Stronger With Her Scars - A Double Mastectomy Journey To Self-Love
When I tell someone that I am a professional boudoir photographer I receive many different reactions, but the most common takeaway for most is that I “take sexy photos for a living”. When I hear that uttered back to me it takes everything inside of me not to grab them by the shoulders and shake them into understanding that what we do is so much MORE important than beautiful photos. YES, we WILL give you the BEST photos that you have EVER seen of your derriere, but we will also give you a safe space for emotional healing. The therapeutic aspect is something that most people are unaware of, even for some of the women inquiring to shoot at our over-the-top luxury boudoir studio.
Over the past year at The Vixen Society, I have had the honor of photographing women during all stages of their self-love journey. Regardless of whether it is a celebration, falling back in love with themselves, or stepping into their power after a traumatic exeprience, our objective remains the same: to serve women in any way that we can. Due to the intimate nature of our boudoir experience, you can only imagine the stories that I have heard and become a part of. Recently, I was privileged to celebrate a woman’s life and body after breast cancer.
My client, Ms. G, was preparing to undergo an elective procedure when her world changed in a way that she had never anticipated. No one is ever prepared to hear the words “you have cancer”, but for Ms. G she was prepared to fight. After treatment and undergoing a double mastectomy, she became a Two Year Breast Cancer Warrior and wanted to celebrate with a post-mastectomy boudoir session. When Ms. G arrived at the studio and entered our luxury lingerie closet, she was eager to get glam! Our incredible professional hair and makeup artist was there for her to ensure that she looked her very best, but also to give her the time and space to share her story with us. Her enthusiasm and strength through it all was inspiring. She looked at her experience with grateful eyes and a positive spirit, which illuminated the moment that we started shooting. It was her goal to let her strength and femininity shine through and that was exactly what we accomplished. After taking the last photo (and doing a happy dance together) we planned when she would come back for her ordering session and also spoke about our professional retouching services.
Because we have a wide variety of women with an array of different needs and desires, we cater each experience to the unique individual behind our lens. We practice consistent compassion with our clients who are bearing scars from cosmetic surgeries, traumas, illnesses, childbirth, preventative mastectomies and much more. So, if a woman wants us to remove her scars during our retouching process we are happy to do so. It’s important to remember that while certain experiences have a physical recovery time, there is also an emotional recovery time as well. We are sensitive to the fact that everyone’s individual process is different. There is no right way to heal as long as you are healing. When I asked Ms. G if she would like her scars removed or left in the photos, she instantly said that she would like them left in. “They’re part of me”, she explained simply. That is when I understood that these permanent reminders of what she endured made her feel strong. They were a part of her life story and she was ready to share that with the world.
When she arrived at her ordering appointment weeks later, she brought her best friend for moral support. And that brave woman that I photographed days earlier was feeling nervous. But as soon as her slideshow video began to play the ecstatic squeals could be heard into the Lingerie Dallas store. Our sessions almost always end with fine art nudes and I knew before they were on the screen how absolutely POWERFUL hers were. It was then that Ms. G, her best friend, and I all started to cry. She was brave, beautiful, inspiring, and a TRUE WARRIOR. As I put my hand on her back, I realized that in helping to heal this part of her she was also healing me. Photographing her allowed me to also feel brave, strong, and beautiful through my own scars. From there It was an instantaneous decision for her to allow us to share her images in hopes that her experience would inspire other women to heal through their own journey and realize that they are stronger with their scars.
