“I constantly go between wanting you to stay my little baby forever, and being excited about all of the amazing things you’ll do in this life.”
Archives for March 2016
Monday morning musings – Body Image – Lake George Family Photographer
Let’s talk about body image. I just started working out at the gym. I’m a people watcher. There are so many people at a gym of all sorts of shapes, sizes, ages, hair color, etc. I want to ask each and every one of them…”What’s your story?” I restrain myself. I love meeting new people but I try not to be a creeper. bwahahah! I sincerely want to know. What got them there? What drives them? Was there a rock bottom and the gym is helping them crawl out? Are they temporary? Are they a gym rat? Do you love the workouts? Do you do it for your children? For yourself?
I’ve had more than one conversation with workout buddies and my trainer about the why’s and it’s gotten me thinking.
There’s this crazy world that we live in that includes tons of amazing women! Women by nature tend to be strong and kind and nurturing! BUT…these amazing women tend to beat themselves up emotionally. We are too fat. We have done too little. We yelled too much today. The world gives us these body images that we can not possibly live up to (think Barbie or the latest blockbuster movie actress). The new emerging world is realizing that we can’t keep doing that to women. So there is a new push (don’t you just love this song and video by Colbie Caillat? Ahhh, I love it!) to help women of all ages to LOVE themselves. Right now. As is. For better or worse. Just be you.
But then we take everything too far don’t we? Okay, I should love myself as is so I don’t have to exercise, right?
I think I intend this to be a rhetorical question, although I’d love to hear your personal thoughts.
I got into photography because I loved taking pictures of people. Capturing them in that moment. As I grow and life teaches me, my motivation for my art changes. I shoot now to help women. To help that young mom who rarely gets out of her sweats or yoga pants to remember that she wasn’t just once beautiful, that she IS beautiful AND a Mom. To remind women who have aged and gained wrinkles galore that they earned those wrinkles and the beauty in them is even greater? To comfort a young girl unsure about having everyone watching her while she has her picture taken. To remind a teenage girl that the beauty starts from within.
Where do you find your beauty? How do you remind yourself and stay above the body image ideas we are surrounded by? How do you find that balance?