"At the beginning of 2008 I had a shaggy shapeless mop of hair and had been wearing glasses since the age of seven. I was a busy working Mum with no time for myself and had been that way for over fifteen years!!
So what happened? My daughter happened! She and I both love Gok Wan and his way of making a girl look again at the way she sees herself. As my 40th birthday approached I became obsessed with my age and everything else paled into insignificance. Eventually, my 15 year old daughter, Emily, suggested that I get a grip, have a new haircut and lose the glasses.
So I did! She came with me to the hairdressers and the hair went. I loved it! Why didn't I do this years ago? Next I saw the optician and swapped my glasses for contact lens… I haven't looked back since - I even bought make-up and used it!
The idea of a naked photo shoot was firmly planted in my head and just wouldn't go away. Don't get me wrong - I am rather timid really - but I simply couldn't shake the idea and felt that if I was really going to make a statement then I should just go for it.
They had so many beautiful photos on their website but I just couldn't get away from one particular image...a girl, naked, bound by chains, suspended in darkness ...
That was it - the more I dared myself the more I wanted to do it…so I decided to be brave and have a go.
If truth be told I never thought I would actually do the whole naked thing and hoped to come away with a few nice lingerie shots...in fact, when the day came, I allowed myself to follow my heart...I dared to be me…and won!
The lighting was carefully done and Leigh knew exactly which shots would flatter me. I bravely told him which shot had inspired me and he said that there was no reason why I couldn’t go for it… I was braver than I dared to hope ... and I am so pleased with the results.
It took all my courage but I did it - I got naked in front of a stranger and had him take photos of me. It was the wildest, most scary thing I had ever done but it was great!!
The photos gave me the confidence to do what girls do best… shopping! Previously I had been a frustrated shopper, looking for clothes which covered me up and hid the parts I didn't want to show. But now... I looked for tops which showed my shape, I wasn’t afraid of wearing things a little more fitted and I tried on high heel shoes - it felt good - really good.
My confidence soared and I started thinking about my life and about other things I wanted to do...You simply wouldn’t believe where this journey has taken me… ;-)"
