How You Can See a New You – Portraits!

I had a client recently…an accountant-type of girl… lets call her Molly… She came in for a portrait / professional head shot… equal parts nervous and excited, as most women come in. Molly brought with her a handful of buttoned-up accountant-type clothing options, plus a new sparkly tank-top she just happened to pick up. We did Molly’s hair and makeup, keeping it all fairly simple and down-to-earth… but for Molly it was a departure. I knew it, but I like to push the envelope a bit anyway. We shot some of the regular outfit shots, and then I had to get her into that fantastic sparkly tank top. She looked stunning. So beautiful and so fun. So much the cool accountant type that everyone who is not an accountant wants to work with. Because that’s who she is. A numbers girl who talks and laughs and makes my business finances easy-breezy. Sadly, I’m not going to show you Molly’s shots just yet because she hasn’t picked her final picks. But when she saw them, she said something along the lines of  “They’re beautiful photos, but who is that girl?” IT”S YOUUUUUUU!!! I said. And she said “NO… I’m a ponytail and no-make up kinda girl… ”

Are you willing to not recognize yourself to become who you really are? – Danielle Laporte, Truthbomb #218

And this statement has been stuck in my head for days now. Days. Because there’s a self-imposed limitation in there. Like if you’re one kind of girl, you can’t be some other kinda girl. But we’re women, we’re all kinds of kinds of girls. Mothers, sisters, gardeners, wives, painters, hikers, bakers, sex-kittens, dog-trainers, entrepreneurs, and that’s all in one day. Throw in Halloween and special events, and limbs we go out on, and holy moly… We’re EVERYTHING. I start my day as the rolling-out-of-bed growly monster with morning breath. I’m then the puppy-trainer and exerciser, coffee-drinker and hopefully shower-taker. In the course of a work day I’m photographer, marketer, business-lady.  Slip on a little black dress, curl my hair and I get to be my boyfriend’s sexy trophy girlfriend. And I love it all… everything, every one that I get to be. All of these are me. And I am always willing to be some one I’ve never been before, because who I really am is everything. And so are you. Are you willing to see it?

I always use myself when I’m making a point… some photos of me are terrible, some are awesome. Some were surprising, some were not. In some of them I look chubbier than others. In some fancier than others. Some goofier. Some cuter. All them are me. And that’s the best part.