Changing your relationship with your body – Peggy’s Story

07 Jun Changing your relationship with your body – Peggy’s Story

“I’m not afraid of getting naked and having pictures taken by you – I know you and trust you. I’m anxious about how they will turn out, because I know what I look like on camera.” ~ Peggy

It’s not about before and after, it’s about seeing yourself in a new way.

It took Peggy years to find the confidence to book her shoot. We had known each other for a long time, through a variety of different social groups, and she was smart, funny, talented, and… completely lacking in confidence. When she modelled for the Leaving Marks art project years ago, she had basically nothing positive to say about herself and a laundry list of terrible things. Ugly. Unwanted. Fat. Alone. Unloveable. It cut me, seeing how she saw herself.

Leading up to her boudoir shoot she had a lot of fear and uncertainty. We chatted several times, and it struck during one of these chats that this was a conversation that I could have with almost any woman who came into the studio, or even considered a shoot- so many people have similar anxiety. No matter how many beautiful pictures they see on my website, they believe it will be different for them.

I saved what I told Peggy that day, so that I could share it with you here:

“My job is to show you what the people who love you see when they look at you. Your job is to trust me, and to be open to seeing yourself in a new way. Boudoir photography gives you the opportunity to meet yourself again with kinder eyes, and to give yourself some of the love and grace you give your girlfriends. So trust, in this case, also means trusting that I’m not lying to you, that you have beauty and worth, and that it’s okay to love yourself as you are.”

She didn’t entirely believe me, of course. Words are cheap. But here’s what she wrote after her session:

How did you feel about your body before your shoot?
I hated it – I’m fat, shapeless and have never been the ‘pretty’ girl. My self esteem is pretty much non existent.

Has that changed since your shoot?
It has – you said such wonderful things about me having natural sensuality, and the words stuck in my head even after I left. And since seeing the pictures on the weekend, I have to say – I have had more positive thoughts about myself this week than I can ever remember having in my life.

Before your session, did you have any worries or fears? What were they?
I was worried that even your amazing skills couldn’t make me look good. I worried that I’d be awkward and prove myself right in what I thought about my body.

What was it like being so vulnerable in front of the camera?
You never made me feel vulnerable. You made me feel comfortable and like being photographed was the most natural thing in the world!

How did you feel coming out of your session?
I felt surprisingly good! I was sore (modelling is hard work!) but I was relaxed and -happy-. I did not expect that.

How did you feel when you saw your photos?
I was shocked. Utterly blown away. I never in a million years would have thought I could look half as good as that. I looked downright HOT in some of them, which is not something I really ever felt before.

What would you tell another woman considering coming to Acts of Beauty for boudoir photography?
DO IT. Period. End of sentence. Seriously – this is the most positive thing I have ever done for myself. I always thought you were exaggerating when you said a session would change how I thought about myself. You weren’t. I have changed how I think about myself – it isn’t always easy, but it does work!

Now it’s your turn

When a women allows me to use her pictures and words on the blog it is a huge act of bravery, so make sure to show your support by leaving a positive comment for Peggy below!

(Ready to find  out more? Click here to get more information about booking your own amazing experience! It just might change your life. <3)