Your Inner Critic | Williamsburg Boudoir Photographer, Sarah Keenan

Hey there, ladies!  Touching on a topic today that is uber important to the depths of my being.  This one grinds waaaaay down in my soul.  It is important, because you are important.  We are important.  We are invaluable.  And, we often do not acknowledge the greatness that was gifted to us. The reason we lack acknowledgment- Ourselves.  Sure, we can put the blame on other things.  But, the bottom line is that the buck stops with you.

The Number One, Hands Down, Most Common concern that woman have when discussing photography is perceived body flaws.  Toss in the word Boudoir and the body perception topic jumps a mile higher.  As woman, we are absolutely fabulous at creating these perceptions and writing an entire internal narrative with ourselves regarding what we see.  This narrative plays over and over again, resulting in self-to-self conversations that lead to a final belief that these perceptions are Fact. {insert serious face-palm, ladies}

Your inner critic may fixate on cellulite, stretch marks, acne, chest size, the shape of your nose, or the length of your legs. Most of us can and will justify our inner critic by our comparison to those around us and the stories we are told over and over again on TV, Print, and Social Media 😏 In fact, this is SO common that someone brilliant once noted that “Comparison is the Thief of Joy.”  And, that could not be more true.

The fact that this is a conversation that I have with 100% of my female clients is note worthy.  Yes.  Read that, again.  100% of my female clients bring-up perceived body flaws at some point in our time together.  LADIES!  We are human!  And, that is exactly what makes the celebration of self so valuable and important.

My work, along with you, is to stop that conversation that replays over and over again with your inner critic and celebrate how beautiful and sexy you ACTUALLY are. The truth is that all women begin their Knoxville Boudoir session dragging along their insecurities. And, my goal is to have each of you leave more confidant and filled with a sense of self and joy that will begin a new conversation with that inner critic that says,”I love who I am.  My differences from other woman make me part of the whole.  How can I use my strengths and my differences to help and serve others?”  When the internal conversation becomes about how we can use our best self to raise-up another, we kill-off that nasty, mean-talking critic and become a woman who can both love herself and show others the awesomeness of their full being.

With Grit & Grace~

Sarah Keenan, Knoxville Boudoir Photographer