Strong Women Breathe Fire

Woman finds power and love inside herself through empowerment photoshoot

   After years of struggling with self image Betsy was finally ready to celebrate who she is and who's she's been her entire life through an AJBC Photography photoshoot.
   She expressed how for years she felt the pressure of how she was supposed to look, what she was supposed to do, the type of mom she was supposed to be raising kids, that restricting and guilty feeling of not being what other people think is right.
   When in all reality the BEST part of Betsy, and other women who are unafraid to be unapologetically who they are, is that she made a CHOICE in her life instead of following the herd of sheep, and a lot of people can’t understand that.

I so understand that.

In fact, I live for that.

Here's Betsy's visual representation of letting go, breaking free, and finally believing in herself, exactly the way she is. Burning societies rules of beauty and perfection to the ground. 

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Check out our Full Beauty Gallery!

For more edgy portraiture check out Autumns Shoot!

For more in-studio boudoir check out Cotys Shoot!

Her body is NOT normal.

A "Normal" Body

That's so weird. 

Have you ever really thought about what this word means? Normal.

I think when a lot of people think of the word normal, what definition they actually have attached to the word is the definition of the word true. 

When we say things are normal like, “her body is normal” what the majority of people are thinking now, thanks to standards, media, and our obsession for perfection is…

"Her body is the reality of how we should all look. My body is not."

In order for the woman on that magazine cover you see to encompass the reality of beauty you wish to withhold yourself to, that beauty can not be idealistic, going by the definition of reality.

So I ask you to ask yourself- are the beauty standards you hold yourself to normal? Are they true in the Universe? Are they reality?

Last definition, I promise.

If you find yourself unrealistically aiming for perfection, get ready for your brain to hurt-

Full circle thought- All you want is to be normal, like her, but you're conforming to a standard of beauty that doesn't even exist in the realm of reality. It's idealistic. You're conforming to a "normal" that will never be. Which means, all along, YOU were already normal! YOUR body, not the one you see on the magazine cover that's fake, YOUR body was normal, and all this time you were too busy trying so god damn hard to make it normal, because that's what we all want, right?! to be "normal!?, that you became WEIRD!? Which probably scares the shit of out of you because the world tells you the last thing you want to be is weird! And now, that's exactly where you're at. 

It is at this moment when your brain has a melt down. WHAT is NORMAL!? 
Your idea of normal needs to be shifted. What you THINK is typical and usual probably isn't. So you're aiming for something that true women aren't, which is hard to live up to. 

I honestly HATE conforming. I HATE thinking I'm expected or typical. I honestly may even go as far to say that I hate being classified as normal. It's so boring. But that should make you think...

What have you been conforming to this whole time? And what type of "normal" does it make you in all reality? 

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Click here to read more of my thoughts on our bodies and how we portray our beauty

And here are my views on the beauty standards towards women

Here I talk about how pant size is just a number you should cut out of the conversation!

A photoshoot with icebergs

Native vibes in the middle of winter

Photography on the frozen shores of Lake Huron

   It was below freezing, winds over 20 mph, and I decided to take a drive to the beach. Something just pulled me there.
   If you find yourself in Michigan in the winter it's worth it to drive to the shores of Lake Huron (by Port Huron, we're on the East Side of the state) and check out the beach. You never know what you'll find. Open water, flat ice, old snow and sand mixed together, frozen pieces floating down with the current, little ice caves, or huge "icebergs" from where the waves just keep crashing up on shore, freezing into these huge mounds. Every year is different and unique.
   Our version of icebergs and icecaps are what I found that day. The little video above shows you what I stumbled upon.
   I parked my jeep and headed towards the beach. The wind hitting my face was more than cold, it was almost as if it was forcing me to close my eyes while it slapped me across the face. I could see the wind also making huge waves that were hitting the ice so hard they were flying up over the tops of them, at least 15+ feet in the air. I knew I didn't want to stay long, but I knew I HAD to come back. You can't see natural beauty like that and let it go unnoticed.

