Body Positivity
I know as a woman, I'm not one to talk on this subject whatsoever.
I know the feeling you get when you step out of the shower and see your body in the steamy mirror before you; the beads of water streaming over what you feel is numerous fat rolls, cellulite, and unattractive female body parts. That image alone is enough to make anyone wrap themselves in their towel, lay in their bed and refuse to arise for the remainder of the day.
Lately, however there have been a huge wave of body positivity hitting most of us Instagram-ers and proficient Social Media-ers. Numerous women of all shapes and sizes have been shamlessly posting sexy and sometimes nude photos on their accounts for the entire world to view and sadly criticize. Through hateful comments and evil backlash these women continue to support struggling ladies all over the world with their self-esteem issues. I find their strength and confidence so appealing, I truly long to have their courage to face the media world and truly re-allign the image of what society expects women to be.
Having that thought squirming around in my mind lately, it has been a pleasure to begin to promote body positivity photographs for the women around me who just may not be 'feeling themselves' lately. The first chance I had was a friend of mine, Philia.
This lady has two beautiful girls, a red-headed husband and a thriving career as a nurse. As most women do, we tend to be hard on ourselves and the way we look compared to the past and ultimately an entirely different life. Pre-baby bodies, pre-husband bodies and pre-carreer bodies can haunt us until we begin to feel ten times as depressed and negative as we did when we began the self loathing journey, thus perpetuating the cycle further. Anxiety, pressure and ruined days follow those thoughts without a hope or a means to dig themselves out of the body image holes they have consequently dug.
Those feelings are the ones I hope to ease while women are in front of my lens.
For someone to trust me enough to be practically nude in front of me is an honor I relish every single opportunity I'm granted. I understand it's not easy, and it strips anyone of the heaviest armor. It's just you, me and my camera having to face your insecurities head on. It's daunting.
With this shoot, I wanted to make her comfortable. I wanted her to see these images and feel sexy. Feel wanted. Feel like she is the fierce go-getter everyone knows her as.
