It all started with girl talk. Just two girlfriends chit chatting about all the world said we should be and how even Barbie couldn't live up to those standards these days. My friend, Sue Ann, suggested that I do a photo campaign about body shaming (similar to one she had seen online from a photographer from another state). I loved her passion for the no body shame, but honestly thought that was just touching the surface of what women deal with daily. We have so many standards in life, so many list to check off, so many expectations coming from complete strangers that our physical is just one level of where we get targeted negatively. So I told her I would think on it.

And so I pondered, prayed, and then came the plan of Project Self Love 2016. Simple concept, I hand them a poster board, sharpie and their thoughts and photograph the results. What had someone said that had tattooed them negatively? NOW, flip the board, write what THEY KNOW FOR SURE ABOUT THEMSELVES THAT WAS POSITIVE?!   I jotted down 10 women I knew who were beautiful, strong, awesome and flawed...#realwomen. Women who had a "To Do" list that never got done. Women who were a size 2 and women who were barely squeezing on their size 22 pants, yet still ROCKING IT. Women who had been abandoned and broken, yet let the light shine through the cracks and lead them to a better path. Women who had made all A's in high school, went to college, had a career and yet their entire world still crumbled. Women who looked the devil in the face and said "NOT TODAY SATAN!" Women who had 0 children and longed for 5, and women who had 5 and barely made it through the day with all #mommin was asking of them. Women who said what they thought, did what they wanted, and made the world turn their heads constantly. Women who grew up with "everything", women who grew up with "nothing" and still climbed the mountain of life with Rocky theme song in the background. And my prayer for 10 women for the inaugural PSL became 16 women!

The day we met up, it was 900.6 degrees outside....WELCOME TO TEXAS SUMMER! But none the less these women met with me and my camera and my Dollar General poster board and sharpies, because they believed in what this project was going to be. I am forever grateful to that original crew who jumped with me on this crazy leap of faith that people would see themselves in one of them. That they could show that we can choose to tattoo ourselves with positives, just as much as we can negatives. That someone who saw PSL would see life is difficult, beautiful, frustrating, fun, amazing, emotional, awesome, heartbreaking, heart filled, disappointing, extraordinary and us women can find triumphs in our trials!

So here we are in year two of Project Self Love and I have 37 WOMEN! We make plans and God laughs. My goal this year was 20...God showed up and showed out once again! This year I chose women, had women who contacted me and had women who were nominated and even have women who are on a list for next year! These women migrated toward the rawness. The unedited words and physical aspect of this project grabbed people's attention. No filters! I am through the roof excited to see where this project goes and even more so how much it will touch women I have and may never meet! We don't have to have it all together. We are all a work in progress...that's what makes us human.  I hope as you watch this video below that you realize that BEING YOU IS ENOUGH! (And keep up with PSL for years to come!)

 

#PSL17 #beautifulinsideandout #projectselflove2017 #PSL16 #youareenough #lovethyself

 

Meet Braxton...he loves his Mom, dirt, playtime, and food. He has no boundaries. He studies everything. The world is his adventure.  I remember taking this little man's newborn session and now look at this! Just like all of them...he keeps growing, changing, developing. SLOW DOWN! I just completed yet another graduation season and I still am baffled how they get from fluttering in our stomachs to walking across a graduation stage! This blue eye beauty in blue jeans, with just a whisp of curl in his side hair, melts me in this picture. And he isn't even my son! Oh how these boys make us pull our hair out and lose our voice...but Oh how these boys tug at our heart strings. Thanks Shana for sharing your boy with me!

 

I have to admit that I rarely look at my sessions before they are loaded. I mean I will skim through them, but rarely do I just go pic by pic...I get too attached...lol! Learned a long time ago that the photos are for the clients...not me, so decided to just load the galleries and wait for their choices. Also, when it's in the midst of the madness of the holidays, I rarely have time to even skim, so it's like opening a present for myself when I do get the rare occasion to go back through a full session. So as I went through the Robison's session from over the holidays, I came across this pure, beautiful moment and must say it is one of my FAVS! 2 reasons...1) I semi posed them to look deep into each other's eyes with all their sultry and sexiness... 2) They totally could not do it and this is the result. Livin' love...right here...captured a raw, beautiful, fun loving moment. Moments like these captured never lose their magic for me. True love does still exist...straight off the camera, no editing needed.
 

