The BE YOUrself Tweens Project

Perfectly Imperfect

In today’s image and social-media-heavy world, the pressure to be “perfect” and fit in is greater than ever for young girls. Like it or not, it’s the world we now find ourselves in.

Let’s face it, being a pre-teen is tough. These years are emotional, confusing, full of change and conflict. It’s that awkward stage where she is not quite a child but not quite a teen, where she needs you, but at the same time is pulling away and exerting her independence (sass). Arguably, it’s the most vulnerable time of her young life – when her self-esteem and self-image are truly starting to take shape…and then you add in the very real pressure from friends and the media to look…do…be a certain way (i.e. PERFECT). It's a lot! It's also the least captured time of our kids' lives...the forgotten years.

But, What if…?

What if your tween could experience a photo session that not only showed her how beautiful she is on the outside, but also showed off all her talents, her personality, her passions, her natural beauty? And...what if those photos were combined with heartfelt insights from the people who know and love her best?  And...what if this type of photo session could help these girls gain confidence in who they ARE by seeing themselves as “perfectly imperfect” in every way? Let’s help them see that it is INCREDIBLE to just be YOUrself.

the magic happens behind the scenes

shhhhh.....it's a SECRET

When I started photographing tweens in 2017, I was on a mission to capture those lost preteen years...to fill in the gaps...the forgotten photo years. That first year taught me it could be so much more! First, it truly opened my eyes to how important, and life-shaping the middle school years are and...how vulnerable, confusing, and emotionally challenging they are to the very core of these kids. The program very quickly changed from just capturing the lost years to truly finding a way to catalyze the confidence of these beautiful souls. To showing each and every one of them how beautiful they are - inside and out. To helping them fall in love with who they are - one photo at a time. But I couldn't do that by myself...

and the be YOUrself Project was born!

While it is my honor to capture the personality of these amazing girls - the sass, the shy quirky smile, the silliness, the soul - in a way that makes them feel beautiful, confident, strong...I needed help to make the project truly impactful. That is when I decided to enlist the help of the very people who know them best - their parents, grandparents, siblings, teachers, coaches, etc. While she may think she's just coming in for a photo shoot, behind the scenes, questionnaires are making their way into the inboxes of her biggest supporters. I am then working a bit of magic getting everything ready for the big reveal.

Now....imagine...

It is the day of your in-person image review...you come to the studio to see the photos from your tween's photo session projected larger than life onto my sales room wall....the music starts, the first couple of images slide past...and...then...the next slide is a heartfelt sentiment from mom...a note describing the thing you love most about her right now...a sideways glance of confusing....a few more photos...then a note from dad...photos...note from her coach....photos...and by this time we are passing around the tissues. YES - it really does hit that powerfully.

And then we find the perfect product to combine the images with all of the beautiful sentiments - one that she can look back at forever and remember how loved she is!