Girl Tribe Round #6....."Your True Self"

Round #6 of the Girl Tribe was this past few weeks. We did individual photos of each girl, then a big group shoot. As always, it was a ton of fun the whole way around. But, this time showed me some humility and heart ache as well. Some of these amazing humans are battling some pretty serious wounds and dealing with some issues that I wish upon no one. Every one of them that came through my doors looked gorgeous! For the first set of photos I told them to wear anything they wanted that made them feel beautiful, powerful and sexy. The outfits went from super casual, rock n' roll, suits and the whole way up to prom gowns! It was so fun! Here's just a few of those photos we took over the course of the few weeks.

I then asked the women to go change clothes. Into a plain black shirt. Take their make up off and pull their hair back. To show how gorgeous they are all natural. I had a few people tell me that they would never normally go without make up, but did it for me because they love me. LOL. I had a few people who refused to sign up because they refused to be photographed without make up. What I found, was that I loved a whole lot of the all natural photos MORE than the made up photos. Don't get me wrong, they looked gorgeous either way, but these simple natural photos sure do show into some of their souls don't they????

We then got together for a big group shoot! Quite a few girls couldn't make it for the group day, so I had a stand in for the day. Thanks to Jordyn for showing up last minute! The group shoots I do are always so fun! I always do my little speech...telling everyone how this whole concept and personal project came to be and then a little about the women who participated. I usually have a plan about some poses I want and how it's going to all go down. For this, I went in blind. I tested myself. No plan. No poses. I just showed up, put all their names in a hat and pulled a few names to make some small groupings. It was fun to fly by the seat of my pants (on purpose!) and have to be creative on the spot. I think it turned out pretty okay! Plus, it was an absolutely gorgeous day so we took a little field trip and small walk around my parking lot and across the street into the alley. So fun!

Here are some of the smaller groupings we did inside in their "Feel Their Best" outfits.

Keep in mind most of these people didn't know each other. I did have two sets of Mother/Daughters. One set of co-workers. One set of BFF's. But, for the most part, everyone came alone and made friends as we went. By the end, they were laughing, joking and sending out friend requests on FB. That's the part that warms my heart the most I think! That women from all different walks of life, all different ages and stages can come together and be friends. I also played a slide show of their individual photos. Kind of a "Premier" for them to see the majority of the ones taken. It was awesome to hear them support each other as the show was going on. From saying compliments on outfits to how pretty someone looked and how great someone's smile is. That's supporting one another. Even if it's just something as small as complimenting an outfit! It all means something to someone and can help make or break someone's day.

I made them once again take all the fancy off and show me their natural selves. I tried to pair most of them with people they DIDN'T personally know. Look at the connections they have! (a few of them I did pose with friends etc. but for the most part it was strangers being photographed together!)

I usually incorporate confetti somehow into all these big group sessions. Or some sort of FUN!!! This time I found the perfect confetti and we tested how to do it many different ways. The first couple images are the "tester" runs we had and a few behind the scenes of getting it to blow into the crowd and look good. Needless to say...it failed a bunch before we got it right!! Thanks to my sidekick Mandy for being the best "Blower" around and helping me through the whole day.

To finish this up......I cannot thank the ladies enough that always participate no matter what I do. No matter what crazy idea I come up with. They always share the photos and posts and follow my shenanigan's! I love all the ladies that participated and even more adore the ones that came to the group shoot as well. Every person who has done one of these projects with me at some point holds a special place in my heart. I will probably not be doing another project for awhile. I am getting into busy season and it's hard to balance it all. But, that's not to say something doesn't inspire me and I throw one out there spur of the moment! (You know me!). Thank you to those who participated this round for being so awesome and keeping me on my toes and keeping me encouraged to continue with my projects. They are the world to me!

With hugs and cuss words (private joke from the group shoot!),

Joyce