Change Is Necessary To Fulfill Dreams; Sharing a "PINCH ME" Moment

Many years ago as I was climbing the ladder of my initial dream of becoming an influential hairstylist, I would thumb through hair industry magazines such as Modern Salon and American Salon looking for inspiration for creating looks through haircuts, color and makeup that would get me noticed. Through this I became familiar with the NAHA competition and in the year 2000 I decided to enter the makeover competition and asked an aspiring photographer friend of mine to shoot the entry photos for me. It was truly the beginning of a future that not even I saw unfolding right before me. At the time, I was laser beam focused on becoming a top hairstylist/platform artist and had become an educator for two hair care companies trying to do just that. I was very pleased at what I had created for the competition as far as the makeovers themselves, but what I did not quite grasp, was how important the photography was until it was over and the winners were announced and published. I realized then that it was not simply a competition on how creative you could get with color or haircuts, or even makeup... but more of a collaboration from a team of artists coming together to create something amazing, beautiful and a bit funky.

The more I looked at magazines and studied the winners of this competition as well as the photos that were in the print ads on every page, the more I realized I was in love with the photographs and how beautiful of an art form they were. Although I climbed that ladder all the way to being a platform assistant for ARTec Wordlwide and the lead American educator for Grazette of Sweden, I quickly realized that perhaps I was chasing the wrong dream. My passion had begun to change as I started studying the work of the photographers instead of the hairstylists. I began thumbing through magazines looking at the lighting, the makeup, the clothing, the hair and how it all came together and became more inspired than I had ever been. There was one photographer whose images jumped out at me like no others had... his images were so unique, and out there, and beautiful. I folded the corners of the pages I saw his work on and even tore some of them out. The day I realized his images were smeared all over the NAHA competition I remember saying to myself "I will work with him someday."  That may not seem too far fetched until I give you the detail that this photographer, Frank Doorhof  lived in the Netherlands; far from where I was in Tampa Florida; not to mention that I didn't even have a passport. Shortly after that I started networking with photographers and began creating a portfolio of everything that I loved; hair, makeup and wardrobe.

Fast forward to 7 years later when my portfolio got noticed by a guy named Scott Kelby whose business assistant called and booked me for a photo shoot the very next day. (This is a crazy story in itself which I shared in a previous blog; I will post that link) So... I began working with Scott and his company Kelby Media as well as his many photographer friends who happened to be the best in their field and who also happen to spend their days training their fans all over the world how to create beautiful images. It was truly that "lucky break" that people talk about but even I did not know the magnitude of what this gig would mean to my life when it happened. After working with Scott for a few years, and even filming my own makeup course on Kelby training, I was with Scott one day and he told me about a new "super cool photographer" that was going to come and shoot a course for them. The next words out of his mouth as he showed me some of "this guys" photos were "His name is Frank Doorhof." I almost fell over... no joke. I tried to not be the fan girl that I truly was and simply shared with Scott that I was VERY familiar with Frank's work. I seriously remember crying on my way home that day. A dream was coming true... I was going to work with this amazing photographer that I had been following for years long before photo-shoots became part of my every day.

This is Frank taking a photo of the video team and I in an elevator on location for Kelby Training

Now that you know the back story, I can share the current story. Since that day, I have worked with Frank many times on several shoots and through creating amazing images together we have become great friends. Working with him has been a thrill ride every time and I think that by being familiar with his funky out-of-the-box style long before I met him, the connection was already there. Just when I thought we had reached a beautiful plateau, Frank asked me if he could interview me for his online show "The DOORhof is Always Open" over lunch at Photoshop World in Las Vegas this year. Although it was unexpected and totally improv, I was so honored to say yes and admit that it was a total "pinch me" moment. That interview took place in September but because of a book deadline he had not posted it on his site yet (I was impatiently waiting patiently.) In the meantime, I found out that many images that Frank and I have created together now grace the pages of that book he was writing "Mastering The Model Shoot" which became a best seller and #1 on Amazon in that category within days of hitting the marketplace. It's really surreal... and quite honestly makes me want to cry again.

Some of the images we have created together over the past few years

So..... when Frank tagged me on Facebook today, announcing that our episode of his show was finally up on his site my initial reaction was to immediately share it on all of my social media pages but then I thought... 

WAIT WOMAN!!!! This is a VERY special moment that deserves it's own blog telling the whole story; it is meant to inspire people... it is meant for more than what it seems on the surface, (just a cool moment for me) 

So I waited to write about it and post it today in the Monday blog to start off YOUR week.

Guys and Gals... I truly want you to be inspired, I want this story to help you realize that EVERY single moment is on purpose and nothing you do can change that. You should wake up every day knowing that your life is predetermined, your purpose is already defined, you just have to accept that and live life one play at a time in order to experience it. Realizing this takes the stress away, I promise. Stop hating moments that you think are stupid and meaningless, the ones that may seem to have no point always do! Stop thinking that your dreams and wishes will never come true because by doing that you are missing the moments that will bring you to them. I talk about this all of the time... it has become sort of my mantra... so if you read my blogs, get used to hearing it! (I even share it in my interview with Frank.)

