theFlickriteDiary is now theFlickrite.com: My first set of beautiful strangers

Yay! I’ve got my first set of stranger portraits! And what better place (than Manhattan Beach) to have these pictures taken – Hollywood Blvd., of course – the place where almost all people come to have their moments photographed.

A Camera Man’s Stage Fright

The one thing hubby asked before we left home was, “Are you ready for rejection?” In my mind, I was being rejected already. For goodness sake, the first and last things you want to hear from your family were words of encouragement. His question had that strong word you didn’t want to hear: rejection. It was one of those things that get me; that bring me down very easily. I know, however, he was preparing me to the imminent truth.

The anxiety of doing things out of my comfort

zone is slowly torturing my fragile mind. But

to not pursue this goal will even render

sleepless nights. ~lancelonie

At a USPS parking lot along Vermont Ave., I tried to console myself by taking this picture on the right. My legs were already restless. It felt like I’m in for another endodontic visit or a travel back in time for a stage performance. The anxiety of doing things out of my comfort zone is slowly torturing my fragile mind. But to not pursue this goal will even render sleepless nights. I was glad it was Saturday.

First Few Rejections

So, I’m not gonna lie. I had my first rejection...

It probably took me about half an hour to find that first interesting person. When I did, I kinda sped my way towards her, got stunned for 2 seconds and a bit tongue-tied when I asked my scripted line: “I’m doing a 100-strangers project. Is it ok if I take your photo?” (I’m laughing now at the thought that these lines were not even spoken straight.) She must have thought I was some kind of a joke so she said, “No. I’m good.” (Yeah, awkward.)

Oh, and let me tell you about my last rejection of the day. The girl didn’t even stop to look and listen as if I was just air that breezed through her ear. (Totally awkward! I’m like, okay, who’s looking?)

These are just the first of many rejections that are coming, which are absolutely normal. I mentally kept repeating this to survive the afternoon. In stranger portrait photography, I gotta learn to trash the bad feeling as quickly as I can to not lose the inspiration. After all, there are gazillions of these unknown characters and I don’t think 95% of them will reject me. Plus, I’ll keep this in mind – THEIR LOSS – ‘cause these are fine-looking portraits for free we’re talking about!!!

Confidence Boost

After getting my first 5 strangers, I was more confident to intercept more targeted focal subjects. It was a time-consuming process though; but well worth it.

Despite my goal of 30 headshots, I’m happy to have photographed just 11. I’m also contented with the fact that I surpassed my number of rejections versus yeses for the day – 6 out of 17. Not bad for a first-timer.

Now, here’s my sincere thanks to each one of these gorgeous ladies of Hollywood Boulevard!