"Today, for the first time in a long while, I feel completely awake, and there's no longer that blurry space between illusion and reality that I used to get caught up in. Today, I was truly honest with myself and thought, photography should happen exactly when the right moment and the right place align. I told myself very frankly that there's no magic formula for taking extraordinary photos other than seeing things extraordinarily and starting to speak from a perspective different from how we usually look at them. As a great person says, 'Strive for beauty to be in your gaze, not in what you gaze upon.'
As usual, I had gone to photograph a wedding project, and before that, the groom was getting ready. I spent some time thinking and observing my surroundings. I had a suitable model in my mind, lost and immersed in my own thoughts and world, until I came across a young boy named Armin who had a really cool and awesome hairstyle. I thought to myself, 'Manti!? This is exactly what we've been waiting for and searching for.' So, it was time to start photographing.
Armin and I went outside the beauty salon, and I took my first photo of his reflection in a glass pane that was part of the salon. It was from a side angle, with Armin leaning against the glass, and his reflection was visible in the mirror. This is where I used the principle of aesthetic symmetry. The light color in Armin's hair and the vertically cut wooden panels used in the salon's wall created a very interesting effect in the reflection of Armin's photo in the window glass. He looked very determinedly at the camera.
After taking this photo, I did a different edit and took the next photo a bit darker and from a different angle. Now, it was time to explore Armin's golden face to see from which angle his image would be captured most beautifully. Everything went very well, and I took a long shot with the 'Unique' sign of the shop, meaning special, included in the frame. Armin's funny pose and sporty, teenage style are perfectly captured here.
I took another photo in a way that the inside of the salon was also visible. The dome-shaped mirror was very stylish and modern, which was a real level-up, considering that the hairdresser here, the one called Unique, used to work in another rented salon and had now moved to this place, which was his own property. I used #mantiphotography in some of the photos because I really liked them, as you can see in the fourth photo at the top center.
Finally, we come to a photo that has a special, dreamlike quality: Armin tying the groom's tie. I think if he pursues hairdressing, he might be even better than his father when he reaches his father's age. And this is the truth of life – you won't find anything or anyone better than a father, whose entire effort is focused on you being better than him.
I hope good things happen for all of us soon, and I hope that the bright side of life has made today a wonderful day filled with complete peace. Thank you for staying with me until the end of this post. Until our next meeting, farewell.
