This is the article for Forbes Japan serialization, but this time I would love to show that to dear foreign friends, so I wrote here in English.
And you can see original article below in Japanese!
*My Forbes 3rd Article: The Definition of Beauty by Cosplayer
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I wrote about “Photogenic and Beauty” in my second article which is in English↓
Three Lessons to be Photogenic from 17+yrs exp. World Coser
As I have been thinking about how to bring out the beauty that the person himself/herself must have inside, I have got a lot of experience by cosplay.
This time, I’d like to focus on “Eyes”.
The eyes are the windows to the soul
I think this proverb is to the point.
As I looked at tremendous photos, one day I realized one thing.
It means “A person’s character and life are easy to be shown on the face, especially on the eyes.”.
The eye has more information than we thought. Even if you have the same smile, the impression you give people will change greatly depending on whether your eyes are sparkling or not.
There are a lot of cosmetics and beauty techniques in the world, and you can change the size of the parts and the balances of the face by using them.
But the only thing you can’t change is the brightness of your eyes, no matter what cosmetic you use or try to fix it in Photoshop.
That’s why I had a strong interest in the eyes, and I also felt that it shows the whole life of the person. Photographs (and other kind of works of art) never lie.
When shooting, some photographers ask, “I want you to take off the color contact lenses.”. It seems that the color contact lens film makes the original transparency of the person’s eyes go away and makes them cloudy.
In order to obtain “brightful and attractive eyes”
So what are bright eyes and how do you get them? I have been thinking about it for more than 10 years.
My hypothesis is that “a person enjoying life in this moment” is what makes your eyes shiny.
Who talks about daily complaints or negative stories with their clear eyes sparkling? How can a newborn baby not have bright eyes?
When I went to a small village in Bali, Indonesia more than 10 years ago as part of my research, I was amazed to see the sparkling eyes of a local people who was doing their best to enjoy in a simple environment even though comparing to Japan there wasn’t so much stuff. At the same time, I was surprised that their eyes, sparkling with curiosity, made such a big impression.
So what does it mean to enjoy life? Surrounded by so many lovable companions, and having so much money and freedom to live …… many people will think that such things are the ultimate joy of life.
But if you make it the ultimate goal, you might have a lot of pain before you enjoy life. You may feel superior to others, or you may feel infinitely lacking. “I want to have a spirit that I am moved to everything from deep in my heart even if I see a small stone on the road.” says one photographer who has photographed many famous people.
The photographer himself was a wonderful person who never forgot his curiosity, never boasted about taking many famous pictures, and seemed to enjoy a simple life even in his old age.
You don’t have to touch expensive or luxurous works of art to make your eyes shine or to improve your sensitivity.
Just by simply feeling the “beautiful” of the color of the sky and the murmuring of the trees that one casually watches every day, the scenery that one can see in front of one’s eyes and the mind must completely have changed.
I think photography is as an art to show a person’s relationship between the photographer and the model(the object). As an extension of that, I think the brightness of my daily eyes is the brightness of the way I look at the world.
Seeing something beautiful makes my heart happy, and I am filled with the thought of “That’s nice.” and “It’s beautiful.” from deepest of my heart.
When I saw a full of stars twinkling in the night sky, I suddenly said, “BEAUTIFUL ……”.
This “Beautiful.” was not meant to be a just a compliment or flattery, but a real voice from my mind. As long as you live in society, there are many situations that you can’t express in words as you come up, and many people are busy with tasks before they think the stars on the sky are beautiful.
Even in such a situation, if you find beauty in everyday things and have a heart to be moved in innocent, it spreads to the shine of your eyes.
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Thank you for reading, and also you can see all the Forbes Featured Articles here!