Being a professional photographer for 13 years gave me a lot of insight to the deepest fears and vulnerabilities of women who have been in front of my camera. It’s clear to me that there is a strong pattern of body image issues and struggles with self acceptance. Unfortunately it effects the majority of us.
Even after 13 years I am still trying to figure out why I became a photographer. What was my real motivation behind it? Why did I have a strong desire within me to pursue this career? When I photograph women who have self esteem issues, I know I am getting close to have an answer to that question. Maybe it’s because I need just as much encouragement as my subjects? It can quite possibly be as simple as that, yes.
2020 has been a rough year to say at least and I felt the urge to give back and offer a helping hand. There are a lot of other ways to help but this is where I think I can be the most genuine at. Photography is my love language, it is where I feel most powerful and most useful for my community.
In early December I announced on my social media that I was looking for someone to model for me for my personal photography project which was an artistic lingerie photo session. I was looking for a woman who NEEDED this experience for some reason. I asked the applicants to share their stories with me and why they wanted to participate in such photo project. I was interested in finding out their ‘WHY’. The response was overwhelming. I received the most beautiful letters from the most gorgeous women who were opening up to me about their struggles with self acceptance. I couldn’t just pick one ‘winner’ for this project so I decided to extend it and ended up choosing 4 participants.
For the look of these photos I was craving something simple, something raw, something very different from what I’ve been producing in the last few years. My work has been vey colorful and vibrant lately filled with glam, perfect makeup and hair and that is why I was craving something completely different this time. The entire session was shot black and white and with very minimal editing. I wanted to focus on real beauty, no heavy makeup, no big props, fancy dresses, no fluff. It was just my subject and I, no crew, no noise around us in the studio. It’s been quite a while since I’ve had such an intimate photoshoot and I have to say it was amazing.
TAMZEN’S GALLERY
Tamzen, this beautiful soul was the first one in front of my camera. She is truly one of the most fabulous women I’ve ever photographed. It breaks my heart to know how she feels about herself sometimes. You can hear in this video as she explains it in her own words. Without further adieu, I present you the first part of my project, Tamzen’s Lingerie Photo Shoot:
BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO
Follow me on my Instagram and/or Facebook (links are o the bottom of my page) to see the rest of the project unfold. My next photoshoot will be in January and I cannot wait to photograph and share my next model’s story with you.