   A few days later my assistants and I piled back in the jeep and headed back to the beach. With all my camera gear strapped to my back the girls also had an overwhelming amount a fur. We decided we wanted to all be wearing vintage fur coats for the shoot.
   Less than 2 minutes there we start exploring the area and Taylor falls in. One wrong step and she's up to her knee in water. She's done for. One thing you should know about the frozen shores of our beaches- they are unpredictable. They might look like they've been frozen for months but mother nature can cause miracles overnight.
   Taylor takes off to warm her toes and Elores and I stay out to get a few shots.
   This glamorous vision of expensive fur coats in front of this ice quickly turned to something more organic, more native, almost tribal. Elores started to take on this wild, mountain woman feel and we just ran with that. Take a look.

   We did swap places for a second, Elores getting some shots of me (that I edited back in the studio later) before we ran back to the Jeep. I ripped off my coats (yes it was so cold I was wearing 2) down to my tank and wrapped myself up in the blanket, which was actually incredibly warm, and I just lived in that moment, in the sunshine and cool air, while she snapped a few photos.

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Check out our full Beauty Gallery!

If you like this winter feel, check out Taylor's Winter Beauty Session!

For another gorgeous shoot in the snow check out Aubrey's Senior Shoot!

The Easiest yet most Alluring Boudoir Session you'll ever do!

If you're under the impression that I am a little sexpot then we've clearly never met in person.
I enjoy combat boots, beer, and goofy behavior. I feel foreign in heels, I freak out when my dress is too short, and you can constantly see my underwear lines through my yoga pants because I just really hate thongs.

I am not your typical boudoir client.

But.

Boudoir intrigues me. The emotion keeps me coming back for more.
The way dark shadows and sultry highlights play on the skin. The way curves, muscles, bones, and the human body as a whole looks when properly photographed. The way motion and expression can evoke a feeling. THAT'S what I'm obsessed with.

A couple of years ago I asked women to give society the middle finger, where I wrote a blog and did a few self portraits that you can see here about beauty standards of today.

This is my updated version of that with a twist.

And if I can do this, then damn it, you can too.

But there's something you need to know about this shoot.

First off- half of these images you see here I'm in a big, ugly sweater and pj pants. Yes. Go back and look. You can see the high neck of the sweater in some of the shots.
The second half I'm just in a tank that was under my sweater, which you can also see in some of the shots.
And yes, I shot it all selfie style, sitting Indian style on my sunroom floor with a book shelf in the background.

So if your brain is stuck on lingerie, elaborate beds, and being naked for boudoir- you need to realize it's not about how much of you that you bare to the camera.

It's about the light, the emotion, it's about you in the simplest form. That's what sexy is.

Give me 1 room, 1 girl, 1 window and not even 1 hour or 1 outfit and I will evoke something out of you that you didn't even know you had hiding in you to begin with. Or maybe you did and you were just too scared to let it out. 

This is your opportunity to let it out.

Beauty. Rawness. That edge you feel when you look into the bathroom mirror and begin to sing and dance in your underwear, after a shower, with wet hair into your hairbrush to your favorite song like you're in a music video starring you. 

Yeah. That moment. Let's capture it and make it yours. Make it Natural. Make it beautiful.
 

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For those of you who are still unconvinced that this isn't possible for you.... here's a selfie less 1 minute after my "shoot" with myself.
Same spot, same hair, same clothes.
Different expression, different light, different angle.
It's seriously this easy.

I know what looks good, I know what to ask you to do. I know the angles, I know light.
I specialize in making women of all ages look and feel amazing. Let me worry about that part and you just worry about showing up for yourself.

I don't need you to be anything you aren't.
I just need you to be present in this life you're living and allow me to capture that for you.

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Contact me here to book your own beauty or boudoir shoot, or just to simply ask questions and chat about the process!

See more Beauty / Boudoir Galleries here.

See what other personal projects I've done here.

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