Why I Am A Spiritual Photographer
There is a void in the women’s boudoir photography market.
Boudoir photographers are only catering to one kind of person, the ‘perfect body’. And the rest of us are not only under represented but not understood. These photographers often dont know how to photograph ‘normal bodies’ and they don’t cater to those who want a shoot but are nervous to.
It’s not personable.
When you think of full nude or boudoir photography, is your first thought; ‘Oh heck yes, I’m stunning, sign me up!’ or is it something like ‘Oh, that’s beautiful but I’m not photogenic..’ or maybe ‘My body wont look that good on camera.’?
We have some fears, whether that be body image insecurties, not trusting anyone enough to be nude on camera, maybe being judged, or even shaming ourselves. Truth is, we are all worthy, we care on some level what people think of us, and we need to feel safe in order to put our walls down a bit.
As a kid, I grew up in a pretty conservative household with patriarcal beliefs. I never saw my parents go on date nights or self- indulge for themselves and I realize now that connects directly with how they disaplined me. I’ll spare you the details, but in a nutshell my parents projected anger. . . a lot. Here’s what I learned about this later as an adult:
Self-care IS NOT selfish, you present your best self when you feel energized and happy.
It is vital that we kudos our own accomplishments in order to contribute to feeling good about ourselves.
We have to cut ties with societies expectations of us to live a fulfilled life.
We are enough, no matter what we do or don’t do. What we look like or what we don’t look like.
Bringing together these things cultivated a business I have never seen or heard of before. I didn’t see photographers investing time getting to know their clients, validating their feelings and experiences in meetings with them, or taking anytime with them at all before or after the shoot . Why not??
It seems so simple, but it’s not practiced. Listening to someone, validating them directly contributes to people feeling much more comfortable, excited even, to having a photoshoot. I wanted to provide that for the folks who just needed to be heard.
Results of this included:
Being less stressed day to day.
More patience and compassionate for loved ones in our life.
Embracing themselves for who they are in this moment.
Being more assertive about their needs.
Cultivating loving and respectful relationships with others.
Stopping self-negating thoughts.
Ever hear ‘You can only love another person as much as you love youself?’ My sole motivation is to remind people who the f**k they are. We get sucked into others expectations of us and often forget our power. Sometimes we just need a reminder, someone to come along and help us see past the bullshit, listen to our concerns and then get after it. When I help people step into their power, there is literally nothing stopping them from creating a world they feel joyfull in. The world can change with confident, unapologetic, happy people. You deserve to be happy, full of joy and stress-free. That’s all I want for you, and it’s ok to have a little help. That’s why I’m here.
The road of self-love
Dear lovely reader,
‘What has to end or die so we can experience a rebirth in our relationships?’ Brene Brown
When I was a kid, my mother ran a daycare inside of our home and during the summer months off from school I would take any chance I could to get out of there so I didn’t have to help. When I was 14 I started to ride the city bus around and do anything free in the city to avoid being home. San Antonio is a very large city so as you could imagine a 40mph routed bus would take quite a bit of time to get somewhere across town, and that was the goal. My escaping from home wasn’t to get somewhere and stay there, it was the ride there. It was the long rides, frequent stops, window gazing and enjoying the bumpy ride. It was my bliss, my alone time, a time to think and reflect, I honestly loved it, even during the hot Texas months.
Journeys DON’T HAVE to be this tiresome road to a destination, it looks different for every other individual but it can be enjoyable. I know at times it can get loud, the voices of others telling you how and what that journey is supposed to look like, but the truth of the matter is life is not a one size fits all. Just like our bodies are all built differently based on the regions of the world our ancestors came from, so does the way we live life. Remember when you’re focused on the outcome and not living in the today, you’re missing the point of this life we have been given.
If you feel a lot of lows and highs, and at times feels like you’re totally off track, you’ll find your way back. On your own time, on your own terms. *Did you know a Ohio State psychologist named Jennifer Crockers did a study on 600 college students at the University on stress levels based on their needs on outside validation? Want to know what she found? It reported students who sought approval -of their appearance, grades, choices you name it - more stress and higher levels of drug abuse and eating disorders. Students who based their self-esteem and confidence on internal sources, such as being virtuous or having a strong moral code, did better than the others in exams and had lower levels of drug and alcohol abuse.
Everyday may not look the same or what you expect, but as long as you’re doing the best you can in that moment you’re doing great. Know that outside opinons that people want to cast onto does’nt need to be owned. You have the power to leave behind what does’nt serve you and keep what does. Consider this a love letter of truth and love. I want you to enjoy your life, surround youself with love and positivity and leave behind the negative and unrealistic expecatations.
You are beautiful.
You are worthy.
You are strong.
You are powerful.
Love,
Amanda
Continuous Battle of Imposter Syndrome
Imposter Syndrome can look like many things. In the professional world, you may not deem yourself worthy of that promotion you received or the roll you play in your company. It can pertain to your personal life, not feeling like you are not THAT friend or THAT ideal family member.
For me it looked like not worthy of starting a business where I can build up other women, cause ‘Who the f are you to tell women how to love themselves?!’ My self talk was, you are working on so many issues in your life, undoing past trauma and rewiring your way of thinking every single day, how can you possibly tell people how to be happy?! And that was it. . . I told myself, that’s exactly why I have to.
Your journey, my journey to wholeheartedness and self improvement isn’t a one time train ticket to a single destination, it’s constant learning and sharing the knowledge. Extending the hand to other women on the journey a few steps behind you and sharing that valuable information. For me I want to ease the pain that is the negative self talk, and all the damage that it can do to your life. Negative self talk is like a drop in a lake, it can expand into every aspect of your life and it shows.
Whether you are ready to admit it or not, the ways your negative self talk shows up in your life can look like:
Impatience towards your partner/people in general
Quickness to judge others
Not wanting to have sex with the lights on
Loneliness
Feeling drained and depleted of energy
Tired all the time
The list goes on.
And those things are real especially for the women in our lives. When we allow negative self talk we are allowing all the low vibrational people, experiences and emotions to enter our lives.
I know because I’ve been there. I had the crappiest friends, who were not supportive, talked behind my back. A crappy relationship with someone who couldn’t get their own mental and emotional baggage together, so our frustrations were taken out on each other, constantly fighting. Eating like crap because I thought, ‘Well why tf not, I'm a POC anyway"‘. All that low vibrational energy was just a big huge neon sign of an invitation to keep loading more low vibrations onto me.
So when I say I help women cure imposter syndrome through photography, I mean it. It is a handheld experience, not one where I show up once then ghost. I talk to my clients and really listen. I show them outside their own perspective who they are on camera. Women see themselves in lights and ways they have never seen themselves before, and it is of such high value to have something like that in your life. It’s that constant reminder, that ignitor to light up the fire again when it feels like its dimming.
I do this because women shine the brightest when they feel their best, and wonderful things change in this world when they do. They are innovative, they are more creative, they are more compassionate, to themselves and others. They are assertive and goal chasers. Because whoever heard of someone that got what they wanted by being a pessimist?
If you are ready to break out of your impostor syndrome, message me, let’s talk.
or email me directly at HELLO@frenchpressphoto.com