I believe a photo shoot is a great way of accepting yourself as you are. I will never forget a shoot I did a couple of years ago for a gorgeous lady, which emphasised what an impact photography can have on self-esteem.
She had originally booked the shoot for one date, but then postponed it for several weeks. When we finally did the shoot I started photographing her and showed her some photos on the back of my camera, and she said something I will never forget. She said ‘Oh my god, I look amazing! I postponed the shoot because I felt horrible about myself and how I look. I almost postponed again because I just felt like a disgusting cow. I feel so much better about myself now. Thank you so much!’
Photography is powerful.
I love this metaphor on accepting yourself. For me it sums up why comparison is the thief of joy. It is from the book ‘Love your body love your life’ by Sarah Maria:
The concept of accepting yourself wholeheartedly may be a difficult one to visualise. Consider this metaphor to help you envision it.
Imagine for a moment that you are a budding rose, not quite in full bloom. One day, you look across the garden and see a tulip. “Oh my gosh” you squeal, “I want to be a tulip!” You look longingly across the flowerbeds yearning to be as stunning as the tulip. You begin to look back at yourself with disdain and eventually disgust. “I am just a rose” you whimper. “I have too many petals; I’m not as slim as a tulip.”
Then the idea occurs to you: what if I could become a tulip? “If I was a tulip, I would be beautiful. All the flowers would want to spend time with me, and I would be a huge success”. So you try to fashion yourself into a tulip. You pluck and dye your petals, you fertilise,and you change your root system, only to find after endless effort and force, you are still a rose. Only now you are exhausted, overwhelmed, and still dissatisfied with the fact that you are a rose.
It is only when you accept that you are a rose that your true beauty begins to emerge. If you intend to be a tulip, whether this is fully conscious or not you will be denying the fact that you are a rose. Your intentions will be thwarted because you are acting at odds with the universe and the very energy of intention that you want to connect with.
You can guess the moral of this story: accept your rose-ness. Accept whatever type of rose you are, whatever changes you have made or not made; it doesn’t matter. Reclaim any rejected parts of yourself. Then you can set your intention to become the most beautiful, radiant, generous and glorious rose you can be.
To view my work visit:
Website www.nikkibrown.com.au
Instagram www.instagram.com/nikkibrownphotography