ART A-MUSE
MELANIE MARTINEZ’S LITTLE BODY, BIG HEART, AND BEAUTIFUL PORTRAITS ERIN EMOCLING interviewed Melanie Martinez, a 13-year-old self-taught photographer and currently a contestant on The Voice, about her other passion in life, that is conceptual, fashion, and portrait photography.
Melanie Martinez started taking pictures when she was 13 years young. She is a self-taught photographer who uses both film and digital. While Melanie is gradually making a name in the music industry, we interviewed her about her other passion in life, that is conceptual, fashion, and portrait photography. YOUR STYLE ON PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY RADIATES A DIFFERENT KIND OF LIGHT, SOMETHING THAT’S EQUALLY NOSTALGIC AND REFRESHING. WHEN/HOW DID IT STRIKE YOU THAT YOU HAVE A BIG HEART FOR PHOTOGRAPHY? HOW DO YOU HARMONIZE YOUR
EMOTIONS, INTERESTS, PERSONALITY TO CAPTURE YOUR SUBJECTS’ BEST PHOTOGRAPHIC FEATURES?
I always loved the idea of creative images. I’d always wish that I could take a photo with my eyes because I am able to create some sort of beauty in everything I see. I started taking pictures of flowers and the outdoors and normal things I’d see around me. I got really bored with the work that I was doing and I wanted to grow as an artist. I had crazy visuals in my head but I could never execute them because I felt like the things in my heart were holding me back. I was always so uncomfortable
with my environment and wanted to be confident and feel beautiful. Ever since I was little, I remember being really conscious about the gap in between my two front teeth. I started taking pictures of myself and it became a habit of never opening my mouth due to my insecurity. I wanted to get over it so badly that I ended up just taking photos from my open mouth down to my collar bones. This helped me become comfortable with who I am as an artist and as a human being. It helped me get over my insecurity and since then I’ve found a love for helping girls overcome their insecurities by photographing them in a beautiful way.
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