Northern Colorado Intimate Portraits | Lady M
“When Nicole and I did my photo reveal [the day after my experience], I was elated to have trouble picking just 6 favorites. I kept going back to this one image I would have never dreamt of keeping in my top 6 during my first shoot all those years ago. I was sitting in a chair, very relaxed, with no real attempt to hide the parts of me that would likely be labeled as “flaws.” Parts of me other intimate portrait artists might photo-shop away. My thick thighs sprinkled with dimples, the ebb and flow of the contours that are my waist, the lines where my body has stretched to make room for my babies, my now tear dropped shaped breasts, the deep smile lines at the crest of my eyes. But I also saw my voluminous curls, the almost mysterious glimmer in my eyes, the curves of my plus sized bottom (that my husband loves to squeeze when he walks by), and that ever so confident smile that says “ Yeah I’m a mother, and my body belongs here too!”
When my daughter asked me if she could see what picture I chose to keep as my favorite, I showed her this perfectly imperfect image. She scanned it for a minute, running her fingers around the twists and turns of my curves. I could see in her eyes the moment societal norms had her question why I picked this photo and not one of the others that didn’t so obviously display all the “imperfect” parts of me. I readied my heart for her honest reaction. But she just kept staring at it, and then she smiled and said “Wow mom, you look so beautiful! We have the same smile. I bet all the moms want to be a model like you.” And in that moment I realized that this ambassadorship is so much bigger than just images for me. That if by sharing my experience, my images, my perfectly imperfect body even just one other person gains the confidence to then do this for themselves that’s pretty incredible. So if you have your doubts, if you think you’re too this or not enough that, if you’re sitting there like me, reasoning why you shouldn’t do this because “I’m a Mother” (or any other reason society has convinced us we shouldn’t), I challenge you to change your mindset and realize that’s exactly why you should!”
-M
Lingerie: Client’s Own
Crystal Dress: Lilac & Fern Closet
