Finding My “WHY” 

 

It may come as a surprise to you, but I didn’t discover my passion for photography until later on in life. I certainly was not one of those photographers that seem to have been born with a camera in hand. No way. I mean, it was my dad’s favorite past-time growing up (He LOVES shooting nature and landscapes), but I never really considered it a real hobby of mine, much less a career choice. Well, that all changed in my 30s when my grandfather passed away and left me all of his photography equipment. 

 

Looking back now, it seems like fate, or God showing me the way to my calling, but I picked up that camera, started taking pictures of my kids, and before I knew it, my life was changed forever. For years I shot families and seniors and loved every minute of it. It wasn’t until winter rolled around one year that I started thinking: “hmm… what if I tried boudoir?”. 

 

So, I had my niece come over, we drank some wine and took some pictures, posted them on Facebook, and BOOM. My business took off. And so began my journey into understanding my WHY.  

 

A couple months into shooing boudoir I received a multi-paged letter from a previous client. In it, she explained how empowering this experience was for her, how she, for the first time, actually saw how beautiful she was, and how her life was forever changed. It brought me to tears. A lot of tears. Like I was sobbing, runny-nosed, ugly crying. But in that moment, I understood my WHY. 

 

Society’s standards of beauty are a fucking bitch and we as women bear the brunt of it. From the time we are little, we are bombarded with messages telling us: ‘you need to lose weight or you need to gain some, ‘you’re too tall or not tall enough’, and that we need to have perfect hair, flawless skin, and an unattainable body in order to be considered “beautiful”. And if that wasn’t enough, every image we see is heavily Photoshopped. So, this becomes a standard NO ONE can attain. It’s completely impossible, how fucked up is that?! 

 

Well, that’s exactly WHY I do what I do. I believe every single woman out there is beautiful. We all have aspects that make us unique and instead of trying to hide them, I want to celebrate it! I want you to know that you are amazing and beautiful EXACTLY as you are. Our lives are so short and it breaks my heart knowing so many kickass women spend all of theirs hating themselves. It’s my passion and my goal to change that! 

 

So, for those of you out there struggling to find your WHY, be patient and follow your heart- it often takes a long time to figure it out. But when you do, grasp onto it with all your might; it will be your anchor and your small way of changing the world. 

xoxox

Amy

 

Wanna see how beautiful you are??