You deserve to be photographed, thoughts from a professional photographer.

One of the biggest reasons I jumped all-in to my photography business was because I wasn't seeing anyone like me in the content I was consuming on social media. The mainstream photography space still tends to favour a certain body type - and when I looked through the feeds and websites of extremely talented photographers I found myself feeling like I didn't belong. Is that because they aren't as often showcasing different body types, or because some folks are less comfortable being in front of the camera to begin with? To be honest, I think it's a little bit of both.

I have lived in a fat body my entire life. For most of that life, I have avoided the camera at all costs. My journey to self love and acceptance has been a long hard road - one that I continue to walk every single day. But what I have learned is that my body, just as she is, has done SO much for me. She has allowed me to embrace the people I love, she has allowed me to walk the streets in cities across the world, she's allowed me to build a business I could have never dreamed of .... and all she has asked in return is for me to love her. I deserve to be photographed, the way I look right now, in this body that has done so much for me. AND SO DO YOU.

Here's the thing. Photos are so special. They are passed from generation to generation. Someday, they are all our children, and our children's children will have of us. We deserve to be photographed and documented. Not later, not tomorrow, not when we've lost some weight.. we deserve to be photographed right now. You might be surprised by how much being in front of the camera allows you to show yourself love. You might be as surprised as I was to look at a photo of yourself and absolutely love what you see. I want this for all of us - to fall in love with ourselves! And I want you to see yourself represented in the mainstream photography space.

Take the picture. Let the people who

adore you - exactly as you are now - take photos of you. Let yourself love what you see and know that that photograph holds perfect and beautiful memories of you. And as a professional photographer, I promise to showcase bodies of all shapes and sizes so that YOU see yourself represented. <3

See more of Jess's work at https://www.jfaziophotography.ca/ and on Instagram @jfaziophotography