The Law of Attraction…

• Feature article •

Do coincidences exist?

You could ponder that question for a long time, listing arguments for and against.

Unexplained events? Chance encounters?

Everyone has to decide what they believe, but one thing I know for certain: my story was not the result of coincidence.

As a young woman growing up in a small provincial town, I often dreamed about life in Budapest after finishing secondary school.

I never had the courage to move there — just as I would never have signed myself up for a lingerie or boudoir shoot, or for many other things outside my comfort zone.

For several years I have followed photographic artists on both Facebook and Instagram.

I admire their photographs and sometimes a particular image makes me stop and wonder:

Could someone make a photograph like that of me too? What would I look like? Would I like what I saw? How would my family react? What would my partner say?

Dozens of questions race through my head.

Then I arrive at the same conclusion:

I am not brave enough.

I am not thin enough. My skin is imperfect. I have inhibitions that keep me from trying something I find genuinely attractive.

I am afraid of failure and of judgement — something I have experienced plenty of.

Because of that, I essentially deny myself anything society might consider strange, and I retreat inward.

I did not mention coincidence for nothing.

There are no coincidences.

I had been following Norbi's page for six years.

I had read countless posts and comments about him, almost all full of praise and positive experiences.

I was fascinated by the stories of liberated male and female clients and by the articles that pushed against taboo subjects.

Then, not long ago, one particular blog post appeared on his page and really caught my attention.

I wrote Norbi a message congratulating him and wishing him continued success.

To my great surprise, he replied very quickly.

When he realised how long I had been following him, he offered me an outdoor portrait session as a gift.

I could not believe what I was reading.

When I asked, “Why me?”, his answer was simple:

For him it was a great honour that I had been among the earliest followers of his Facebook page.

So I immediately accepted the unexpected opportunity.

Before he could possibly change his mind. :P

After exchanging a few messages, we also spoke by phone.

It quickly became clear that I was dealing with someone extremely open-minded, exceptionally accepting and very good at reading people.

He asked about my ideas.

For example:

What did I want to receive from this photo shoot?

I thought for a while.

My answer was essentially this:

A sense of satisfaction.

When I see the photographs, I want to like the person looking back at me.

I want to improve my self-worth and strengthen my confidence.

The date of the shoot approached at frightening speed, and I became increasingly excited about creating something together.

Then, the day before I was due to travel to Budapest, we had to rethink the plan.

Rainy weather was arriving and the temperature had dropped sharply.

After another consultation, I decided on a portrait and lingerie session instead.

For many, many years I had flirted with the thought of having photographs like that made of myself.

I had never been brave enough.

I had never considered myself sexy or attractive enough to do it.

And I was afraid of being judged.

At the same time, I was actively working on accepting myself and building confidence, with a great deal of support from my partner.

This opportunity could not have arrived at a better time.

As I said:

There are no coincidences.

I was consciously focusing on personal growth — and somehow attracted a positive opportunity that could help move me forward.

At the beginning of the session we talked for a while to dissolve the initial tension.

I showed Norbi the reference images I had nervously downloaded.

I would have been delighted to have something similar to any one of them.

Norbi looked through the gallery and pointed out something I had not realised:

I did not actually want to reproduce those photographs.

What I wanted was the emotional world they reflected — and the feeling they created in the viewer.

We began with a portrait series.

Only a few clicks.

The images were taken from a three-quarter angle, with mysterious red light tracing the contours of my face in the background.

We ended up with one serious portrait and one smiling one.

I absolutely loved what I saw.

It showed me a face of my own — and from an angle — I barely knew.

I wanted to see more of myself.

Norbi said we should continue with an ordinary, everyday scene.

Close your eyes.

Feel grateful for everything you have.

Then gently, lovingly run your finger from your forehead toward your lips.

The shutter clicked.

---

The flash fired.

When I saw the photograph, excitement rushed through me.

I am beautiful!!! :)

Art photography – details.

Part of the BANHALMI ecosystem

For the professional context and practical side of portrait photography, visit the BANHALMI professional website. Related art series, books and exhibitions are preserved in the BANHALMI ART archive.