We’re all fighting some kind of personal battle. Sometimes those battles are internal and hard for others to see outright.

Your Austin boudoir photo session is a chance to feel beautiful and confident in spite of the everyday battles you endure, or maybe even because of them.

Jess deals with PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome), a common hormone imbalance that affects her skin, hair, weight, and energy. She has to be super regimented about what she consumes and the products she uses and it’s been a process for her to adapt and figure out what those things are. Like most things require in life, Jess has learned through trial and error.

When you admire photographs of other people, remember that we are never really seeing the full story or context of that moment or that person. Life is hard on us all. Jess has learned that sharing her experience has been helpful to not just her, but also to other women who may have been exhibiting some of the same symptoms and did not know they’ve been suffering from PCOS or felt shame in talking about living with it. Through openness and conversations, we can encourage and support others— especially people who feel they should suffer in silence.

When working with a woman, especially in a more intimate setting, I find she usually needs help with gently breaking down her walls and seeing what stories she’s been telling herself. The walls were put up as a shield from the world and the chatter of our own self doubt.

We use walls thinking they make our lives easier or more manageable, and maybe they do for a short time in some circumstances. But eventually, they just perpetuate our problems. Walls isolate us and make us feel more alone in a world where we are often already so lonely.

What if instead of walls, we used connection? When we talk about the things we fear, they start to feel smaller and less heavy. When we are open about our struggles, we find connection. The doubts and worries you have are not isolated to just you. I find that there are more things that connect us than there are that separate us.

Empowered does not require perfection. You deserve to love every inch of you, as you are.

We are still worthy even when we are not perfectly put together. You may have room (or a desire) for growth, but you are already good enough.

Loving yourself involves stepping out of doubt and denial and into acceptance and appreciation — for where you are right now, for how far you’ve had to come, and for where you’re headed next.

Here’s what Jess had to say about our Austin Editorial Boudoir Session:

“Our shoot meant so much to me. I can’t stop thinking about how wonderful of an experience it was and that is largely to do with her encouragement and making me feel like an absolute goddess! Alicia is doing an amazing thing by making women feel powerful and not objectified. Thank you!”

Hair and Makeup Courtesy of : Heather @ The Portable Powder Room