BE REAL, BE TRUE and BE ON PURPOSE every single day and you too will have amazing 

moments that will make you want to cry in a good way.

Love, Hugs and Inspiration

xoxo
~Shells~

I hope you watch the video below... 



The first interview is with 
Tamara Lackey, a child and editorial photographer who I have the privilege of working with for the next three days.  
(My interview with Frank starts at 16:32)

here is the link to the blog post I spoke of about Scott finding me 
(ultimately leading me to Frank)
http://shelleygiard.blogspot.com/2012/01/one-chance-that-cost-me-999.html

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What if We Were All Thin and Beautiful?... Living in a World of Insecurity

The idea for this blog post was triggered as I scrolled through Facebook last night and came across a post written by Christopher Wright; one of my beauty photographer friends. (No worries, I got his permission to use his post and his name; I am legal like that.) As a makeup artist who works with models on a weekly and sometimes daily basis, I am surrounded by an industry where being beautiful matters most. I often think back to my adolescence when I felt like I did not fit in, when I was a bit muscular from being involved in gymnastics yet surrounded by skinny girls who were really popular... I felt fat at 100 lbs, 100 SOLID lbs. and I have been 5'7 since I was about 13 years old. 100 lbs at 5'7? ummm yeah, that's skinny no matter how you look at it, but I felt fat and stopped eating... yep, I was anorexic for a short time until I passed out one day on the band field and it scared me enough to stop. I was made fun of for many different reasons... my Yankee accent which really stood out in a southern school, my name which rhymed with "smelly" and even though I never smelled bad it somehow became my first name on the playground in 4th grade, my freckles... which I hated for years... my flat chest, and then there were reasons that I never knew and probably some instances where there was simply no reason at all.

So here was his post:
"Honestly. Not only as a model but as human you would think someone would know better. To take a picture of a woman who is out to dinner and then post it and ridicule her for having a high forehead. Being catty is one thing but that just borders on being a douche bag. Hell, as far as I am concerned she crossed the border."

Umm... YEAH, I strongly agree. I don't know who this model was, but shame on her! This kind of thing puts me up on my soapbox and reminds me of a conversation that I was JUST having with my 11 year old daughter Baleigh yesterday when it was mentioned that she told my mom she was old and wrinkly. I was furious and gave her a lecture from the core of my soul. Making fun of someone for having a big forehead? Really? For a model to do this makes it even worse. The modeling world is the most unhealthy, critical society of all, as if the real world isn't bad enough with stuff like "she's too fat, look how big and pregnant she is, look at those acne scars, what a big butt, get yourself on a treadmill, do you shop at Goodwill?, looks like ugly smacked you and ran, look how skinny she is, ribs are not attractive, go eat a cheeseburger, and the list rolls on and on. It honestly makes me crazy and I have told my children that if I EVER hear anything like this come out of their mouth they will not enjoy the consequences, and my daughter got her fill of consequences when I heard that she said this about my mom which by the way, my mom is beautiful inside and out, she rocks 66 like Vanna White!

As if we do not know, the focus is in the wrong place people... and this model proves that. If you are going to take a photo of a random woman who is enjoying a Friday night out at a restaurant and exploit her forehead on Facebook to the world then YOU my dear are as ugly as they come, I don't care WHAT your portfolio looks like! This model will meet karma one day and I hope someone takes a picture of that and posts it on Facebook. Okay, I feel my blood starting to boil so I better take it down a notch and get my lesson out before I say words I shouldn't say.

There is beauty in all things, (although questionable when discussing this model's character) Beauty comes from within even when it's not on the outside. A kiwi is pretty darn hideous until you peel it and taste it, right? Some of the BEST people and the BEST things come in packages that are not that attractive, don't be the unlucky one that is so shallow as to never get to experience these things and get to know these people. 

People commit suicide for things like this, people die from eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, people die under the knife trying to make their bodies and their faces perfect according to society, it's NOT a laughing matter and if you are one of the people that would post something like this I hope that I get into your head. I recently read a story of a young girl who hung herself because someone posted a humiliating picture of her on Facebook and she was taunted by it. It happens every single day and it's sad. Bullying is real, it is disgraceful and I for one will not stand for it in my home or if I am out with anyone and it happens. Teach your kids to focus on people for who they are not what they wear, what they look like or how much they have. If you are with a group of friends and someone does something like this, do what I do... call them out, be the better person, throw them under the bus, embarrass them for a change because it's the right thing to do. 

That's all... I am hopping down from my soapbox 

Have an awesome weekend

xoxo

~Shells~