Every woman loves to feel beautiful. And even more so, we love to see a photograph of ourselves and actually see that we are beautiful in it. In this age of the perfection of celebrity beauty, it's hard to see our own snapshots and not pick them apart with a harsh fine tooth comb.
Recently I had the absolute pleasure of having my head shots taken by Geni Bean of Pink Owl Photography. Before we even began, Rachel Edwards of Color Me Beautiful transformed me into an airbrushed beauty complete with fake eyelashes and perfect curls. I literally gasped when I saw myself in the mirror. It was extraordinary.
With the extreme talent of the Photographer, perfect studio lighting, coupled with makeup and hairspray, polished with just a bit of softening...
It's absolutely gorgeous. This is not the same Mommy that came into the studio the 2 hours before. Talk about a self-esteem booster!! And my sweet Mia, my 6 year old thinks I look like a "fashion girl." Isn't that what every woman dreams of being? ;)
But while it's beautiful, it's not the "real" Mommy. And raising a little girl I want her to know while it's fun to play dress up, to put on makeup, to look as glamorous as you want sometimes, it's not my reality. What you see on TV, in movies and most of all in the celebrity magazines just isn't REAL. They take it to a level of perfection that none of us could compete with.
I love photography and the process it takes to get to the image above. And I love making our young senior high school girls see themselves in this beautiful light. At Pink Owl, we enhance these amazing girl's beauty and show them right out of the camera how gorgeous they are. We don't Photoshop every flaw, and it's such a great feeling to see their young eyes light up when they see themselves on that tiny screen on our cameras. It's a level of their beauty they've never seen before and they are made to feel like royalty for the day. And for me, I was having a GREAT time at the photoshoot. And that true beauty shines through. I felt like an absolute princess and it was amazing. I am a strong advocate for making these young women feel beautiful and to see just how glamorous they can be. All the while showing that beauty is so much more.
Our sweet Mia, just six years old - I call her "Teeny Me." She is my tiny shadow and it is my responsibility to show her what beauty is. It can't be just all about makeup and perfect hair and airbrushed images. By nature I am a perfectionist and that does carry over to what I think my appearance should be. But I never want Mia to hear me say "I'm fat" or "Ugh, I hate my hair" or "I wish I looked more like this" because I never want HER to say those things. She is my shadow and she will emulate what I do and say.
Mia has recently taken a high interest in photography and has declared herself a professional complete with the company name of "Lovely Lulu Photography." Named appropriately after her most precious lovey, Lulu the Ladybug. I helped her draw up a logo, she made business cards and holds photoshoots with our oh so patient cat. She is currently booking her grandparents for shoots and apparently me and her Daddy have an appointment this Sunday.
So tonight as she was finishing up her homework, I was scrolling through the images in my camera from this evening's shoot. She started asking how the camera actually worked and was so excited when I asked her if she wanted to use my camera. "REALLY?!" she asked as she carefully put the strap around her wrist and used both hands to hold this 3 pound very expensive and important piece of equipment. I instructed her how to hold the shutter half way, how to focus, how to compose and when to hit the shutter.
Just a little bit of exposure and color editing, but here is a picture taken of her "REAL" Mommy, no makeup, tired eyes, needing a color and trim… but it is truthfully real. I'd LOVE to look like my glamorous picture all the time, but this is how she sees me most of the time and I want her to know that her Mommy is a beautiful person both ways because most importantly she smiles, she helps friends, she cares, she encourages, and she loves Jesus. She will see how I treat myself and how I talk about myself and she will learn those things, emulating them just like she has with everything else she does, including her budding photography business.
I absolutely love this picture too and in the morning I will show it to her and how beautiful it is and what a great job she did. Because I want her to know that even without perfection her Mommy is beautiful, and so is she.
"You are altogether beautiful my darling, there is no flaw in you." Song of Solomon 4:7
Mia Bella Photography :: Louisville KY Photographer :: Newborn Photographer Louisville KY
