When we don't regularly see ourselves, especially through kind eyes, we forget what we look like currently. Then when we see an older photo of us, we instantly notice all the differences. We begin comparing ourselves and how our body looks now with how we used to look. We stop wanting to be in photos because we don't want to be reminded of that. We stop looking in the mirror as much. Our mindset shifts and we start internalizing all of our perceived flaws. BUT, we can slowly shift this and reassure ourselves that we are safe and it is ok and natural to change, and our bodies will... because how could you go through this life and all the adventures, love, grief, and evolution without our bodies changing along with us? It's the nature of being alive.

A journey of self-love and self-acceptance through self-portraits

The journey of finding self love and self-acceptance is definitely not always easy, and can at times seem insurmountable, but it can lead to feeling safe, comfortable, and empowered in your own skin. We all deserve to feel fully ourselves, and loved and accepted for exactly who we are, right here and right now.

I encourage myself to consciously choose to focus on the things I love about myself. For instance, I love the way my body moves when I spend time with it, the way it feels when I'm dancing, the way it allows me to experience the world around me. So I leaned into that for this self portrait session. Just spending time with myself in my studio and experiencing what emotions came up, and what felt good.

Amy RouyerJune 14, 2023Wilde Companynashville photographer, nashville boudoir photographer, nashville portrait photographer, nashville empowerment photographer, nashville boudoir studio, east nashville boudoir, body positive boudoir, body image healing, body image and boudoir, self love, self portraits, self portrait photographyComment

Why Zooming In On Your Photos Can Affect Your Body Image

We all do it. You know that feeling, when you're looking at a photo of yourself and you instantly start to zoom in to see all the little details of the image. When we do this we're typically not looking for the good things, but rather the things in which we feel most uncomfortable about with ourselves.

Amy RouyerFebruary 23, 2023Wilde Companybody image, body image healing, body neutrality, body positive boudoir, empowerment photography, empowerment photographer, nashville photography, nashville boudoir photographer, nashville boudoir studio, body acceptance movement, boudoir, boudoir empowerment

Things I've Unlearned

As a boudoir photographer, I’ve had to unlearn many things I’d been taught and shown around body image and our relationship to our bodies, and how that affects the way we move through life. From the toxic beauty industry, to society’s expectations around how our bodies are “supposed” to look, the way the media teaches us that we have to look a certain way to be desirable, the way some groups teach that bodies (especially women’s bodies and queer bodies) are inherently sinful and worthy of shame. There is SO much there to unpack…

Amy RouyerJanuary 26, 2023Wilde Companybody image, body neutrality, body positive boudoir, body image healing, body acceptance, body acceptance movement, body positive boudoir photographers, body positive photographer, boudoir photographer, boudoir photography, portrait photography, self love, self growth, nashville boudoir studio

Our Relationship With Our Bellies

The main body image hang-ups that I've encountered with folks, and with myself, are so often around bellies. We hold so much power and strength in this area, yet we relentlessly tell it it's not "good" because it doesn't look a certain way. But here's a reminder : bellies aren't good or bad...they are simply bellies. Your belly doesn't hold moral worth, the way it looks doesn't make you a good or bad person, it doesn't make you more or less capable of experiencing desire or pleasure simply because of how it looks, and it definitely is not worthy of the shame that we so often carry around it.

Amy RouyerDecember 19, 2022Wilde Companyhealing journey, body image, body image healing, body acceptance movement, belly love, all bodies are good bodies, fine art boudoir, body positive boudoir, empowerment photography, self love, empowerment photographer, body neutrality, boudoir, nashville boudoir, nashville boudoir photographer

Your body doesn't need "fixed"

Take a moment and think about what you've been taught to feel about your body. If uplifting and empowering messaging doesn't immediately come to mind- know that you are not alone. We are taught, from so many sources, the opposite messaging. That our bodies are shameful and in need of constant "fixing," that they aren't worthy of love and desire if they don't fit society's ideal beauty mold. When was the last time you gave yourself the opportunity to just be where you are? To not try and fix what society tells you are flaws, and instead see yourself and your body for the magically unique being that you are? Right here. Right now. How would that feel?