Recently I've decided that I need to focus my photography on people and not on landscapes and other things. This decision is based on a few different ideas, mostly centered around this: God made people in His image, and He made us to have relationships with each other. One of the most effective ways I can come up with to glorify God through the talents He has given me is to use photography to show people that they are valuable, not only to me, but most importantly to God.
One of my friends gave a talk at Crusade that really hit me, he talked about how remarkable and valuable people are. Part of it is because we have intelligence, we have really complicated and inexplicable biological systems, we have the capacity to love and created and build, but that's missing the bigger picture. People are incredible and remarkable because God created us in HIS image. That makes every person, every single one, an image bearer of God the mighty Creator. All the people you've ever known, all the people you don't know, the homeless, gothic kids, jocks, meth heads, prostitutes, billionaires, aborted babies, abortive mothers, divorced parents, blue collar mechanics, child predators, homosexuals, aetheists, were all meant to be image bearers of God. You, you bear the image of God Himself! Jesus hung around really scuzzy people, the tax collectors, prostitutes, fishermen, lepers and cripples. He Loved them in ways that are dizzying to us because he saw their intrinsic value to God and mirrored God's fatherly love for Him to the outcasts of society.
How do I relate this to photography? I'm still not sure, so I'll ask a string of rhetorical questions. Can I create/capture images of people in such a way that God's love and glory are shown through them? What would those images look like? Or is it more the process through which I take people in a photo shoot that should be showing God's love? The best portraits are those that show true emotion, so to be a good portraitist I need to be able to lead people through emotions, and by doing so share what I know of God's love for them. Perhaps in those moments God would show himself visually through a fleeting exression or a moment of brokenness followed by grace?
God has been blessing me in ridiculous ways toward this end, In the last month God has lined me up with three weddings and 6 portrait shoots. My parents agreed to buy me some studio lighting for my birthday, and God has been basically letting bunches of money come my way. He is doing a work though me that I don't understand just yet, so I guess I'll just trust Him. I really want to insert some verses here, but I don't have a Bible on me.
If you can think of any verses that come to mind, please email me or coment on this blog.
Good Night and God Bless!
- Travis
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment