Miss A

The Story

What was your first reaction to the project?
When I first came across the project I thought it was great – but for other women who were more comfortable with their bodies. It was only when I was in the middle of a really difficult time in my marriage and going through the process of finding myself that I thought it was exactly what I NEEDED.

Why did you decide to take part?
I wanted to challenge myself, learn to accept myself at my lowest. It was the ultimate way to express myself bare and broken, and somehow find beauty in it all. It was the ultimate challenge of acceptance really, if I could learn to accept myself at my worst, then I would learn to love myself at my best.
What about your body are you most comfortable with?
Nothing really anymore, I don’t look like I used to. But this is what its meant to be about – accepting yourself as you are… I will still get there hopefully.

What are you most uncomfortable with?
Toss up between my stomach and my arms. I used to rock climb so I used to have really muscly arms – now that I don’t do that anymore they just turned into wobble. My stomach used to be the only thing I loved. But with all the issues I have with it – I could wake up with a flat tummy and look 6 months pregnant after a meal?

Can you describe the experience – did you enjoy it?
I must admit it wasn’t easy being on the other side of the lens. Not knowing how everything looks. I was really nervous. But Quintin made me feel very comfortable and he made the whole process easy, there were times I forgot I was even naked.

Are you happy with the pictures?
I love my pictures. Quintin sent them through at the perfect time and I could really relate to some of them. It was initially a shock to think… is that really how I look? I was really critical. Then I had to remind myself that I was sick and considering that Quintin still made them look beautiful.

Did anything change with regards how you see your body or yourself?
It is definitely a big challenge to see yourself completely nude – in a photograph. It’s so easy to hide behind clothes or other people. This was big, but it was me. The whole process made me think, we have one body and we need to look after it and celebrate it at the same time. We came into this world naked, it’s how we were created and I’m going to learn to love every bit of me!

And then please feel free to add any other comments.
I really needed this. Something big to challenge myself, find myself and love myself at the same time. I also think every woman needs this. Women need this to express themselves, to say HEY world, I’m a woman and I may not be perfect, but I’m perfectly beautiful! I’ve told all my friends and I hope some more women get the chance to discover themselves through this project!