Meet the first 30 women of the 40 Over 40 Portrait Experience

This past year I have had the honour of photographing dozens of women from all over Central and North Ontario, from Barrie, to Toronto, to Pickering, to St. Thomas. Local women from Beeton and Alliston and women who travelled over an hour in the snow to my studio from Mississauga and Oakville and areas!

I started this project after spending a few days with friends, in my studio, practicing posing and lighting. What I discovered afterward was the JOY and fulfillment that happens after a woman trusts me to take her picture.

But not just for me. Women leave the studio feeling free, alive, CONFIDENT. And they come back months later and tell me they STILL feel that way and are so thankful for a portrait experience because it was the first time in years (or ever) that they saw themselves as really beautiful.

This lights me up. Yet makes me sad too. WHY on earth do us women cirtizie ourselves so badly? Why are we our own worst critics? What do we have to prove to anyone? Can’t we just be happy and love us, exactly how we are RIGHT NOW!?

Because I also learned that RIGHT NOW may not always last long. Or that we may be faced with a challenge that threatens that thought of “maybe later….” . From the women’s stories of perseverance, challenge, fears and successes, my eyes opened to how valuable life really is. How NOW may be all we have so let’s make it really fucking amazing while we can!

Let’s celebrate our scars like Heather.

Let’s take all the trips like Angela.

Let’s start a new business in our 40s or 50s like multiple women I photographed!

Let’s have parties and dress up in cool AF costumes like Karen!

Let’s celebrate being single and finding love again at 40, 50, 60 like Naomi, Lorraine and more!

Let’s cheer ourselves on for meeting health goals, for being in the best health of our adult lives, at age 50 and up, like Sukh and Stephanie.

Let’s empower other women to live their best lives and start a powerful company supporting women, like Shelley!

I could go on and on and on!

FACK…let’s do it all! What are you waiting for?