This woman right here; this unbelievably kind, beautiful, INCREDIBLE woman had me in tears when she left the studio. Not because she was a difficult client but because her story broke my heart and I could tell how unsure she was of herself when she walked in. Her lack of confidence was unbelievable. So when she left with a bigger smile than when she came in and had a little pep in her step as she walked out and dare I say little excitement to see her images, I wept.
The day of her reveal, I’ll admit I was a bit nervous. Not that I thought I didn’t do a good job, because I knew I loved the images we created. I worried that she wasn’t going to see the same woman her husband and I see. Her husband came with her for this and as they sat down I felt a little pit in my stomach. I started the slide show and the silence was deafening. After the longest minute of my life, I heard “Are you crying?” I was so scared to turn around. As I did he asks “Are these good or bad tears?” and like a breath of fresh air I for one so desperately needed, I hear between the tears “GOOD! I just can’t believe it’s ME!” Talk about choking back some more tears, she had seen what we see.
She is beautiful, a true goddess.
In her words:
“I am just a mom.
After having children, gaining a good bit of weight, and even losing the weight, I had felt like I lost a lot of self confidence and even a little of who I was. I had looked at boudoir photography before, but never felt like I had the right body type or was pretty enough to do them. I had shared my thoughts with my husband a while back. One day he decided it was a time in my life I needed to feel amazing and feel beautiful again. He found Tiffany Marie Studios through a friend and booked my session for my 39th birthday. I was so excited, but also nervous my body wasn’t good enough. Although I did work hard and lose a few pounds, I didn’t push myself any more than I would have normally. I stressed about that, but then put it behind me going into the session. ”
“Tiffany made me feel as comfortable as possible during the entire experience as well as giving me a boost of confidence leaving the studio. Even before seeing the first photo I felt better about myself than I have in a long time. After seeing the first sneak peek photo I felt even better. Tiffany is an artist to say the least. She has a tasteful eye for this type of photography. I’m so happy I chose her for my session. If I could say to all the moms out there, especially the ones with low self esteem, whatever your shape or size, do this. I don’t think I ever felt so beautiful.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. It’s women like K that inspires me to do what I do. As a mom its hard sometimes to see our bodies go through such a transformation and then afterwards we feel for so long that we’ve lost our identity. We are the human creators, boo boo kissers, snack makers, and everything in between that our kids need from us and we gladly do it because we love them; we’d give our last breath for them. That doesn’t mean we should let it consume our entire identity, after all we are more than just moms. We are business owners, career women, philanthropist, wives, and most of all bad asses for doing it all! So start taking back your identity, I’m not saying neglect your children, but remember you’re more than mom, momma, mommy.
Men if you’re reading this too, take notice of your significant other, hear her when she’s standing in the mirror hating on her body. Give her the kind words she needs to hear, even if it’s the 1000th time you’ve said it. After all she gave birth to your mini me, crotch goblin. And if you want to talk about setting up a session for her, gift certificates are available! It’s ok to give a light push, just remember these aren’t for you but for her!