In my day to day life, I spend much more time transforming other women and trying to show them their inner beauty rather than seeing my own beauty. I value my talent as a photographer and the work we do collectively here for women. If I were to self reflect, it’d probably be more on my other strengths, like my creativity, intelligence, empathy, and sense of humour – this is also where I generally find the most happiness and satisfaction.
Yet there’s something wonderful about being able to become, even if for a few short hours, that more glamorous self. We see mothers and grandmothers physically and mentally change into their sparkling alter egos. No longer just the woman who does the groceries or looks after the children or who works 9-5 or walks the dogs, she is who she truly sees herself to be. When women see their incredible photographs, they see a piece of themselves that they can take home and never forget.
For many years it didn’t even occur to me that doing a photo shoot was something I wanted to do, and then once it was, I was a little afraid to see myself that way. It took nearly two years before I went to Mark and said “I’ve booked myself in for a shoot next week”.
Having quite literally NO sexy underwear, I spent hours in lingerie stores the week before, as well as planning how I was going to do my hair and make up and researching the poses that I wanted to do. Despite doing this every day for other women, apparently I was not above getting nervous. In fact, I was a jittery wreck right up until the actual shoot itself which, as it turns out was probably the most fun I’ve had in months.
The nerves came back however when it came to viewing my images. Like all our clients, I was sat in our cinema room waiting for the slideshow, a cup of tea trembling in on hand. The images came up one by and the only thing I truly remember feeling initially was utter surprise. It wasn’t until the end of the presentation when Mark asked me what I thought of my photos that my emotions decided to butt in and I watered up a bit.
For the first time, I’m seeing beauty, one that is all my own. I feel silly writing it, but it’s the honest truth. I, Alice Mole, looked at my photos and thought, you are beautiful. The real surprise was that I meant it, possibly for the first time in my life.
So to all other women out there, I really do implore you to do it. Take the plunge. Try it once. Tick it off your bucket list. Make the call. It really could change your life.