 

 

 

There is beauty is simplicity. I have learned this over the years, in photography and life. We often want the "fluff" and Photoshop version of our lives, and so quickly forget about the greatness in natural and no fixin' photos. I am guilty of this too, but finding photos like this while I am skimming through a session always reminds me of the beauty in simplicity. This wasn't posed. It hasn't been filtered. This was just lil' man waiting on me to get set up for our session. Simply beautiful. Remember to take the time to enjoy the simple things.
 

 

 

 
 

Most Mamas envision the perfect photo session as their sweet lil' ones snuggled up next to each other with no wrinkles in their clothing, pearly whites glistening in the sun and NO TRACE of unruly children or sibling rivalry. The lighting is perfect, the mood is perfect...is that ANGELS we HEAR SINGING?!I can't tell you how many times I have seen Mama's excitement for their family session turn to great disappointment once the kiddos decide they are over the session before it even starts! Big brother pushes lil' sister off the chair, brother wants to ninja fight, sister wants to dance and sing, MAMA WANTS THEM TO SIT DOWN AND SMILE! We get caught up in the "vision" and forget that real life is more often than not more endearing then fantasy. I LOVE it when clients get the proofs and say, "Awwww! I can't believe how great these turned out! Look how cute lil' Billy looks! Look at SASSY SOPHIA! Oh my goodness! I didn't think you had gotten anything from that session!" The truth of the matter is that sometimes in the mist of the session, I wonder what exactly I did catch...lol! But I am always in awe of the candid, "NOT SO PERFECT" moments, that can become mine and my clients favorites. So remember next session when lil' man wants to stand and sister doesn't, let them be little...you'll cherish these memories once you remember the story that went with the session!
 

 

 

Pictured is Addy and Aly, sisters, set up amongst "Wintery" props. What makes this picture so special is not the lighting, the props, or the location, but what makes this photograph, like any great photograph is the story that goes with it. See, Jennifer, their mom, gave me free reign on how to place them, location and props, with one stipulation that their Christmas tradition was included in one of the pictures. So in about 45 minutes we did around 15 different poses and this one instantly was my favorite. Why? Memories make more memories and a picture that went from 2 sisters sitting on a blanket became another precious memory when I handed them the book they read every Christmas. I didn't ask them to snuggle. I didn't ask them to read...just handed the book to the oldest sister and told her to hold it so I could see both their faces. Once she started reading, I realized I was about to capture something special. This shot reiterated to me that  tis the season for memories...new memories...old memories.
 

Tis the season...we hear this around this time of year... but what does that really mean? Tis the season for hustle and bustle...tis the season to stress over what is the perfect gift for your family and friends...tis the season to pick up that extra shift...for the extra money that you think you need to survive this season?
 

What if we went back to basics? What if we make " Tis the season." mean it's the time of year that we should slow down and use these holidays to focus on the time we invest in our friends and family? Ask your kids what they got for Christmas last year...better yet, ask them to locate 5 of the gifts they begged for last year...NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE! I am just as guilty in this area, but I vow this year to increase my time and lessen my stack of materials. For at the end of my days, do I want to be known as the mother, friend, family member who gave the best gifts or the person who left a plethora of memories to share and learn from...maybe even smile at?
 

So this season, instead of investing in material things, how about mixing in some investment in our children, family, friends and community. Stack up memories, not material things.
 

 

 

There is a song sang by the Judds that says, " Grandpa, tell me about the good ol' days. Do lovers really fall in love to stay?" In a world where everything seems to be slipping through our fingers it warms my heart to see a couple like this...still gazing in each other's eyes after so many years. Almost half a century of marriage! I can't think of many relationships that make it through half a decade these days! Meet Kathy & George, they have been married 49 years, have 3 children, 7 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.To see a love like this is not only rare, but inspiring. I have been blessed many times over more than I deserve in life and one of them is the opportunity to meet so many people and learn and be touched by their stories. Kathy & George give me something to look forward to and hopefully experience one day! Thanks for sharing your story!