For years my sister and I have been told we "look so much alike" yet we couldn't be any different if we tried. She is a curvy, petite babe and I am a rectangular, tall babe, she is feisty (we called her Taz when she was little) and stubborn and I give no fucks and am a bit more relaxed. The one thing we do have in common, though, is how much we need each other in our lives. The quote "You keep me wild, I'll keep you safe" is one that resonates for me when it comes to our relationship. I have always been the free-spirited hippie and though she is chronologically younger than me, she acts older, making me eat fruit instead of cookies and all that. Like any sibling relationship, it hasn't always been rosy. There are times when our Barbies would be hurled across the room at each other, she got creative with my Macauly Culkin poster, and I passive aggressively made her do my bidding. I wouldn't change it for the world. As the years have gone by and we both "matured" into the adults we are today, there were times when we definitely didn't understand each other. One of those times includes our views on our bodies. From a young age I was bullied and had to find out who I was and become confident in myself as a PERSON and not just as a BODY, but my sister was popular, had lots of friends and was more stereo-typically pretty...but this led to her own dissatisfaction with her body, comparing herself to other girls, and just not recognizing how awesome or beautiful she truly was. Fast forward to today, where she has birthed 3 children (which are fucking adorable btw) and realized she had to become a different role model. She started to see her body for what it helped her accomplish and that was when she FINALLY let me do a boudoir session for her. Her shoot was awesome for me because I finally got to direct her and take control, whereas normally she conducts the family gatherings, but more importantly, I saw her confidence come out during her session. When asked to describe her session, she chose the following: Powerful, Exhilarating, Out of my comfort zone . Take a look below at her story and images (and yes, yes, we DO look alike...she just got all the bootay in the family.)
I was extremely nervous going into my shoot. I'm a mom of three and have always been self conscious of my body. In the past I've used eating disorders to help combat what I thought was "fat & ugly" (let me interject and say that fat does not = ugly, fyi). After having kids my body was never the same but I knew that I had my kids watching me so eating disorders wasn't something I wanted them to see. Instead I've been trying to accept that my body is beautiful and it has provided me with three healthy babies and I've earned these new curves with hardwork. However, it hasn't been an easy road accepting it. This experience was more than just pictures. It made me realize that just because I'm a curvacious "mom", I'm sexy, I'm beautiful. I'm confident. I saw myself in a light that I have not seen for many years. I feel more beautiful and happy with myself in these photos then I did the day I walked down the aisle 30 lbs lighter. I have given life, I have started a company, I have fun with friends, I live life and that is what I'm finally seeing in myself. This experience helped me see all this and more.
With her remarks about being happier now than 30lbs lighter when she got married, I know what she is talking about because I was there for it all. I remember how stressed she was about her body prior to her wedding and while she looked beautiful, she now has sun shine beaming out of her face and it doesn't come from being a certain size or achieving an unrealistic ideal, it comes from living a life that one could only dream of: She has created a ridiculously successful bakery, a gorgeous, down to earth family and is laughing and loving herself a lot more....I couldn't be more proud of my sister...(I'M NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING).Are you ready to change your life? To appreciate for what it is right now? Then hit me up with an email and let's chat about your dream session!