Body Positivity During the Holidays
I see it often when my clients first arrive, the hint of nervousness when I ask what they want out of their shoot. I want to feel beautiful they say or ask if I can make them look beautiful, not knowing that I feel everybody is beautiful. I have spent the last 20 years of my life making my clients feel beautiful and coaxing them to open up in a session and feel the confidence I feel is their right. Every person deserves to feel valued and beautiful, and many of us feel our body positivity confidence waning around the holidays. We have all been there, it has been a stressful holiday season or even a stressful year. You are rushing to be there for everyone and when people pull out their camera phones and start snapping you feel like bolting. I see it in the tension in the pose and the smile in many group photos on social media and it is why I prefer candid photos. Candids capture the essence of a person and can capture the real joy they are feeling at the moment. You Matter. For many of us, the holidays can be peppered with a series of “well-meaning” comments from the people we love or can come from our own internal dialogue that whispers our flaws to us. Body positivity during the holidays can be a difficult thing to sustain. The important thing to hold on to is this, you are valuable no matter what you look like. You have inalienable merit and importance just because you are you. It is about feeling your own inner power and letting that shine out in the photo. You can take steps to pose in a way that accents your natural beauty as well. While I prefer candids, here are some of my top body positivity tips I use when posing:
Relax your shoulders and lift your chest from the heart, almost like a string is pulling you upwards from your sternum. This opens you up and makes you appear relaxed and standing tall.
For tech neck, gently crane your chin out and then slightly to the ground. And/or subtly tilt your head slightly. People with long hair can brush it forward to frame the face (raise your head and neck off the shoulders).
Black is a flattering color to wear as well.
Love yourself and love the body that sustains you.
The holidays are a time to gather with the ones we love and to close out the year with as much gratitude as we can muster. Be grateful for your body and how it carried you through another year. Know that you are beautiful and that self-love is a lifelong journey. These are some books to help you along that journey of body positivity during the holidays and in the new year.
Books for Body Positivity
1. Body Positive Power by Megan Jayne Crabbe
2. The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
3. You Are a Badass By Jen Sincero
4. The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor
I hope that you enter this new year with the body positivity confidence and energy you deserve, please stay tuned as we bring you more helpful content. You can click here to find more resources on my blog. To learn more about the work I am doing please feel free to subscribe to my newsletter. Happy Holidays and Feel Beautiful!