The past few days I’ve been pondering on my reasoning behind De Lens Loves You. As I’ve mentioned before, there was never a specific plan beyond sharing my work and updating my website. Now that I’ve added some dad hats to the product catalog and have some more ideas on the shelf, I feel like I can turn it into it’s own little branch within my business. Nothing too serious, just something to have some fun with. Which means there’s still no proper plan but I did want to expand on my thoughts a bit.
I know there was something in the back of my mind when I came up with the name. I just haven’t bothered to give any proper words to it. You’ll find my first rough draft below. I’m not sure I’m fully behind all the things I’ve written and it will take a couple of read-throughs and some editing at a later time. For example, I jump into a sales pitch right after a piece about empowerment. It’s a little distasteful and a little cringe. Am I even in a position to say these things at all? I’m not sure yet. If I’m satisfied with my thoughts and the general story, it might end up on the productpages as a background story thing, or something like that. We’ll see how things go. Read below:
Hey you.
Yes, you.
I see you.
I see your worth.
You matter, you know that?
You look amazing.
Your ideas are great.
You have value.
Don’t shy away from a little attention ever now and then.
Don’t be afraid of the spotlight.
Don’t think you’re not worth it to be documented. Recorded. Remembered.
Embrace yourself.
Allow yourself to exist.
Take up the space that is you.
The camera loves you.
De Lens Loves You.
Yes, you.
Looking at yourself and appreciating your worth isn’t always easy. You stare at yourself in the mirror and see all your imperfections. All your shortcomings. All the things you wish to still change about your self. When is it enough? It’s not the same for everybody and we all deal with these thoughts to different extends. But let me tell you: even the most confident people have their insecurities.
As a photographer, I come across these things way too often and see it with many different people. Wether that’s hidden behind a smile and a joke or just straight up telling me they don’t like the way they look. There’s always a pronounced dislike for something about themselves. It’s a false believe that only you can control. Yes, you.
Aks yourself: is it the way you look on camera or is it just the way you look at yourself? Why is that? A camera doesn’t discriminate. It records exactly what it sees. There’s no purer form of registration. So don’t blame the camera; the camera loves you. And if you don’t love yourself then you can change that, of course you can. There are so many things you can change. But the most important thing you can change, is your attitude towards yourself.
Buying a De Lens Loves You product is telling yourself that you know you have worth. You know you are beautiful. You know you matter. As soon as you put on that garment, your days of self-doubt are over.
But why not De Lens Loves Me, then? Because it’s not about yourself anymore. You’re already there. It’s now time to spread that message. Tell the people around you they are as perfect as you are. Just the way they are. De Lens Loves You, yes, and the lens loves everybody around you.