

‘Who better than you to know that?’ the goddesses asked in wonder. ‘After all, it was by your banks that he knelt each day to contemplate himself!’

The lake was silent for some time. Finally, it said:

‘I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected.’

The lake admired in Narcissus’ beauty thinking it was its own. Narcissus’ beauty was not his downfall, it was the fact he did not know how to swim. We are taught vanity and narcissism leads to ruin. Though today’s world, vanity is proving to be a necessity in order to achieve success in any venture that involves the public eye. What if the lake’s reflection Narcissus obsessed each day was a camera? Today, Narcissus would be a actor, model or social media influencer.

Vanity is economy. No reason to shy from that fact.

Prior to this collection, never participated in a photo shoot. I accepted the necessity to capture the right photograph of the self for business purposes. Nonetheless, before I traveled down that road I had conditions:

• No Filter: I refused to allow a photographer to use filters before or after to capture an image that did not reflect reality.
• Look & Feel: The style of the images must speak for themselves.
• Authentic: I wanted to work with a photographer that I trust and was authentic. For me, a photo shoot is an awkward affair. I wanted the process to be as natural as possible.

Acknowledgements to Becka Jeffs – byBecka. https://www.facebook.com/beckaboo924

Flip through the slide deck in the header to view the collection.