Despite Sam being one of the first people to put herself forward —quite quickly too, after I opened up the slots— she was also the person who expressed the most shyness leading up to the session. It’s been interesting witnessing people in comments on posts, talking about being un-photogenic, needing to find confidence, but at the same time being drawn to having photos taken. I feel it all! And it’s so exciting, as well as a huge responsibility, that people have decided to embrace discomfort and be in front of my camera.

My inspiration for the title of this post came from a quote from one of my favourite blog posts in the universe, by Aiko Yamashiro…

On Monday afternoon I walked in Crow Nest Wood with Alice and Mars the caramel-coloured, soft-eared labrador. It was my first analog photo session since deciding to offer it professionally and build up my portfolio. I put a call out on Instagram for volunteers to do free outdoor portraits and Alice was one of the people who came forward, saying,

“I'd love to be involved in your photography project. I'm turning 26 soon and really feel myself evolving into the person I was meant to be as I enter the second half of my decade, so think I'd bring a good open energy to the photos”

Brave and beautiful!