Nancy is on a new path. After 20 years of working for other companies, she has followed her passion and has embarked on entrepreneurship. Her book Social Citizens: A Positive Approach to Social Media and Parenting in a Digital World. was just launched on Tuesday at Mount Royal University in Calgary. Yay Nancy!
One thing that I love about Nancy is that she is not afraid of change. When everyone else zigs, she zags! And, even though she feared not feeling comfortable having her photo taken, she still dove in and pounced on the opportunity to be one of the women featured in my 30 Days of Gorgeous blog series. That kind of fearlessness is BEAUTIFUL, and so is Nancy.
She says:
“Being a woman means that I can be successful at whatever I choose on my terms.''
"I have had a great career so far, and have been able to excel in my jobs and work with amazing teams. I am also blessed to be a mom and wife and I love fully immersing myself in loving both my son and my husband. Being a woman allows me to explore all of my interests with an open heart and open mind too.”
Nancy really struck a chord with my values when she told me a story during her Reveal & Order appointment. She told me that when she was little, she used to admire a beautiful framed portrait of her grandmother. It was taken way before Nancy was born, when she was just twenty-one. Nancy had only known her grandmother as an old woman. But this photograph, so carefully framed and displayed, represented a woman who would one day get married, have children and grandchildren - but hadn't yet.
She called it her Legacy Portrait.
If not for photos, would we not just think of our grandparents as they are now, or how they were before they died?
I have vivid memories of a beautiful hand-painted portrait of my grandma. It must have been taken around the time she got married. She was a farm girl who lived a very simple, frugal life. But in that photo she looked like a film star. She was not looking at the camera.
The photographer captured her in black and white and then meticulously added colour to bring out the blue of her eyes and the rosiness of her cheeks. It was iconic - an image that I will never forget.
It was her legacy of a different time in her life, and one that is treasured still, many years after her passing.
During this experience, Nancy also shared with me that she had lost 60 pounds more than 2 years ago. She had never seen a photo of herself where she liked the way her body looked.
And the icing on the cake? She liked the way her arms looked too! YESSSS!
This is a long-overdue validation of the hard work that Nancy put into her health and her body. Now, she has her legacy portraits. One day, she will have grandkids who never knew her as a young 40-something woman. But, they will know what she looked like.
And they will cherish every single one.
shoot.print.love.laurie
''Playing today was really fun''
Nancy loved that I pushed her beyond the normal ''headshot pose'' for her glamour photoshoot.
2 Comments
Feb 11, 2018, 5:49:37 AM
Laurie Brown - Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment, Dianna! I really appreciate it. I loved every minute with Nancy, she is the best!
Feb 11, 2018, 12:10:53 AM
Dianna Baylis - Love the portraits you did of my dear friend Nancy Smith ... you caputured her beauty (inside and out) perfectly!