Make this first look a ritual; a radical act of solidarity with your body

So, you booked a session with me, we made some magic together, wading into a river or climbing up a parking structure, and the fateful email has just arrived: you’re getting a first glance at your gallery. Let’s talk about it. 

Celebrating all of you is a beautiful and powerful moment, but it doesn’t come without feelings. And that is okay. You are perfect!

The first glance at your gallery might be a tough one. It’s not because the composition is off, or because the colors and tones aren’t right. It’s probably because you’ve been socialized to expect that all of your little “flaws” - the nuances and so-called imperfections that make you yourself - will be blurred right out. Erased. Forgotten. But here’s the deal: working with a radically inclusive photographer means that all of you is included and celebrated. And yes, I really do mean all of you.

 All of you and that scar. 

All of you and the back rolls. 

All of you and that magnetic, dazzling smile. 

We don’t really grow up liking “all of us” though, do we? Depending on what gender you were raised to be, you were likely programmed with several socially acceptable insecurities about your body (and your personality!) that you’ve gotten pretty good at punishing yourself for. Don’t eat that - you’ll gain weight. Don’t smile wide - you’ve got more gums than teeth! Suck it in. Stand up straight. Wear the shapewear. Facetune came along and suddenly we’re all plastic surgeons, clearing our faces of acne scars and shaving 10 pounds off. Without words, we communicate to ourselves daily that, in some way, we’re “too much”. Too much skin. Too many wrinkles. Too much body hair. Too much. Too much. Too much. 

I’ve been there myself & I’ve got no judgment for you if you still are. But that’s just not the kind of photography session I’m gonna give you. We celebrate our entire selves, radically!

Remember, You Are Perfect 

I believe that looking right doesn’t make us feel free. I believe that we often lose ourselves in the quest for perfection, our minds and our bodies locked in a war with each other that neither can win. What if it’s time to come home? What if it’s time to let go of our past bodies & future sizes to arrive in the present, into the strange, difficult, breathtaking bodies that care for us daily and let them be, exactly as they are?

Now I’m not saying I won’t edit out the occasional acne breakout or the scratch that cropped up this morning after a friendly tussle with your pet. If it’ll be gone in a week or two, I’m happy to remove it. Otherwise, I’ll be celebrating who you are by photographing precisely who that is. Sooooo, back to that first look. 

It could be jarring at first, to see yourself as you are, posing truthfully in your skin. You might feel exposed a bit, or laid bare. I invite you to see that first reaction as an opportunity; to look your wound of not-enoughness right in the eye and gently say, “I see you.” It might not be the moment to embark on some life-changing healing path towards self-love and body neutrality, but I won’t stop you if it is! Maybe this is a moment to breathe through that first reaction and choose, consciously, to offer your beautiful body the compassion you’re so busy offering to everyone else. 

Make this first look a ritual; an act of solidarity with your body. 

And remember - you’re not alone in this. You have me now too. 

The beautiful photoshoot featured on this blog post were taken in Sacramento CA, by me, Morgan Alanna and celebrate a group of She’s, They’s and Gays who all have tattoos by the talented Jocelyn! She is radically inclusive, welcoming and obviously very, very good at what she does!

Visit her website here to see more! Or…to be brave and book that tattoo you have always wanted!

LGBTQIA Photographer, Sacramento Photographer, Sacramento Art, Portrait Photographer