I met J. through a corporate portrait opportunity for the non-profit association: The Upper Canada chapter of Girls Inc.
This assignment was a blessing because I met intelligent, devoted, and accomplished women, including J, who inspire me to continue my life’s work: to show people the inner beauty and strength they possess. The conversations alone were worth their weight in gold. How lucky could I be?
J. is the board chair for this organization, whose mission also speaks to me: inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. As a grade 7 and 8 teacher, I strive to do this daily.
Official corporate headshot
During the first photography session, we focused on corporate portraits. Later, we completed J.’s image portfolio with images that capture her essence, grace, and natural beauty. Within a few hours and with the help of a few outfits, some chocolate, music, and conversation, we created more casual and relaxed portraits.
A classic: the black dress.Another classic: the white shirt.
Au naturel.
J. is also a business owner. She owns and operates a small community-focused grocery store located in Athens. I hear they have the best cinnamon rolls. I’ll have to find out, won’t I?
When T. reached out to me, she was finishing a degree in Data Analytics and in the process of embarking on a new career path.
She is an experienced and educated woman with a collection of impressive degrees: Biology, Fish & Wildlife Biotechnology, and now Data Analytics. She is a mother of two school-aged kids, who had gone back to school to reorient her professional life. This was a bold, ambitious, and courageous move. When life throws you a curve ball, you either duck or swing at it. And swing she did!
Time-pressed and budget-conscious, we had to get these headshots done. So we did.
We did a video call consultation before the shoot. We went over what message she wanted to convey with her professional headshots. We discussed the various looks we would photograph and talked about items of clothing and accessories to bring. She purchased some and borrowed a few items. Clean and simple was the way to go. We had to showcase her personality: competent, experienced, approachable, and talented.
As the session progressed, the self-confidence built. Can you see how much more relaxed she is becoming over time in the sequence of the portraits?
I’ve mentioned this before and will write it again:
A professional-looking headshot you are proud to show off to the world (online or in print) will boost your confidence. This newfound confidence generates an energy and a vitality that impacts your business directly.
“Birth is the epicenter of women’s power.” –Ani DiFranco
This woman has had to wait for baby no. 2 less so than other women but more so than most. It hasn’t been an easy adventure, to say the least, but, at last, “Audrey” is on her way. In order to document this life-changing milestone, G came into the studio to immortalize the delicate and raw beauty of her pregnant state.
In-studio, we created a number of different looks with a flowy sheer maternity dress, some taupe taffetas fabric, and then black, body-hugging dresses, tops, and leggings that she selected from her wardrobe.
It is easy to get carried away in the photo studio with props and accessories while creating a magazine-style shoot because there is so much excitement attached to this moment. However, we tried to keep it simple yet elegant. Emphasizing the bump and classic body poses enhanced by natural and studio lighting.
Ideally, for comfort and ease of movement, weeks 32 to 37 are the ideal time frame to schedule the photo shoot. After that, moving is more difficult and your energy level starts to run low. We may have been a bit late to schedule this one but G is strong and flexible. We scheduled two different sittings and took breaks during each session. The results speak for themselves.
Most women feel self-conscious during their pregnancy and hormones sometimes get the better of the self-talk. Feeling fat and unattractive is common for expecting mothers. So, this session attempts to push the self-inflicted negative self talk away as it is simply that: negative self-talk!
Also, many of my readers will look at the finished portraits and believe they could never look this good. I started photographing women in 1999 and have created portraits of close to 1000 women and the feeling of inadequacy is universal. Let’s put an end to it, Sistahs!
I am extremely grateful I got to participate in creating these timeless studio portraits with G. The memories will stay with me forever.
