Beauty is in her DNA
Talk to your daughter about beauty and boudoir
I firmly believe you should talk to your daughter about beauty and what is "sexy." I photograph a lot of moms and grandmothers. I know.... they all look so hot, right? It's a miracle what the proper pampering can do for a woman's mojo. Anyway, I digress.
I also sell A LOT of wall art for these ladies, but it isn't usually what they're inclined to buy right off the bat.
Here's my typical conversation in the boudoir photo sales session:
Miss Hotty-Pototty-Mommy: Oh, I love my photos. These albums are just so gorgeous.
Miss Mostly-A-Mess-From-Shooting-All-Day: Yay! Let's take a look at the options I have...
[blah blah blah, long process of deciding on the perfect cover because there are soooooo many pretty covers]
Miss MAMFSAD: Okay, which photo is your favorite for hanging on the wall? Wall art is offered in these super elegant frames. Do you want something knock-his-socks off sexy to start the day or a bit more subdued and implicit of sexy?
Miss HPM: Oh [blush] I don't know if I could put one on the wall! My kids would see!
The first time I told a mom to show her boudoir portraits proudly:
The first time I really remember this conversation was with one of my friends who finally became a client. She has a daughter who was gradeschool age. This daughter is so precocious and has the most beautiful freckles. She'll probably grow up to look just like her mommy, who is growing up to look just like Heidi Klum.
She had actually purchased the wall art, but texted me in a panic afterward. She hadn't thought about what her daughter would see.
But I think she still hadn't. Her daughter was nosediving into tweendom and before she knew it, this nail-polished, knee-scraped, life of the party would hit puberty. Someone would tell her she's not pretty enough, smart enough, tall enough, tough enough or say something else was lacking. We spend a lot of time reinforcing to girls that they're super smart and talented all these other things that we fear girls don't get told enough. We should always keep those compliments coming... no doubt about it.
Show a girl she's enough
We've become afraid to tell a girl she's pretty enough. As if being pretty negates all the other wonderful things about her. But she'll wonder at some point in her life... and the answer is always, "You are."
I believe that when a young girl sees her mom as a beautiful work of art, she sees her own reflection. I believe that you can tell your daughter, "Look how pretty mom is, and how confident she is, and how nice this photo makes her feel. You'll grow up to look just like me, and I bet you'll be even prettier."
Point out her magical smile, her captivating eyes, her life-of-their-own curls. Those things make her pretty, certainly much more than pretty enough.
Now give her hug, tell her she's smart, talented, driven and pretty... anything in this whole world can be hers.
Maybe seeing that beautiful portrait of mom will remind her that beauty isn't an age, a size, a shape or a color, that her beauty is right there in her DNA.