Self esteem is a big word to simply define what we believe we are worth.
Lack of self confidence leads inevitably to a low self esteem, which, in time, will end up affecting all areas of our life.
Am I good enough? is the mother of all questions. It becomes an obsession and can easily spread like a disease, attacking not only our self esteem, but making us feel powerless and resigned to settle for much less than we deserve.
But there is only one right answer, and it is “Yes, you are”.
And to quote Cheri Huber‘s book “There is nothing wrong with you”.
Ms D made a huge leap of faith coming to us for her Boudoir Experience, but her decision to see herself in a different light has now changed her life forever.
And today we are so very proud to have her permission to share her incredible story and her beautiful pictures.
Ms D
One thing that our clients have in common is that they are truly amazing strong women and much more – sorry! – beautiful than many professional models we work with. In fact, when Ms D came in I could not believe my eyes. She was totally gorgeous!
I had seen and talked to her during our Experience call, but as you know, Skype can be very deceiving, in fact the quality of those pixels did not give her any justice.
During our conversation, she had told me she was not confident at all, and from my point of view her having a low self esteem was…impossible. To quote “Friends”, when Richard tells Monica he had been only with 2 women in his life, she looks at him and asks “How is that possible? Have you not seen you?“.
Same thing. Low self esteem? Her? Impossible.
Anyway, while she showed me a selection of clothes and swimwear, we started to chat away. Those moments are for me fundamental to reassure my clients and look at the way they move, smile, and hold themselves.
She was very excited, lovely and positive, but I could see a shadow in her eyes, and her posture was speaking volumes about her low self esteem.
Ms D was even more beautiful – if at all possible – after our super make-up artist Claudette Fruchier had worked her magic.
As 99% of the women we photograph, when Ms D stepped in front of my camera, she was a bit anxious, but I could also see her determination to make the most out of her unique boudoir experience.
Before starting, I gently reminded her that was a moment for herself only, tailor-made on her dreams, and to leave her fears at the door. She did all of that and much much more. She trusted me completely and enjoyed every single moment of it.
The music was playing, the fan was going, I could hear my voice directing her, along with our giggles, but none of that really mattered because there was such an incredible energy filling the room that it was impossible to ignore. Something was happening.
She seemed a different woman. Her low self esteem seemed like a distant dream.
She looked confident, wildly beautiful and proud.
I almost put my camera down instead of taking pictures, the power of those moments were so strong.
I feel that when I work with women like MS D I move almost in a sort of trance. I feel inspired and full of life, and this energy becomes a powerful exchange. I know it because at a certain point she said “I am on top of the world”, and not only her eyes, but her entire being was smiling.
She was so committed to her Boudoir Experience that she had studied some of the poses of the mood board we created together. Her enthusiasm made the entire process so enjoyable that I found hard to stop shooting.
After the photo shoot we chatted a lot and she shared some of the reasons why her self esteem was so low.
A recent break up, a distorted idea of what she looked like, the need of fitting in, and an impossible ideal of perfectionism put a lot of pressure on her, and her self esteem just plummeted. Practically she mentioned what all of us go through at various stages in our life that undermines our self esteem. The problem is that we do not know it until we have the courage to look inside and open up to others. The idea of not having any original problem in life may suck, but the good thing is that if we share similar experiences and challenges, we can also share what worked for us and help each other seeing things from a wider perspective.
Ms D’s life after the Experience
Ms D and I met last week for a coffee and I saw a different woman in front of me. Her walk was secure and her graceful gestures full confidence. WOW!
She confessed me that her Boudoir Experience changed her life completely. She said she saw herself for the first time and decided that it was time to stop worrying about what people thought of her and let go. She had one million ideas in her mind and her life was taking off again, because she understood that she is beautiful, worth a million times more she thought, strong, and that there is nothing wrong with her. There was no reason on earth why her self esteem should be so low, because she understood that the happiness she was looking for was in herself and nowhere else.
I could see a sparkle in her eyes when she was talking to me, and I cannot tell you how incredibly happy I am for her.
By doing what we love we touch people’s lives in ways we cannot not even imagine. Ms D definitively touched mine and she will always have a special place in my heart where she will always be that beautiful and strong woman “on top of the world”.
Very few women come to Faby and Carlo to have a just some pretty boudoir pictures. What they look for is an experience that makes them feel good about themselves. What they sometimes find is the confidence to be who they are. This, at least, is what happened to Ms D.
Let us tell you what we can do for you. Contact us today.