An honest little reflection on self-acceptance, being seen, and why your life deserves to be remembered.
I think we spend so much of our lives waiting.
Waiting to lose a little weight. Waiting for our skin to look better, for our hair to cooperate, for the children to get a little older, for life to settle down. Waiting to feel beautiful enough, confident enough, ready enough. And sometimes, without even realizing it, we spend years stepping out of the photographs that would one day mean the most to us. I know this because I have done it, too.
I've spent so much of my life behind the camera
As a photographer, I have spent years looking at people through my lens. Seeing their beauty, their expressions, their connections. Noticing little things they probably wouldn't notice about themselves.
The way someone's whole face changes when they laugh. The softness in their eyes when they look at someone they love. The beautiful, slightly chaotic way real life unfolds. And yet, when the camera turns toward me, I haven't always offered myself that same kindness.
Isn't that funny?
We can see so much beauty in other people and still be incredibly judgmental about ourselves. Recently, something has been changing for me, now I have a partner who photographs me all the time. Not just when I'm dressed beautifully or when the light is perfect. He photographs me talking, laughing, blinking, making strange faces, being distracted, simply existing. And sometimes I look at those pictures and think, Oh my goodness, what is my face doing? Haha.
But I'm learning to love them. The weird ones. The blurry ones. The ones where my mouth is open mid-sentence or I'm laughing so hard my eyes almost disappear.
Because that's me, too. And I don't want to spend my whole life editing myself out of my own memories.
Maybe we don't need to look perfect to be beautiful
I think self-acceptance is something we practice. Some days we feel lovely. Other days we notice every little thing we wish we could change. We compare ourselves to an older photograph, a younger version of ourselves, or an imagined version of who we think we should be. But our lives are happening now. Our children are growing now.
The people we love are reaching for our hands now. And one day, the photograph we almost deleted because we didn't like our expression might become one of the most precious things we own. Not because we looked perfect. Because we were there. Because someone loved us enough to notice. Because that moment of our lives existed.
And yes, I still believe in the beauty of a thoughtfully planned portrait session
Now, here's the other side of this. I absolutely love a beautiful, intentional photograph.
I love choosing clothes, thinking about colors, finding gorgeous light, and creating an atmosphere where someone can feel special. I love the anticipation of a professional photography session. The little details. The movement. The composition. The way everything comes together.
There's something lovely about making time to celebrate ourselves and the people we love. And I don't believe we have to choose between beautifully planned portraits and wonderfully imperfect everyday photographs.
Both can be true.
We can love the photograph where we're laughing with our whole face and the one where we look elegant and composed. We can honor the spontaneous and the intentional. We can be playful, sophisticated, messy, romantic, quiet, silly, and everything in between.
We're human. We contain so many versions of ourselves.
And I think our photographs should be allowed to reflect that.
What I want you to feel when I photograph you
When someone comes to me for a family or portrait photography session, I don't want them to feel they need to perform. Of course, I'll help you.
I'll guide you toward beautiful light, suggest little adjustments, help with clothing choices, and pay attention to all those details that make a photograph feel thoughtfully created.
That's part of the beauty of hiring a professional photographer. But I also want you to feel free to move, laugh, hold someone close, and forget about the camera for a little while. If your child runs into your arms, wonderful. If you burst into laughter halfway through a photograph, even better. If we create a beautifully composed portrait that you want to frame in your home, I will love that, too.
My photography is not about choosing between natural moments and beautiful portraits. It's about making space for both.
A little bit about where I photograph
I'm Nanda, a family and portrait photographer based in Hyde Park, New York, in the heart of Dutchess County.
I photograph families, couples, graduates, and individuals who want photographs that feel personal, beautiful, and alive. I love working throughout Dutchess County and Ulster County, including Rhinebeck, Poughkeepsie, Kingston, New Paltz, and Woodstock.
I also welcome sessions throughout the greater Hudson Valley, including Hudson, Beacon, Westchester County, Rockland County, and the surrounding communities.
And if your story takes us farther, including New York City, I'm always happy to discuss the possibilities.
Sometimes the most meaningful setting is a beautiful outdoor location. Sometimes it's your own home, a familiar street, or somewhere that holds a special memory. We can decide together. What matters most to me isn't simply where we photograph.
It's what the photographs will mean to you.
Please don't wait until you feel ready
If I could tell you one thing, it would be this:
You don't have to wait until you've become a different version of yourself to deserve beautiful photographs.
You are allowed to exist in the frame right now.
With your laugh lines, your changing body, your imperfect hair, your beautiful smile, your awkward expressions, your tenderness, your joy. All of it. And if you want to get dressed up, feel absolutely gorgeous, and make an afternoon of it, let's do that, too.
There is room for all of you. I hope that years from now, when you look back at your photographs, you don't only remember how you looked.
I hope you remember how it felt to be alive in that moment. And perhaps, somewhere along the way, you'll begin to look at yourself with a little more tenderness.
I'm learning to do that, too.
With love,
Nanda
Be here. Be yourself. Be beautifully alive.
Thinking about a photography session?
If you're looking for a family photographer, portrait photographer, or a meaningful photography experience in Dutchess County, Ulster County, or anywhere in the Hudson Valley, I would love to hear your story.
A few helpful places to explore before we meet:
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