Real Talk: We Asked People About Their Body Image

By: Marcela Ortiz

Every now and then, I get to meet wonderful people through the studio. I love listening to their life stories, passions and ultimately what led them to do a photo shoot. Each story is unique and inspiring – yet there’s always one thing that comes up: body image.

It turns out that 8 out of 10 people want to do a photo shoot to overcome their insecurities. 80 PERCENT! And, let me say that it’s completely different seeing a number than actually listening to what people have to say about their experiences. It changes your perspective – it also makes you realise that the person next to you might be going through similar experiences.

And that’s when something just clicked.

What if somehow we could shed a light upon the most “common” body images struggles that people face? That’s when my team and I decided to dig a little deeper.

We asked people to write down (anonymously) why they wanted to overcome their insecurities and how doing a photo shoot could help with that. Then, we asked some of our team members to read them.

If I’m being honest, I hadn’t seen anything like this before. The amount of empathy and compassion that I was feeling was… I just can’t even put it into words. I have been in their position too. Not only that, but I was also shocked to see how many people are struggling with their body image.

All I wanted to do is reach out to these people and say “you’re incredibly amazing and I want you to see it”.

And I started thinking… why are we letting our insecurities (in any shape or form) get in the way of becoming the best we can be? I can only speak for myself, and I can tell you, I certainly spend waaaay too much time thinking about my insecurities instead of focusing on what I could be.

Reclaiming your body from negative thoughts can be daunting, but ultimately, celebrating who you are and what you can do is such an empowering experience. And I hope others are able to go into this journey of acceptance, and compassion not only within ourselves but with the person next to us.