Glamour portraits Alamogordo New Mexico-Emily

I love when women come into the studio completely excited and maybe even a little nervous. It can be a scary thing to step in front of the camera, feel vulnerable and trust the outcome will be as you imagined. 

Emily didn't live here long enough (for me and my selfish ways) but as this life can move you around, there are always fabulous women to meet. I'm so glad to know this fiery, strong, sweet woman. Knowing our paths will definitely keep crossing, I guess i forgive her for moving ;) She told me she was mostly excited and showed it. She is always big smiles and lots of laughs, not to mention she made me laugh hysterically too. She came over with tons of fun outfits and rocked every one of them! 

Truly a stunning woman and even though she hardly has anything but a smile on her face, did amazing with keeping her straight face (in-between giggles of course) 

You may have seen posts lately about part of my dream, and something i can do monthly is push myself to do something i'm uncomfortable with so i get better. I have decided to put myself in a marketing position once a month. This month i went to a ladies luncheon. Yes I get nervous walking into a room of all new people. But i'm so glad i did. I already have met women that have made a positive impact on my life and a change in how i view meetups and meeting new people in that environment. All of that to say, "Safe living generally makes for regrets later on." I hear a lot of women tell me when they lose five pounds, or when they feel ready they'll get their photograph taken, or go after their dream. Here's the secret.. we're never going to feel comfortable and it will never be the right time unless we jump in and try. I'm not scared being in front of the camera, but i do get scared speaking (even in a small amount) to a crowd of people. But one of my goals is to be able to help and encourage women by speaking, so i'm taking steps every day to better myself. If you're thinking of getting your photograph taken, sometimes the best motivation is to just do it. Any tool that we can use to see how strong, beautiful, and amazing we are, i think we should use

As Sue Bryce was quoted "I’m not advocating perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards. And I’m not suggesting that we should feel as though we have to look dreamy every day. What I am asking you to consider is how having one day of pure beauty (your own brand of beauty — as you see it), followed by images that you’ll be able to reference for a lifetime as a reminder, might just take you a few steps closer to the confidence we all struggle to find within ourselves. Once you have the opportunity to see your unique radiance, whether through someone else’s eyes/lens, or in a simple moment of clarity, it becomes much easier to focus less on the little voice in your head that whispers about conformity or how you should probably “reduce your flaws” in order to find love, acceptance, friendship, the right job, etc. And that’s a gift. The precious type, that truly impacts the rest of your life." 

I love that quote. here's how i use it everyday. I have positive days. i look in the mirror and feel beautiful on the inside and out. so on those days, i snap some selfies, i tell myself i'm good enough, i flex in the mirror, i journal wonderful thoughts, i save those references so when bad days come around like they always do, i have reminders. My brain remembers the good things i felt, that i see in myself and photos show me i'm doing just fine. 

So let's go after our dreams and goals with confidence and no regrets. oh. and i'm getting my portrait taken by a fitness photographer this month. so i'm right there with you. 

 this weekend, take one step into a life of no regrets, jumping in and believing in yourself. 

-Shanna Star

Hair and Makeup by Audrey of Serenity Salon in Alamogordo, NM.