Embracing yourself and learning to love yourself is something I am passionate about. A while back I had decided I wanted to do a shoot with several women nude. I wanted these women to have a connection, not in a sexual way but in a closeness. These women were going to have to stand close to one another nude, possibly even touching a bit. I wanted women of different heights, sizes, hair colors and nationalities. The goal for the shoot was to demonstrate that all women are different. More importantly, that we are all beautiful in our own way. The mere fact that we are different is what, in my opinion, makes us all so amazingly beautiful.
Several women volunteered to put themselves into a vulnerable position and get naked with each other. Seven women to be exact! These women come from all walks of life. There were women in their 20’s-40’s. In these women we had single women, divorced and married women, one woman is a fitness instructor, one has lost significant amounts of weight, one has had twins, another has had breast reduction surgery. All of these women were brave to put themselves out there for this shoot.
The reason I wanted to do this shoot was to help women embrace themselves. I wanted to show them that they need to stop comparing themselves to others and that no one cares what they look like on the outside. Honestly, it really is what is on the inside that really matters. I know people always say that. But, they say it because it’s oh so true.
Women need to lift other women up instead of knocking them down. We need to show women that each and every one of us is spectacular. Embracing yourself and your body is so important. Our bodies all tell the story of our life. It shows what we’ve been through. I wanted to create this shoot to try and get that point across to all women.
What I didn’t expect, however, was how empowering this shoot was for the women that did the shoot. Before the shoot we all gathered in my front room and introduced ourselves. Each of us talked about ourselves a little bit. We then went downstairs to get ready for the shoot. Nervous giggles filled the room. The ladies undressed and you could tell they were unsure and embarrassed by their body language. Arms crossed and heads turned slightly downward for each of the ladies in the room.
Within minutes though, that all changed! This was the coolest part of the shoot. Soon enough they were all talking, sharing stories and didn’t think anything of the fact that they were naked. Bonding was happening. Women were embracing themselves and each other. I don’t think they expected to be as comfortable as they were in such a vulnerable situation. It truly was amazing to see. These women were learning to embrace themselves like they never had before. They were learning acceptance and opening themselves up.
I have no doubt that this would have been my longest blog post ever. I really want you all to hear a little bit from some of the girls themselves to help put this shoot in perspective. So, I wrote second part to the blog where you can see individual pictures of the models. There you can hear some of their views on body positivity and their thoughts on being part of this shoot. Click HERE to see part two of this post.
