Shawn Atueyi

Meet June's It Girl, Shawn. A 25 year old photographer/photo retoucher hailing from charm city of Baltimore. After finding a passion for photography in high school, Shawn decided to continue her passion at MICA where she received her BFA in photography. Since then she has been pursuing photography full-time. Did I mention she has captured pictures of me and my models for the It Girl blog?! Through photography, Shawn was able to gain patience, faith and drive which has lead her to her purpose in life; photography! Photography is a way of being able to gain confidence. As a photographer, Shawn is able to see the progression of people being once shy to confident all from capturing these moments behind a lens. It Girls come in many forms, from different walks of life and many career choices. It Girls aspire to inspire everyday with everything that they do. I had the pleasure of speaking with Shawn on her opinion of confidence and self-love. Here's what she had to say:

Q: What is your opinion on self confidence? (How do you express it? How did you gain it?)

S: Having Self Confidence is crucial! Especially in the industry I’m in! I feel like when you truly reach to the point where you can accept yourself flaws and all, no matter what people say or how people think about you. You don’t allow it to affect you from becoming your better self. I feel like the first step into having self-confidence is to genuinely love yourself. Girl become your first best friend lol! Every time, Before I photograph a client, I always ask them “what is your favorite song at the moment? ” and not just any song, but that song that makes you feel great inside. Trust me! I’m going to be your best friend and Hype man to bring out all of your confidence and take away al1 those nerves lol. I want to capture your best self and the only way to do it is when you feel your best.

Q: What is your opinion on self love? (How do you express it? How do you gain it ?)

S: Without self-love, self-confidence doesn’t exist. You have to learn the art of being patient with yourself. I feel like in this day and age it so easy to compare your lifestyle to someone else’s, especially when we have social media and everything seems to be perfect, when in reality it’s just a facade. And sometimes it’s hard to not compare yourself to other people, I feel like everyone does it. But, again you have to be patient with yourself, trust the process, and accept the growth, because at the end of the day; only you have control of your happiness. So love yourself Queen, Love yourself!

Q: How do you feel about magazines and other platforms editing flaws to make celebrities look perfect? As a photographer, what is your opinion on capturing beauty?

S: As a Photographer and Photo Editor I do Retouch my clients photos, however I don’t retouch to the point where it becomes unnatural and the client becomes unrecognizable. However ,I do feel like certain magazines go to the extreme when it comes to retouching . For example, changing body types and exaggerating features. These type of things creates insecurities and becomes the norm of standards in beauty. This goes back to what I stated earlier, all of these things are just a façade. Once you learn to genuinely love yourself you’ll know what’s real and what’s not. My opinion on capturing beauty is when I can have the client be their complete selves and comfortable in their own skin. And that’s the BEST kind of beauty. When you can be genuinely happy and comfortable in your own skin.

If you would like to schedule a photoshoot with Shawn or just admire her amazing work you can follow her on these sites below:

Instagram: @S.atueyi

Twitter: @S_Atueyi