Stephanie is a woman who gives her all to everything.  Her boudoir session with me is one that I will remember forever.  When she arrived for her shoot, I could immediately tell something was wrong.  At that moment, I knew my job wasn’t as her photographer – it was to be a friend with a listening ear.  I wanted to be sure she knew that she was seen and heard.  I knew the shoot was going to be awesome for her – a time just to release everything and focus on herself.  But, first, I knew I needed to get the bottom of what she was feeling.  I was so glad that she could open up to me.

The same thing happened when she came back for her viewing.  The photos became secondary and we talked about what she was struggling with.  My only priority is my clients, and I hope that Stephanie knows I will always be here to love and support her.

Why did I choose her for this group session?  She’s a phoenix rising from the ashes.  I knew she could benefit from standing with other women who could support her in times of trouble.  She can rely on others to lift her up when she feels down.  She needed this.

Read below to hear what she had to say about the group session!

“Soul on fire”….
My story is not an easy one to tell. I spent most of my adult life in abusive relationships. My daughters father was the first after leaving him when my daughter was only 13 months old I found myself a broken single mother trying to be the best I could be to show my daughter how to be strong. When my daughter was 6 years old she was diagnosed with Oppositional Defiance Disorder and Undetermined Mood Disorder. I spent many years fighting and being her advocate so she could receive the treatment she needed. Through therapy she started doing better and eventually life seemed to go back to normal until 2 years ago when my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. She only had to fight her battle for a short 16 days but it definitely took a toll on my daughter.

My mom was her best friend. Since that day Alexis started to have issues and over the past two years her aggression has become much worse. For whatever reason she blames me for most of her troubles. A few months ago she decided she wanted to live with her father. She started fighting with me daily calling me names and telling me to kill myself and even calling CYS and accusing me of abusing her. I decided to allow her to go to her father’s for my own sanity. Since then things have gotten worse. I know that my daughter is not safe but she refused to come home.

 I have suffered for a very long time blaming myself for what’s happening. Thinking that I was a terrible mom and now blaming myself for not protecting her even though most of the time I have no idea what’s going on in her life.
I am using “Soul on Fire” as my starting point, my fresh start. I am a good hearted person, I care about everyone, I put others before myself and I am learning that it is okay to take care of me. I pour all my love into everyone, my family (who by the way no longer speaks to me), men who treat me like garbage, my friends who are never there, my daughter and anyone else that crosses my path. I am learning to take some of that energy I give to so many people and use it on myself.

Everytime I look at the photos from our “Soul on Fire” shoot I’ll remind myself that it’s ok to take time for me. That it’s okay to love me because who’s going to do it the way I can.