We are so quick to tell our bodies how much we detest every roll, wrinkle, or "abnormality" but very rarely do we hug the softness, caress the bones, and whisper sweet nothings to our vessel, our one stable home. I headed out to the desert with a bunch of amazing boudoir photographers to celebrate our curves and bodies in all their glory and I managed to get one babe down to nothing. Miss Kristina of Owl and Otter: Soul Artist stripped down to the beautiful outfit that is her body and became a goddess, reconnected to nature. With the full moon behind her, the salt flats laid out before her, and nothing but her strong, fearless body that helped her travel across the world to the point where we would meet, she OWNED everything that made her amazing.
My mission as an empowerment photographer is to reunite women with their natural, goddess-like selves but my goal is to also increase the amount of diverse bodies we see online and in social media to make rolls, wrinkles, and "abnormalities" normalized because we are perfect the way we are. If we see bodies of all shapes and sizes in their natural state, we will look at our own and see the beauty that makes us original. This shoot inspired me to start a project this summer, photographing all bodies in the natural landscapes around us (I will wait until Spring for us Canadians!) and then create a beautiful coffee table book that is not only full of beautiful imagery, but also inspirational in all aspects: the women braving themselves and baring their bodies and souls, a showcase of a variety of bodies to show that there isn't ONE ideal, but rather we are all amazing in whatever form we take as long as we are good humans, and their stories about their journey to self love and authenticity!
If you want to join Kristina in this amazing project (I will be traveling to a few different places this year, so keep an eye out if I am coming to you!!) simply email me at: thpstudios@gmail.com with the subject: I AM A GODDESS
If you are not ready to get nudie in the neighbourhood, that is alright. I simply ask that you take some time to reacquaint yourself with your body. Instead of pinching and sighing in disgust at your softness or bits, simply caress it and decide that your bits are beautiful. As you do this over and over again, you will start to see yourself differently.
You know how we wish someone would tell us "I love you"? Well, your body wants the same. If you can't tell yourself that, how can you expect someone else to say it for you? Look at yourself in the mirror...open your eyes, take a deep breath, and start a relationship in loving yourself. You deserve it.“We all begin the process before we are ready, before we are strong enough, before we know enough; we begin a dialogue with thoughts and feelings that both tickle and thunder within us. We respond before we know how to speak the language, before we know all the answers, and before we know exactly to whom we are speaking.” ― Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype
An Open Letter to Addition-Elle
Dear Addition-Elle,I think it's time we had a chat. You see, I have been frequenting your establishment for quite sometime now and while I have been eagerly spending your fashion dollars and partaking in your plus size fashion, something has been bugging me and I think it's time I got it off my ample bosom.
You see, Dearest AE, while I absolutely love the gorgeous Ashley Graham and all of the other beautiful models you portray in your advertising, I can't help but feel slightly disappointed. As Canada's largest (and possibly only!!) plus size establishment (aside from Penningtons, which you also own) you have the opportunity to do something epic, groundbreaking, and revolutionary. You have the opportunity to provide your clientele with the one thing we ache for the most.....images of women like us, wearing your clothes. Nothing against the babes you showcase as they may fall into the "plus size" category (according to your blog post: http://blog.additionelle.com/2014/07/09/plus-size/), but I bet if I had a look at your main demographic, it would NOT feature a size 14/16 woman. I would bet that your average clientele falls between a size 20 and 24 and does not have that flawless hourglass figure that you tout in your fashion editorials.
Now, don't take this personally, because I love that you provide options for us plussies, where there wasn't any previously, but I think we can make a big difference here. You see, I have taken the liberty to provide you with beautiful imagery showcasing YOUR customers wearing YOUR garments and looking absolutely sexy and fabulous...and more realistic to how your customers look when they put on your lingerie. Seeing as it's 2016, I think we can all agree that it's time to stop marketing focused on getting women to want to be someone else and instead provide them with marketing that speaks to who they already ARE and how great they would look wearing your clothes!!
Now, I know this might sound forward and maybe even a little brash, and you are probably thinking, what the heck does this one girl know about fashion and marketing and OUR business...well, I AM your business. You see, I am an avid customer (I have the receipts to prove it) and I am pretty sure if I feel this way, so do a lot of your other customers (at least that's what I gather from the comments on the social media sites, saying they want to see more "bellies" etc.) And I am sure I can hear your marketing director scoffing at this letter, saying things like "nobody would buy clothes if they were on "REAL" bodies", but just think how we feel when we try your pieces on our REAL bodies and realize that we look NOTHING like Ashley Graham when we put on lingerie?? It would be rather radical (and amazing!!) of you to provide us with a more accurate representation of OUR body types. And yes, I know Penningtons has been featuring the gorgeous Tess Munster, but can we get more of that action in the lingerie department of AE?
