I consider Miss S to be a good friend in addition to an awesome client. I mean, this babe will literally go to the ends of the world for the people in her life...who doesn't want someone like that in their life?? Well, we were supposed to do maternity photos for her, but if you remember the time I had someone go into labor while they were in hair and makeup, then you will be happy to know it was Miss S and the baby that arrived about 4 hours after we sent her to the hospital is Mr. T (above). Miss S came to my studio to paint my wall for me (because my attention to detail is shit and she showed up with her own professional brush!) so in exchange she was the first babe photographed on the wall and since she was a new mom, we also had Mr. T join us for the occasion. I literally never have babies in my studio during a session, but this was a bit different because we wanted to document something different.This is the season of her life now. Just when we would get into a sexy pose, Mr. would cry for his momma (he was hungry) and while we tried to continue, it was easier to stop and feed him, but during this time we also got some of my favorite photos of forever. For Miss S's shoot, this time around (she had done a shoot with me the year prior when I was in Vegas), I wanted her acknowledge her mom bod and really see it for what it was so I only lightly edited the images. I wanted to showcase her swelling breasts which provide sustenance to her baby, I wanted to show her the amazingness that is the body's ability to inflate and deflate, growing life while doing so. I wanted to show her that motherhood doesn't mean a lack of sexiness, it means a change in mind as to what sexy is. I wanted her to see that her body, while different, is a wonderful thing that is capable of so, so much (including climbing a 10ft ladder without falling off!!). Lastly, I wanted her to see that this is a new season of her life and her body is being used in a different fashion that it was before. Right now, it may seem like it's no longer hers, but the purpose of providing life and sustenance to her little dude seems to be a pretty important task...to add the task of fitting into "societal beauty standards" and the "yummy mummy bod" would be rude. She is beautiful, gorgeous, and changed from the experience of having a child. Miss S wrote her own experiences in her blog here , explaining that she finally feels "at home" in her body!! I highly recommend checking it out!
Her body is not ruined, it has evolved.Her body is not ruined, it is a map of the terrain her body weathered while growing a life, giving birth, and continuing to feed. The blue rivers stretch to feed her baby, the shallow valleys of her skin tell the story of her body's journey, and mountain ridges of scar tissue while red now, will eventually erode, falling into the tapestry of her life's story.Her body is not ruined.
{This was the moment when Mr T decided to poo all over his momma's arm.}
When Miss K contacted me about doing a maternity session that wasn't "traditional" and channeled her strength and power rather than the soft, dainty images we usually see with fields, flowers, and hearts on the belly, I said HELL YES!! (Not that there is anything wrong with those, we just wanted more strong & sexy vibe).... As long as she didn't go into labour during her makeup, like our last pregnant babe. There wasn't too much time between when she contacted me and doing her session, so upon meeting for her shoot, I found that Miss K was so sweet, soft spoken and had a beautiful aura about her. But I didn't really have time to hear her story until she sent me her testimonial (which is below)...upon reading her story, my heart broke in pieces, but then I realized that this woman had every reason to be negative, but instead worked her way through what she had to do and refound her inner strength and power to be able to be the loving momma and woman her and her baby needs. I shall let Miss K tell her story below:
I didn't actually research any other boudoir options in Winnipeg. I think the photos I saw of Teri's work before hand (from a mutual Facebook friend) spoke for themselves. On top of that I liked the message and body positivity that I saw once joining her page. Its the kind of thing you know before going into it that you are only going to feel uplifted and welcome.
I think the empowerment session I did was in some ways a culmination of struggle to regain strength over the last nine years and also really helpful in embracing my pregnancy and my future as a single mom.
In the fall of 2008 I was drugged in a guys house, I had gone there to end things with him and ended up two days later having to escape onto the roof with no idea of why I was still there and in a totally psychotic state. That led to a number of diagnoses (general anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, PTSD), and an extreme phobia of going new places (particularly peoples homes but not limited to), flashbacks, panic attacks and an avoidance of places that might trigger them. As cliche as it is I lost my power over my own life and its been a slow process back to strength.
Even my current pregnancy was a result of letting someone take advantage of me and not having my own voice in what I wanted. I feel that doing this shoot for myself was so important in having the strength to be alone right now and take care of myself and my baby and remind myself to have positive thought in regards to my mind and body.
There is a lot more to [an empowerment session] than just beautiful people and I think you should try it if you are curious when the time is right. Kind of like of going to therapy, you will go when you are ready.I couldn't agree more with Miss K. When people inquire about gift cards and the like for their partners, I appreciate the sentiment because yes I think it IS a wonderful gift, but for the woman to experience change and really get the full benefits out of what we do here, she has to be ready: ready to get vulnerable, ready to face herself, ready to invest, and ready to experience a possible change. I always say that absolutely the photos are fabulous (cocky much?) but will you be affected? I don't want to convince anyone this is for them, I don't want to coerce people into doing something they aren't fully invested in, and more importantly, I want people to come to me when they are ready to experience empowerment, strength, confidence, and a new outlook on themselves. Did I just give you an excuse not to do it? I can almost hear you saying "well...I'm so busy, maybe the time's not right, so I must not be ready..." THAT is bullshit because there is no right "time" ...just a right attitude. As humans we are great at being "busy" to distract us from seeking what we need most: to re-connect with ourselves. So, if you are curious about what a session for you would be like, feel free to