Hey there! For this weeks blog post I was lucky enough to have a guest writer! Jennifer came to us for a session a few months back and was a blast to work with. We quickly bonded and her entire session was basically a girls day... just with a little nudity! Often at the reveal my clients are more nervous than the shoot itself! This is where my clients come back to see and select their final images as well as add any products, albums etc, that they may want. "Why are they so nervous?" you may be wondering... Because all of the images I show our clients at their reveals are NON RETOUCHED. Nothing is retouched until AFTER images are selected (and even then I retouch with a light hand and I refuse to change a persons body!) Yes, you read that correctly! Gasp! "But what about stretchmarks, cellulite, bumps, rolls, fat, bruises, wrinkles, pimples, blah blah blah...?" Wow, that was actually exhausting just writing that out. Well, what about them? The truth of the matter is woman shouldn't hate themselves if they have any of these perceived "flaws" anyways. If you weren't told by society what was and wasn't "beautiful", do you think you'd look at yourself and your body in the same way? Probably not... Anyways, I digress, I'm getting off topic. The reason I show non retouched images is to show my clients that they are BEAUTIFUL RIGHT NOW. They do not need photoshop or the liquefy tool or some filter to be beautiful. Every woman that walks through my doors expects that I do a lot of editing on my images but the truth is that I don't. I make it a point to turn the camera around and show my clients the LCD screen throughout the session to SHOW you how amazing you look NOW. This is no different at the reveal. So yes, my clients are always nervous when they show up to the reveal because they expect to be the exception to that rule. They couldnt possible look beautiful without some kind of editing, right? I just smile, tell them to have a seat and watch the magic unfold as they see themselves for the first time. I mean REALLY see themselves Because, damn it, its so easy to focus on the things we dont like about ourselves. Do you do that with your mother or your best friend? Fuck no! You see what makes them beautiful dont you? Anyways, I rambled a bit there! So here is Jennifer's story and experience, in her own words. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us! In May of this year, I was a 46-year-old, divorced woman, coming out of a bad 19 year marriage and sixteen months of brutal divorce proceedings. I was tired, sad, frustrated and feeling pretty bad about myself. I kept seeing my friend, Kris Williams', photos from Alaynna Marr and GlamMarr Studios and I thought, I wish I had done that when I was younger/prettier/thinner, etc. I talked with Kris about it and she told me how empowering it was to have the photos taken and how good she felt about herself. So......I decided to do it. I figured hey! Alaynna's a professional, she can at least take a couple of photos that don't make me look toooooooo bad. I was really nervous... after having spent years feeling bad about myself. When I got there, I immediately felt comfortable with Alaynna. She's hilarious and so down to earth. She and Mariah were like a couple of girlfriends I'd known forever! We laughed and talked, joked around and before you know it... I was posing in all kinds of ways I never imagined I would. lol It was actually fun and I didn't feel uncomfortable for one minute. As a matter of fact, Alaynna was adjusting her equipment mid pose and I joked, "well, we MUST be friends now, here I am with my butt hanging out." The entire experience was a lot of fun! When I went back for my reveal I was also nervous... I don't have the best body image, so I took my friend Jackie with me to give her honest opinion. We were both simply amazed! I thought...... and even said, "WOW! Who is that woman?" These were untouched, unedited photos of ME!!! And...... I looked....... beautiful! I was in disbelief....do I really look like that? Is this the way other people see me? Is this the way I should see myself? Yes, yes and YES! Empowering isn't even the word for this experience! I'm a case manager, I'm a mom, I'm a daughter, I'm an animal rescuer, I'm a friend, I am many things but I'm also a woman who can be confident in herself and the way she looks! I would pose for Alaynna again in a heart beat and I encourage all of you to embrace your own beauty and sexiness! |
AuthorSt louis boudoir photography. Located in Illinois. Specializing in ALL women! Archives
January 2018
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