The Difference Between Being Photographed and Being Witnessed
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I’ve spent the last sixteen years behind the camera, but what I’ve really been doing is learning how to see people in the deepest sense of the word. The kind of seeing that feels sacred. That says, I’m with you. I’m not here to judge you.
I’ve often thought of what I do as falling in love with people, over and over, for a moment in time. Because when you’re in front of my camera—even if just for a couple minutes—it’s like a kind of tunnel vision happens. You become the only thing that matters in that moment. I tune into your energy, into your soul, and feel the beauty of your authenticity. The very things that make you, you.
That’s the difference between being photographed and being witnessed. And that difference can be felt in your body. You know it the moment it’s happening.
Being photographed can feel transactional. A camera is raised, you’re given a few directions, and photos are snapped. You perform. You hold your breath. You try to get it “right.” And when it’s over, you feel a sense of relief. You made it through the uncomfortable situation—and you might even feel a bit more disconnected than before.
Being witnessed is something else entirely. It doesn’t demand performance. It invites presence. It’s the experience of someone holding space for you to be exactly who you are—to embody your true essence.
And when you’re witnessed through the lens of someone who knows how to hold that kind of space, it becomes a powerful experience. You find yourself naturally becoming more present, more relaxed. You stop trying so hard. You might even forget, for a moment, that you’re being photographed at all.
And later, when you see the images, it’s as though your soul is lovingly looking back at you.
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I learned this distinction the hard way—through my own discomfort.
Growing up, I felt completely invisible. In fact, I wanted to be invisible because I was carrying so much shame. It was a very lonely existence. I didn’t believe anyone could ever love the real me. I spent years hiding, performing, being the person I thought others would find more acceptable.
Then I moved to LA and began my healing journey. As I started to heal and allow myself to truly be seen, I began building a community of people who loved me because I was me—not in spite of it. I realized this was what I’d been craving all along: to be seen exactly as I am, and to experience deep connection. And I began to know firsthand the power of being truly witnessed. Looking back, it felt like a natural progression to integrate that lived experience into my art.
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And so, that’s what I offer now when you step in front of my camera. You just need to be willing to show up—as you are. Sometimes, that takes more courage than you expect.
One woman, Barbara came in for her session shortly after throat surgery to remove cancer. The wounds were still healing. I didn’t pick up the camera right away. We just sat together and talked. She told me what she’d been through—how she felt a complex array of emotions: sadness, fear, hope, empowerment. And when I finally began photographing her, I didn’t ask her to smile. I just asked her to be exactly where she was.
The photos from that session are some of my favorites I’ve ever taken, because you can feel her in them. You can feel her grief, her strength, her soulfulness, her becoming. That’s what it means to be witnessed.
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There’s a quote I think about often when I’m working with someone in the studio. It’s from David Augsburger, and it says:
“Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable.”
I’d argue the same is true of being seen. When someone really sees you—not just your physical self, but the essence emanating through your eyes—it can feel like love in the deeply spiritual sense. The kind of love that says, You don’t have to do anything to earn this. You just have to be.
That’s what I offer: a place where you don’t have to shrink or change or try. A place where you can just breathe. A place where you can arrive exactly as you are in the present moment.
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I’m often asked how I get such honest images. People say things like, “Everyone looks so comfortable in your photos,” or “There’s something so powerful in their eyes.” And the truth is: it’s not about the camera. It’s about the space I’m holding behind it.
I’m meeting you exactly where you are. I’m listening with all my intuition. I’m letting your energy guide the session, not my agenda. And when that happens, you start to unfold. You start to take up space because you finally feel safe enough to do so.
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So many people come into my studio carrying the same weight—years of being photographed but never truly seen. They’ve been told how to pose, but not how to arrive. But you can unlearn the armor. You can build trust with the lens again. You can find your way back to the kind of presence that doesn’t need to be fixed or filtered.
You can be witnessed.
And when you are, something beautiful happens: you begin to witness yourself. You begin to see your own depth. You begin to recognize the parts of you that have always been there, waiting to be acknowledged.
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That’s the real gift of this kind of photography—the experience of being reminded that you are already enough. You are everything. You always were.
If you’re in Los Angeles and have been craving that kind of experience, I’d be honored to hold that space for you.
Let’s create something that shows the real you.
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