Studio81 Photography

While Fibro can be tough at times, Bronwyn doesn’t let that get in the way of life. <3 #LoveYourself _____ When I happened to stumble the STUDIO81 Facebook post looking for potential candidates for the #LoveYourself makeover and photo shoot, I initially thought it was way outside of my comfort zone, and quickly skipped past. A while later when it still lingered in my mind, I revisited the post and decided life is too short to be boring. These opportunities don’t come about everyday.When I learnt I had been chosen as a participant, I was initially nervous, but soon became excited. For me, a personalized photo shoot meant the chance to see myself in a different light than I do every other day of the year, and it would allow me the opportunity to feel great about myself (and who doesn’t want to be pampered?!). As a fulltime working Mum, and Fibromyalgia sufferer who deals with regular bouts of pain and fatigue, life can easily become a blur of tasks, a challenge of getting through each day and crossing off the ‘to do’ list. Each day becomes about functioning and surviving, and we end up losing ourselves amongst it all. For me, this opportunity was about finding ‘me’ again, and celebrating who I am as a person. I nervously made my way to the Studio on a busy Friday morning in Newmarket, with my suitcase in tow, and was instantly impressed at the vibe of the place. Annalise was amazing, so friendly and personable, and the nerves quickly subsided. The next few hours flew by in a blur of makeup, eyelashes, clothing changes, and camera clicks! Jeff was fantastic, so relaxed but knew exactly what he was doing. The odd glimpse of myself in the mirror would startle me… 'who was that lady that I hadn’t seen before?!' When the time came to view the photos I was skeptical… 'how could I possibly look ok when I’d never done this before?' I was pleasantly surprised with the results… the photos were GREAT! Looking back now, the photo shoot and makeover helped me regain some confidence in myself, and made me realize that we are all beautiful no matter how we feel inside. Having fibromyalgia has meant limitations with physical activity, and combined with medications, an increase in my body weight. This often gets me down, but having the chance to see for myself that it’s not all bad was the best thing ever. The #LoveYourself campaign definitely shows us that we come in all shapes and sizes, and loving ourselves and being proud of who we are is such an important part of our daily happiness. - Bronwyn _____ We have just launched the Spring edition of #LoveYourself. Send us a PM about yourself, and why you'd like to take part. Find out more about the campaign: http://www.studio81.co.nz/loveyourself/

Jess realised after moving to NZ that she had slow deprioritized her needs, and decided it was time to change the habit. <3 #LoveYourself _____ We landed in Auckland, New Zealand on the 5th March 2018, and suddenly I felt like I was in unchartered territory. You can prepare for a relocation mentally, and the possibilities of starting a new life abroad always look more glamorous from afar, but the reality paints a different picture. Emotionally one is never truly ready. It took me about 2 months to fully realize and admit that this move was going to be tough as all hell. Tougher than any job I’ve ever had, giving birth or even going back to University at the ripe young age of 43! It was when I got to New Zealand and I had some “down-time” for the first time in my life in a long time, that I realized I’ve been focusing on others, my career and the issues that Corporate life brings you, building up wealth or trying to secure a future for our child, that I had slowly deprioritized my needs somewhat over the years. I think this is typical of most women, whether you are a career woman, or a stay at home mum. I look at my life and I have come to realize 3 important phases that I have gone through thus far: 1. My career which has always been something that has grounded me and made me an independent woman. So much so that I put everything else on the back-burner such as marriage and kids until I was really certain it was what I truly wanted and needed. My highlight last year was being made Chief Marketing Officer of one of SA’s leading IT and Technology brands, something I was truly proud off. A female breaking through the infamous “glass-ceiling” and making it to Executive Chief level. And then I walked away from it all… 2. Then there is the love of my life, my soul-mate, my partner in happiness, arguments and agreements, who made me realize that there was more to life than just being a career woman. We’ve been together 17 years and tied the knot in 2013. 3. Then there is our miracle boy. The bundle of joy we were told we could not have, but my soul-mate was convinced that he would knock me up the old-fashioned way. Turns out he was quite convincing. Ryker Milo Mason was born 18th August 2014, all 4kg’s of cuteness and love rolled into one perfect human-being. Suddenly everything made sense in the world. Now I enter a new phase - A NEW START IN LIFE in which I began my story on and which probably better explains phase 1 above. So now I am an MBA student, part-time strategic consultant, and full time mom while I figure out what’s my new normal. Before I left South Africa a wise friend said to me “use this time to do you”. I was still trying to do this, when the #LoveYourself campaign popped up on my Facebook timeline. Not something I would normally enter but I loved the message of the campaign. A time-out so to speak. The opportunity to be part of this campaign, experience a day of being pampered from hair to make-up and barrels of laughs in between with a crazy, beautiful stylist named Annalise made me feel human and beautiful all over again. The STUDIO81 team are professional, but down-to-earth. I left feeling uplifted and eager to see the final outcome of my photoshoot experience and story come alive. I always remind myself of the phases I have gone through and what they mean to me; Being a career woman gave me a sense of direction; being a wife gave me a sense of belonging and being a mom has given me a sense of purpose. And now coming to New Zealand and being part of this campaign with the Studio81 team I see as the start of my new adventure! It can only get better from here I say. - Jess _____ We have just launched the Spring edition of #LoveYourself. Send us a PM about yourself, and why you'd like to take part. Find out more about the campaign: http://www.studio81.co.nz/loveyourself/

Debbie finally sees the beauty that has always been with her. <3 #LoveYourself _____ I have always felt others were better than me. Prettier than me. A reason to be a giver, not a taker. I went into this with the hope I would see, in me, what others could already see. Not just a hard worker, or a mother with all those extra responsibilities. You know: cab driver, nurse, cook etc. a loving heart and caring nature. Well okay. I could see some, if not all of that. But to see the beauty that shone outwards from my inner self. That was the hardest for me to believe in. I am not, and never will be a catwalk model. Or so I thought… My day was full of firsts for me. My first time with false nails and eyelashes. A fantastic make up artist who highlighted my actual looks. A photographer who put me at ease to get the most of me in my outfits. To the end results making me cry at the beauty shown. I am beautiful. I am a real person after all. I am beautiful. I can now see it. I have the photo to prove it - Debbie _____ We are currently running the Winter edition of #LoveYourself from now through til August. Find out more, and register here: http://www.studio81.co.nz/loveyourself/

#LoveYourself SPRING EDITION! WANTED: We are looking for women in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s who have lost themselves in the midst of circumstances or busyness being supermums, wives and career lady, sometimes all rolled into one! We want to give you that time and place to find yourself and #LoveYourself again.  You will receive a gorgeous makeover, 1 hour of photoshoot in our Newmarket studio and a 6x9" print. If you have not done a shoot with us before, now is the time for you to experience a glamour session at our studio. You will be featured on our online magazine #LoveYourself Spring edition at the end of the campaign. You must be available to come in for your shoot between Thursday to Saturday. A $50 booking fee applies to hold shoot resources and is redeemable towards your order should you wish to purchase other images. TO REGISTER: Send us a message telling us about yourself and why this is something you would like to do. We look forward to having you in our studio! *Featuring beautiful Joanna You can read our past issues of #LoveYourself at www.studio81.co.nz/loveyourself