Okay listen. I’ve photographed a lot of women in my studio. And every single one of them has a reason they walked through that door. But every once in a while someone comes in and I just think… oh, this one is going to wreck me in the best way.
This was that session.
She’s a boy mom, a dog mom, a wife of 21 years. She spent 18 years teaching middle school math and then reinvented herself as a women’s personal trainer. She’s 47, she’s 5’1″, and she is the kind of woman who sees a sign and follows it.
The sign in this case was my 40 Over 40 ad on Facebook, about six months out from finishing breast cancer treatment. She said she’d been trying to figure out who the hell she is on the other side of cancer, still working on it and something about that ad just felt right. Like it was meant to be.
So she booked. Told nobody for weeks because she was nervous. Showed up anyway.
Here’s what she was carrying into this session: the comparison to who she used to be. The way one breast sits a little differently now. The scars. The weight she lost during treatment and the curves that went with it. The effects of hormone blockers showing up in her face, around her eyes. She’d always been the one who looked 15 years younger than she was and this past year, in her words, she’d “lost a little ground on that.”
She came in anyway. In her lingerie. In front of a stranger with a camera.
And you know what she was thinking the entire time?
“Breathe through your mouth. Resting bitch face is real and I do not want that in these photos.” 😆
I am OBSESSED with her.
She was shocked by the makeup (very much not her usual minimal look… she loved it). Shocked by how quickly she stopped caring that her ass was out. Shocked by how easy the conversation was, how the session just… flowed. By the time we got to the wet tank top she said (and I quote) “you could have asked me to do almost anything and I probably would have.”
Ma’am. That’s the goal.
She came in thinking she could never look like the women she sees in boudoir photos. And then she realized (and she said this herself) that those women probably thought the same thing before their sessions. We all look amazing. The camera just catches that tiny moment and makes it undeniable.
Before I let you go, here’s what she wants you to know if you’re the woman scrolling my page late at night wondering if this is for you:
“Whatever number is on the scale when she steps onto it is absolutely the least interesting thing about her. Her personality, her pride, her confidence, and her bravery for even just doing this photo shoot will all come through in the photos and when she finally gets to see those photos, nobody will care one bit about the number on the scale.”
I could not have said it better myself. And trust me, I tried.
She checked “yes, share away!!” on her model release. With two exclamation points. After breast cancer. After scars and hormone blockers and a year that aged her in ways she’s still learning to accept.
She showed up. She breathed through her mouth. She looked unreal.
Your turn.
Book your session at kristenfonville.com 💜
