Usually after a breakup, the last thing I feel like doing is treating myself to something nice. I usually want to lie around and feel crappy about everything in life, maybe even blame myself for why the breakup happened. I know this behavior doesn’t help anything, but I still do it. However, this time I decided to try something different: I booked a professional photoshoot and it changed everything.
- I wasn’t going to feel bad about what happened. The guy who dumped me shattered my heart and my hopes for the future. But one night while I was lying in bed crying to the point where my eyes burned from all the tears, I realized I was done feeling sorry for myself. How many guys had I cried over in the past when they had never shed a tear for me? I was so done with this.
- I needed something positive. I knew that if I was going to move on and feel excited about the future, I needed something positive to propel me forward. I wasn’t sure what, until a friend gave me an awesome idea: she suggested that I have a professional photoshoot done. At first, I didn’t see the point. I thought it would be a waste of time and money. Plus, I wasn’t sure how it would help me to get over my breakup. But she said I should trust her and go through with it, so I figured I had nothing to lose (besides for a bit of money). Besides, it’s not like I had anything else fun to do.
- I was so anxious on the day of the shoot. I chose to get dolled up and feel like a pin-up girl. It was something silly, but my friend had said having an idea of what I wanted to look like would help me to focus on a goal. I told the photographer I felt silly but she was awesome and made me feel really comfortable. After a few shots, I found that I started to relax. I even enjoyed being in front of the camera, which was strange because usually, I’m the person who runs away when someone wants to take my picture. There was something about being in a photoshoot that made me want to stand tall and produce amazing pictures. My friend was right – this was a great way to boost my self-confidence!
- I got a lot more than confidence out of the deal. It also made me feel like I was worthy of being pictured and I was worthy of feeling fantastic. I had so much fun during that photoshoot and it made me feel so much more positive about myself and my life. I was looking for something to feel positive about so that I could be amped for the future, but I never realized that having a professional photoshoot would show me that I was what I was supposed to feel good about! It was so empowering.
- I motivated myself. Instead of waiting for something else (or someone else) to motivate me to move on from the traumatic breakup, which was always my default strategy, I realized that had the power to do that for myself. I was worthy of happiness and I deserved to have a bright future. Plus, I felt really gorgeous when I looked at those pictures that captured the best version of myself.
- When i looked at those pictures, something within me shifted. While it was easy to fall into a trap of thinking, “Why me?” when the relationship came to an end, seeing the photos of myself from the photoshoot in which I look radiant and so happy helped me to bat those feelings away. For the first time as a single woman, I could focus on something much better for me than my relationship ever was. No more crying over losers!
- Every woman should have a photoshoot. Although taking selfies is fun and you might be a selfie obsessed person with no goal to change, taking regular selfies is just not the same thing as having a professional photoshoot done with the right lighting and advice from a pro. There’s no way I could ever have achieved the same results as the professional photographer had and I’ll cherish those photos forever.
