For Eileen Lee, the idea of auras was always something she had been interested in as a hobby.
Now, she photographs auras for a living at Aura Aura, an experimental portrait practice in Detroit. According to the website, Aura Aura makes the metaphysical visible, resulting in one-of-a-kind portraits.
It all goes back to a decade ago when she first met her partner. Lee said within the first year of knowing each other, he would tell her what color her aura was, and she found it fascinating.
"It was my first contact with the idea of what the energetic field really is," she said.
In 2017, Rochester native Lee said the photography studio started when she moved back home to Detroit and everything seemed to come to fruition. She found a retail space that doubled as a studio, called Grey Area, located on Vernor Highway in Detroit.
With a background in marketing and social media, Lee said photography was part of her vernacular, with all of her interests and skills coming together in a perfect way.
So, how does it work?
Lee said with COVID-19 sanitation protocols in mind, she strives to create privacy between her, the client and the outside environment.
The aura camera consists of two metal hand sensors, where energy can be seen through two meridian points. She said the frequencies through the meridian points of each individual translates each frequency to a corresponding color. She describes it as an imaging process.
The actual process of taking a portrait is brief, with the photo being taken on an older form of film called packfilm.
Each corresponding color has a different meaning, Lee said.
"The main colors of light — red, blue and green — actually correspond to the base layer of someone's aura," Lee said. "Those three bases are the building block of what's actually going on in a person's life."
She said other colors may appear with the energy someone's working with. For example, red may indicate a period of external changes while green represents more of a self-transformation or evolution period.
Lee said yellow tends to represent being more playful and open-minded. Light blue relates to being truthful and how we communicate, while indigo blue represents being intuitive and having self-trust.
Those interested can book open studio or private sessions at Aura Aura. For more information, click here.