Seeing as you essentially have the monopoly on plus size fashion in Canada at the moment, I realize you don't OWE me anything, but I think you have a chance to do something amazing and I promise that you will see a spectacular return on your investments (which, at the end of the day, is the idea, right?)
Oh, and PS. if you could get ring lights on your mirrors in the fitting room, I GUARANTEE an increase in sales. Downward lighting from pot-lights is flattering on no one.
XOXO,Your Customer Who Is Built Less Like An Hour Glass and More Like a Brick
(All of these babes are wearing lingerie purchased at Addition-Elle....as you can see, we all look fab as hell)
And Then She Became Unstoppable ~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photography
Miss V. was one of my Christmas boudy babes, who came to me wanting to do a shoot for herself, but also as a gift for her husby. She was referred to me by my epic hairstylist, Miss Kelly O, so I knew she was awesome to begin with, but after chatting with Miss V. I realized that this woman also had big dreams, hopes, and aspirations. Doing a Boudy Babe shoot was just one of the many things on her bucket list.
However, Miss V. had her doubts (like most women) about whether or not she could do this. I mean, really do this. She sent me a few emails going back and forth about her concerns and having cold feet, but I messaged back reassuring her that it was completely normal. This went on a few days up until her session, and then it was like she had been doing this her whole life! Miss V. lit up the camera and her inner sex-kitten came roaring out!
This bombshell was absolutely amazing during her session, but it wasn't until AFTER her session that I realized just how much it had meant to her. I received, in total, 3 emails telling me how much her life had been changed from her session and each message brought me to tears. She carried her confidence with her for days after her shoot and when she came to pick out her images, she was once again revitalized after seeing herself!
The amazing thing about Miss V, however, is that I think she used the confidence gained from facing her fear of doing something like this to start planning an epic, dream filled life for herself. After leaving the studio, I sent her on her way with some inspirational reading material to get her thinking about striving for an amazing life and what that would mean to her.
Here's what she had to say about her session:"Teri’s photography services were recommended to me by a friend. I checked out Teri’s social media sitesand loved what I was seeing. It had been a year of transition for me and I vowed to take more risks andpush myself out of my comfort zone. I had recently created a “bucket list” of sorts and getting boudoirphotos done was on that list. One day I noticed on my social media feed that Teri was offering a sessiondeal and just in time for the holidays. My gut said “let’s do this”. So I contacted Teri and we set up a dateand time to meet.From the minute I met Teri I knew I had made the right decision. Teri greeted me with a warm smile andenthusiasm that was infectious. Teri is so down to earth and genuine. She is so easy to be with that I feltcomfortable immediately. We discussed ideas and details for my session and then booked the date.I should mention that Teri is very prompt to respond to any of your questions or concerns and I reallyappreciated that. I left our first meeting completely excited about our session. The ideas and creativitywas flowing. What should I wear? What are flattering poses? What props could I use to personalize myshoot? Teri emailed me right away confirming my booking along with great information and suggestionsfor our upcoming sessions (the information answered almost all of my questions). A few days later thatterrible feeling “doubt” kicked in and I started to get cold feet. I sent Teri an email to let her know as Iwas quite surprised by how nervous I felt. Teri was completely reassuring. She let me know I was in goodhands and this was going to be an amazing, even life changing experience and you know what?.....I trulybelieved her.
On the weekend before my shoot I was just full of excitement and had completely got over my nerves.Teri’s Boudoir photography is so much more than beautiful photos, it’s an experience. I arrived in themorning for my session and was greeted again by Teri’s warm smile and this time she had cookies too.We chatted and listened to music as my hair and make-up was done. I felt completely relaxed andready!It’s amazing to watch Teri getting ready to be creative too. She set up the studio and already had a planof the furniture and props she was going to use. Teri was excellent at providing direction and praiseduring the shoot. She made me feel completely empowered and beautiful! I left the shoot feeling oncloud nine!!!A week later I returned to view my photos. Teri once again greeted me warmly and walked me throughthe process. It was pretty emotional to see myself through her lens. I could hardly believe that some ofthe images were actually me. Teri has a gift! An ability to empower and capture the beauty andfierceness within. Teri and I spent a long time sharing life experiences before we said goodbye. She evenlent me a couple of inspirational books from her library. In closing, Teri said something during thisprocess that resonated with me. The photos are going to be a gift for your partner but the true gift andexperience is for you. I highly recommend woman to treat themselves to this amazing experience andultimate transformation.Thank you Teri for making this such a wonderful experience!"
I find that a lot of women are like Miss V. So many dreams, hopes, and aspirations bubble up inside us and standardly, moms, wives and mothers have to keep a lid on those things because they are used to giving so much of themselves (not saying that this is a bad thing...just something that happens a lot). I am not saying you need to quit your job tomorrow and run away to Mexico, but I am asking the question "What are you doing every day to get you closer to the life you want?"