It's possible that there's been a child more photographed than my daughter Auri, but I'd have to see it to believe it. She was a little over a year old when I first decided to become a photographer and by the time she was two she'd become a full-time muse for my work; sitting patiently for endless photo sessions while allowing me to play with her hair, her clothes and the lighting that fell around her.
Even at a very young age Auri had a presence about her that was self-assured and serene and it made taking pictures of her a wonderful experience. As she grew older and watched my clients during photo sessions, she became even more skilled at disassociating herself from the camera and going off into her own quiet little world where we would sometimes work together for several hours. I could always tell when she was tired of the process though and we didn't pushed beyond her threshold. There was no need to really - we were taking pictures for fun.
Growing up in Hollwyood as she did, Auri was often encouraged by those around her to get into doing commercial and film work. But somehow it never really felt right to move in that direction with her so it wasn't something that we pursued, even though it was sometimes discussed.
One time however, a friend told us that a casting director she knew was looking for a child just like Auri. We talked to Auri about it and she said, "Sure, I'd like to do that." So I got some headshots together, (one of which is to the right here) and we went in to see the casting director at the MTM lot in Studio City. Auri was about five at the time.
After about a half hour alone with the casting director, Auri came out and said the woman wanted to see me. I went in and in a very earnest and caring tone of voice, the woman told me to please take Auri home and not pursue this. She said that in all of her nearly twenty years of working with children, she'd never met a more unaffected, open and delightful child and that she would hate to see her spoiled by being in the business.
In my heart I knew the woman was right. It just felt good to hear it from somebody who knew what she was talking about - someone who at the same time said that Auri was so gifted and natural that she'd be likely to get any part that she'd go out for. "But why do that to her?" the casting director asked me. "Take her home and forget about all of this entertainment stuff. It's just not worth the price you and your daughter will end up paying."
And then in her parting words she said to me: "And for heaven's sake, if you do decide to pursue this, don't put her in an acting class. You'll spoil what's so wonderful about her."
So that was Auri's brief little peek into the entertainment business. She lived in Hollywood for twelve of her first thirteen years yet never stepped in front of anybody's camera but daddy's.
I include her here in this Hollywood scrapbook because Auri is truly the most beautiful and delightful of all of the people I photographed in Hollywood. Oh sure, she's my daughter and there's not an objective bone in my body where she's concerned. But something really wonderful took place between us as photographer and muse - she knows it and I know it and it's kind of always been our little secret.
Until till now I guess.
