BEACHes,

BUMS,

& B(VAN)DWAGONS

SOCAL

Shot the day after Thanksgiving 2022, this session was made entirely on film, and the number of times I’ve shed a tear in elation, in fulfillment, in awe, in wonder, in validation, in love, in beauty & internal peace — are innumerable. I feel my heart found its clearest lens in a marriage to film and I look forward to all the families I get to meet, to know, to witness & to love through the precious & sacred collaborative photographic process. Can’t wait to *see* you. -x

To note: this selection of images contains childhood nudity, and I’ve included an open letter that was sent to the girls parents including my thoughts on childhood nudity (and nudity in general) to gain their permission to share them here.

I believe that the harmful perversion our society has with nudity is a direct reflection of our own uncomfortability with our bodies, and that the way in which we've attempted to 'mitigate' or 'handle' that is by hiding it away, shaming it, and making it something even more foreign or taboo than what it naturally is — our first and most precious home — therefore, I believe that continuing to subscribe to that way of thinking by continuing to hide it — even with the best intentions — will, in the long run, only do more harm than good by continuing to perpetuate shame culture.
I believe we need *more* opportunities to encounter empowering images of the naked body, including children, *in the appropriate manner and context* — through reputable channels such as art — not less.
With this in mind, if I had felt the 'slightest' bit of shyness or shame from [her name], I would not feel comfortable sharing these images at all, as to me that would feel like a violation of *her* privacy. But because these photos represent a girl so confident and comfortable in her body that she all but challenges the viewer to feel anything but, I feel they have a very real power to shift this perception of nudity & our natural bodies in a monumental way by contributing to a shift in perspective — one viewer at a time.
This said, I realize she is 6, that you are her parents and that you therefore have final say — of which I will 100% respect — I simply would not have been able to ‘rest’ without sharing my thoughts on how powerful these images are, and the positive impact I believe they will make.
Additionally, the image on my opening page was chosen because to me it embodies every element of the kind of work I want to make in one photo: candidness, empowerment, body acceptance, naturalness, celebration, and ‘photography’ (not to mention a welcomed opportunity to educate people on the female anatomy as what you see here is [her name]’s mons pubis, and labia majora — not her vagina). I will not use it without your okay, but would be remiss not to express how much I love it, and how much I feel it represents the future & purpose of my work: healing through art.