Soul Session: Laura

She said that she realized the way she portrayed all of her “selves” was in such a fractured way that even to herself, her identity was becoming overwhelming and confusing. There was Laura the Mother, Laura the Disruptor, Laura the Philanthropist, Laura the Business Owner, Laura the Friend, Daughter, Wife…and on and on it went. She realized then that she was so busy keeping each part of herself so separated that it never dawned on her to see herself and portray herself, and every part of every self she owned, as one true Self.

When she had this realization she knew instantly that this needed to change. She wanted everyone, including herself, to see L.A.U.R.A. and ALL of Laura. So she began pondering how to achieve this and she noticed that when presented with the opportunity to show a part of herself that some people may not agree with, or that others may find distasteful or offensive, she would instantly squash that idea or part of herself. And it hit her: why was she so much more interested in presenting herself in a way that was so much more acceptable to others than in presenting her true Self, no matter what others thought about it??

And then she contacted me.

She wanted a session that not only visually represented the most dominant parts of her Self, but to join each of them together in one theme: I Am Me, and it simply does not matter what you think about that. She wanted to show power, strength, softness, and femininity. She wanted to be HERSELF and, as she put it, in a Gives Zero Fucks kind of way about what anyone else thought about it.

I could not have been happier to have been the photographer she found to partner with in this endeavor.

A very special thank you to Lee Ann from AtHome Beauty for really bringing her A-Game to this session. She worked with me on these looks just as much as Laura did and it was her true talent that brought these characters to life.

There is a 4th outfit but Laura asked that I keep that one sidelined until she has a chance to unleash that fury in the New Year. CANNOT WAIT for you to see that one!

Lesson learned: being your true authentic self takes both courage and vulnerability, and I guarantee the loss you live with in not being true to your very own nature is a sadness that is not even close to being worth the value in the risk you take in just being You.

More to come…