Giving Permission to Share with the World Your Photographs and Story
Most of my clients are excited and happy for me to share, at least some of their images. They are so proud of the ART we created that they want to show it off. I can’t blame them!
Every single person you see featured here on my website or on my social feeds (such as Instagram) has graciously granted me permission to do so. And I am extremely grateful for that!
I will not share your images without your consent and that only happens after you have viewed your finished gallery.
You can choose to share your entire gallery, share only anonymous images or hand select which (if any) images you feel comfortable with sharing. Or, you can choose not to share any images and keep them 100% private and for your eyes only.
There is one situation that has come up now and then over the years and it’s something I really feel I need to address. The only person that should be making the decision to share your images is YOU!
Let me give you a general scenario:
Client has their session, they come back in for their Image Debut. They LOVE all their images, gushing over them, telling me how proud they are. And how excited they are to be featured in my portfolio. It’s like a badge of honour!
…..
Then they go home, feeling a renewed sense of self confidence and self worth and excitedly tell their partner about their experience, only to be met with disapproval. Then they start to second guess themselves.
I even had one husband, a few years ago, email me a very long winded email about how disgusted he was in the work that I create. That not everyone wants photos of their partners like this! How awful I made his wife look and how I likely ruined their marriage.
All the the while I kept thinking back to my session with his wife; how empowered and confident she felt, both embracing who she is as well as an alter ego. She was proud, she was elated and she was happy!
My heart ached for her. Not just for this situation, but in general. What a small, angry, selfish, insecure person he was and his need to control her and the situation to make himself feel better.
This situation was an extreme case, but still, it happens. (PS I did not even share her images publically, she chose to keep them private, he contacted me based on images she chose to share with him privately) I have thought of her often over the years. I’ve been saving a big hug for her!
While I can appreciate taking your partners feelings into consideration at the end of the day this is about YOU, your body, your choice. This choice is YOURS and yours alone. This EXPERIENCE is for you and you alone.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all my amazing clients over the last decade that have granted me permission to share part of their stories and the ART we created together. Not only does sharing your photographs help to showcase what we can create for my future clients but by sharing your story you help others to know that they are not alone. That is a beautiful gift!
Stand tall and own your power!
xoxo
Jessica Rae
