Ahhhh, the "tween" years!
That time where your daughter is no longer a "little kid" but not yet a teenager either. So much is happening mentally, emotionally and physically. Many things are changing for these young ladies. Do you remember it? I do.
As a "tween" you start to worry about everything.
At this age they may be starting a new school. Where they have been the "Big Kids" in elementary school they are now the "little kids" again in middle school. They start to have more responsibility, more homework, changing classes, "Will I get lost in the hallways?", meeting new people, "Will I make friends?", "Will I fit in?". Their parents and teachers drive them batty. They are learning little life lessons and some of them are just not easy! Maybe there is acne and braces and glasses. Their bodies are changing, and it all happens pretty quickly.
The changes that are happening are not all on the outside but on the inside too, the way they think, the way they view things, and see the people around them. They start to make their own decisions on how to dress, their style, who they become new friends with and how they choose spend their free time.
It is still up to us, as parents, to guide them, help them make good and healthy choices and decisions, and to teach them what real beauty is.
Becoming yourself is really hard and confusing, and it is a process.
It's often not cool to put yourself "out there".
~ Emma Watson
A few months ago I had a woman call me to make an appointment to have professional portraits made of her daughter. She told me that her daughter was a middle school student at "that" age. She went on to explained to me that the reason she wanted to do this for her daughter was because of the women's OWN insecurities and lack of confidence that began at this age. She felt is was important to give her daughter this gift to show her that she is Beautiful! We spoke for quite a while before scheduling the appointment.
What an amazing gift that this woman has to understand where her own feelings as an adult stem from and to make a conscious effort to keep it from happening to her own daughter! I thought, what a great idea and it made perfect sense.
The day of the session she had her (age appropriate) hair and make up done with our partner Salon K.
She brought some fun clothes from her own closet that best represented her and she felt great in and we mixed it up with some of the items we keep here at the studio too! This session was more about the experience and how she felt than a simple sit and smile at the camera on school picture day. Not only did she have a special day with mom but she had a fun time being pampered at the salon, and she enjoyed a photoshoot that ended with beautiful portraits to have as a reminder of the day... and how beautiful she really is - inside and out!
You're never fully dressed without a smile!
That day, this young girl, smiled and laughed. She learned that she is already a beautiful person but, by putting clothes on that make you feel great, running a brush through your hair and adding lip gloss you feel even better! She learned to take pride in herself. And this day she SHINED.
Kudos to this mom for taking the time to remind her daughter in such a fantastic way that she is already beautiful and here is to hoping she always feels that way!
It is up to us to show our girls true beauty, to show them how to feel great in the body they are in, and to build their confidence now so that they have great self esteem later!
To see more samples of our tween sessions visit our website at www.PhotographyByNylora.com
In Love and Light,
Nylora
