How a Simple Photo Session Helped a Mom See Her Own Beauty Again

Every once in a while, a photo session becomes more than a photo session. It becomes a turning point. A reminder. A soft, unexpected moment where someone rediscovers a part of themselves they thought was long gone.

Recently, a mother sent me a message after viewing her gallery, and her words stopped me in my tracks:

“I opened your email gallery in the middle of Target and nearly cried. I’m pretty as I am… even with the pasty white skin, the hairy legs, the discolored hair, the 40 extra pounds. I haven’t felt very pretty in a long time. Not only did you gift us beautiful pictures, you gave me the gift of being able to see myself in a different light at a time I desperately needed it.”

She told me she almost didn’t expect much from the session.

She hadn’t shaved.

Her hair color was overdue.

She hadn’t slept well in months.

Her husband was away all week for work, leaving her to carry the load alone.

She was exhausted.

Unprepared.

Not feeling her best.

And yet… she showed up.

And the images reflected back a woman she hadn’t seen in far too long: strong, soft, beautiful, loved, human.

This is the quiet magic of photography.

It doesn’t gloss over reality, it reveals truth. And the truth is that women, especially mothers, are almost always more beautiful than they believe.

Photography Can Give You Back a Piece of Yourself

Most people think of a photo session as something you do because you “need updated photos,” or because the kids are growing up too fast, or because you’re celebrating a milestone.

But what if it's also something deeper?

What if stepping in front of a camera becomes a moment to remember:

  • who you are beneath the stress

  • how loved you are

  • how your partner sees you

  • how your children see you

  • how you actually look when you’re not picking yourself apart

Photography, when done with presence, intuition, and heart, can be grounding and healing.

It can soften the harsh inner voice so many women carry.

It can show you the parts of yourself you forgot were there.

This Experience Matters in Every Type of Session

Whether you book a family session, a couples session, or a boudoir session, the deeper purpose is the same. Taking time for yourself, seeing yourself through someone else’s eyes, the reminder you are so much more.

✨ Family Sessions: Seeing Yourself in the Story You’re Always Behind

Moms are almost always the ones taking the photos, not in them. They’re the keepers of the memories, the planners of outfits, the ones wrangling everyone out the door. But during a session with me, the roles shift.

You get to be in the story.

Loved on.

Seen.

Celebrated.

You get images where your children are holding onto you…

where your partner is looking at you with real affection…

where you're laughing, really laughing.

And sometimes, that’s the moment when a mom realizes:

“I’m more beautiful than I thought. I look happy. I look like someone my kids adore.”

That matters. More than we realize.

✨ Couples Sessions: Remembering Who You Are Together

Life gets busy. Schedules get full. You become parents, employees, caretakers, organizers, coordinators; and somewhere along the way, the romantic part of you gets buried under responsibility.

A couples session gives you space to reconnect.

To laugh.

To flirt.

To remember who you were before morning routines and grocery lists and overflowing laundry baskets.

So many women tell me after a session:

“I forgot what it felt like to be seen like this.”

That’s why these photos matter.

They’re not just pictures, they’re memories of the connection you’re still building every day.

✨ Boudoir Sessions: Reclaiming Your Confidence and Feminine Self

Boudoir isn’t just “pretty pictures in lingerie.”

It’s reclamation.

It’s choosing to show up; even if you feel nervous, imperfect, or disconnected from your body.

It's proving to yourself that you are allowed to:

  • feel beautiful

  • feel confident

  • feel powerful

  • feel worthy

Boudoir gives women a way to see themselves not through insecurity or comparison, but through softness, sensuality, and genuine self-love. It's why so many clients cry when they see their images. Not because they didn’t expect to look good, but because they didn’t expect to feel like themselves again.

You Don’t Have to “Get Perfect” to Book a Session

One of the most heartbreaking things I hear from women is:

“I’ll book a session after I lose weight.”

“I’ll do it when I feel prettier.”

“I just don’t look like myself right now.”

But the truth is:

photos that show your real, present, imperfect, beautiful self are the ones you end up treasuring the most.

They tell your story as it is. Not as it “should be.” You deserve to be in photos: not once you meet a goal, not once life calms down, not once everything feels perfect.

You deserve to be seen right now.

The Gift Photography Gives You (That You Didn’t Know You Needed)

When you look at your photos, you don’t just see an image.

You see:

  • the warmth in your smile

  • the softness in your eyes

  • the way your partner looks at you

  • the way your children cling to you

  • the way you carry the weight of your world with quiet strength

Photography reflects back the beauty you’ve forgotten in the noise of daily life.

It gives you proof, tangible, undeniable proof, that you are enough.

Not later.

Not “when things are better.”

Now.

And that is a gift worth giving yourself.

If You’ve Been Waiting… This Is Your Sign to Book

Whether it’s:

  • a family session

  • a couples session

  • a boudoir session

  • or something just for you

…you deserve to see yourself in a different light. You deserve to feel like the woman in the photos. You deserve the chance to step into a moment that reminds you of your beauty, strength, and story.

If you feel that little tug, that whisper, that tiny spark of yes…

I would be honored to create that moment with you.


Ready for your own amazing photo session??

Learn more
Book our session
Gift Card
Next
Next

The Best Time and Locations for Newborn Photos in Wausau Wisconsin