Asking Strangers to Photograph Them

Long time, no see! I have been very busy with school and especially with photography projects and events! I was recently named a 2023 finalist for photography for YoungArts Foundation, and the YoungArts week they held for all the finalists truly changed my life.

During this week, I was mentored by the amazing and fabulous Corinne Botz and Elinor Carucci. In one of our workshops, we traveled to South Beach in Miami, Florida to practice street photography. I have never photographed strangers directly in my previous experience. In this assignment, I had to ask random strangers across the beach and avenues if I can take their photograph.

Even though I got cussed out and was declined multiple times, this experience was extremely valuable in my development as a photographer. I learned to step outside of my comfort zone and take risks. As an artist, these two lessons are extremely important to learn and utilize in your own art processes! I encourage you to do one step this week that you’ve never done before when making art, and you can contact me to let me know if you need ideas or even want to share with me what you created. Follow me on Instagram for future updates about my posts!