This Is Me - Mandy

This blog is part of a series based on my This Is Me campaign. It’s a campaign that celebrates you, what has shaped you, and who you are NOW. I’ve spent the last year photographing the courageous women that signed up to be part of it.

Honestly? It’s the most important work I have ever done.

I was absolutely blown away by how much these amazing women opened up to me. I’m going to share their incredible stories and photographs here in the hope that they can inspire you as much as they inspired me!

“This experience is a once in a lifetime memory that will stay with me and my family for a very long time. It boosted my confidence and made me believe in myself - I hope it inspires others to do it too!

I haven’t had a lot of confidence in my life because of my weight. From a young age I learnt that beauty meant being thin, and I carried that on from childhood, always learning and trying to control my weight.

I’m a hardworking woman who decided to go into business for myself nearly two years ago. I have two beautiful adult daughters and two gorgeous grandsons, and one of my little grandsons is blind and autistic. I have a partner - we’re not married - and we have been together for 30 years. We upped and moved to the South Island 25 years ago as we both work in the mussel industry.

I have reached a crossroads in my life right now which was set off when we recently had to put my best friend - our family dog - down. 

I have had to train the brain to be powerful in everything I achieve and know and believe that anything I put my mind too I can do it! And this makes me even more prouder as my daughters see that too.

My definition of beauty is…ME! I constantly have people say how beautiful I am, I don’t consciously try to be but that’s just who I am. I don’t listen to the kind words like I probably should because I don’t like to blow my own trumpet. 

Sometimes I think I’m beautiful and sometimes I don’t. It all depends what voice I listen to in my head. I do think that I have a beautiful heart - you just have to look into my eyes to see that.

Working with Victoria was amazing, she made me feel comfortable and happy! The photos are absolutely gorgeous. I’m very proud of them and I’ve been showing them off to friends and family; they’ve all been inspired by me. I hope anyone reading this and seeing my photos is inspired too - if they are then we have done a good job.

Bless you Victoria for this beautiful experience and for making me feel beautiful. These photos are a great reminder of how beautiful I am, even when I don’t feel like it on the inside some days. I’ve learnt that if you love yourself first and foremost, the rest will follow.”

Thank you to Annelise for her wonderful hair and makeup skills! You made Mandy feel so confident and that just shines through in her photos. 

Do you have the courage to take part in my This Is Me campaign? I currently have a small number of spots available so if you would like to be part of this campaign, I’d LOVE to hear from you! Get in touch and let’s chat.