It all begins with confidence.
I went through a significant life change a few years ago. A photographer friend of mine at the time suggested a photo shoot to document the change and help me step out from my inner narrative to see what the world sees. I had never modeled, and the thought of being so vulnerable was frankly, terrifying. I looked at it as a growth exercise, telling myself I could delete all the photos when it was over and my inner, judgmental narrative was proven correct. To my surprise, only the first few minutes of the session were awkward. It started to feel empowering, freeing, uplifting. To this day, I can still feel the surprise and joy when I saw myself on the screen through an outsider’s eye—my narrative was shattered in the most beautiful way. My judgmental voice was quiet for the very first time; she had nothing to say. I accepted myself, in my own skin, and settled into a new inner narrative and confidence.
In a world of picture perfect social media personas and lives, it has become too easy to be uneasy in our own skin, just the way we are. There is an honesty in seeing oneself through the eye of an outsider that allows that inner narrative to align with the outer reality. The experience of being photographed in this way was an enlightening and special gift to me, and I only hope to pay it forward and bestow positivity, beauty, and confidence to you.