A Personal Portrait: An Exploration of Empowerment

Let’s start with the obvious…What is a personal portrait anyway???

This type of photo session can be a multitude of things depending on the reason and purpose behind it. A personal portrait can be a branding and headshot session for business owners, it can be a boudoir session and absolutely anything in between. Most commonly, however, Personal Portraits are done to commemorate a milestone, a gift to capture an important time in our own personal walk upon this earth.

A lot of people request this shoot typically after some life changing event: a survival story, a break-up, a goal reached, a major accomplishment, a celebration.

Flipping the Script

Personal Portraits have the ability to be a profound change agent, especially in the lives of women. For years women have been objectified, put in the corner, body shamed. We’ve been sold lie after lie by media and marketing that we aren’t enough just the way we are or that we are only good for a handful of things. They have done an incredible job of making us believe that our value and worth are found only in our bodies! And you know what…we’ve bought it! We’ve all drunk the poisoned Koolaid, so to speak, and struggled to understand and accept who we really are.

Well, no more!!

The tide is turning and women are changing the narrative of their lives. Women are raising their voices all over the world to stand up for themselves and each other over the injustices they have suffered. They are stepping out of the shadows, flexing their power, being bold and courageous, and discovering that they are beautiful and valuable and have worth far greater than anything we could imagine.

Photography as a Voice

A Personal Portrait session gives time and space to tell your story with vulnerability. I’m not talking about taking your clothes off vulnerable, I’m talking peel back the layers of who you’ve been to get to that nugget of truth in who you ARE! It takes courage and boldness to be in front of a camera, and that can be a real act of empowerment for women. What starts as an attempt to act or recreate in front of a camera (what you think you should do or how you should be), eventually gives way to an authentic experience that allows your true personality to come out and shine.

So why do a Personal Portrait Session?

The beauty of gifting yourself a personal portrait session lies in the way the experience allows you to be truly seen. To see a side of yourself you maybe knew was hiding but had not yet met. Giving over control to a photographer to share in the telling of your story allows you to see angles and perspectives of yourself you might not have otherwise known existed. A Personal Portrait session creates space for you to be surprised by your own beauty, your capacity, your capability, your strength, your resolve and your purpose.

These are more than just pretty images, it’s not hard to make someone look beautiful. These images tell YOUR story! And you get to share them with the world or cherish them as a reminder to keep pressing on towards the end goal. And the truly empowering thing about a session like this is that you’re not doing it for anyone else; you’re doing this for YOU!

So when you’re ready to tell your story, I’ll be here on the other side of the camera ready to cheer you on.

All my love,