Nia

April 2026

What do I hate? What do I love?

I found it really freeing to do a nude shoot out in nature, so “fuck it, that’ll be fun” was my first thought when a new opportunity for studio shots came up.

What I didn’t expect was how different it would feel.

Despite having an appreciation for bodies as simply bodies, bodies as a form everyone has, bodies that are neutral and essential in their being, I’ve been thrown back to a place of struggling to view mine through that same lens.

I think there’s something different about seeing yourself without a lot of environment to enhance and detract from this and that. It highlights the essence of the body and forces you to look at the body as a sole ‘thing’ without visual context.

I wasn’t expecting this to feel so different, but it did. Confronting. Part of why I’ve participated in both projects was to feel confronted and to see what came up, but it surprised me greatly to see how different my experiences were, simply because of the different perspectives that arose from the different environments.

What do I hate? What do I love?

I hate seeing my face when it’s not animate, I struggle to find an angle that makes me feel good about it. I hate noticing how my tummy folds and bulges. I hate feeling like my boobs are not as proportionate as I want them to be to the rest of me.

But I love how my skin looks. I love how much I love my hairy pits! I love the joy that’s captured and I love that my bum doesn’t look as square as it feels in the mirror.

I love that I’m far from flexible, but can create shapes and angles and am still able to pose down on the floor and stretch my muscles.

I’ve gone back through the photos a number of times, and each pass has felt a little more positive. It’s all part of the learning! It was also interesting to show a couple of nearest-and-dearest as part of the sifting process, and noticing how differently an image can be perceived when the viewer has kinder eyes.

I’m so glad that, through a combination of choice and luck, I’ve surrounded myself with people who don’t buy into grim narratives about diet culture, body shaming, and all of the related nonsense.

It can be hard to curate your social circle but it’s so much better for your wellbeing when you know your mates think you’re beautiful, even if you’d never make the cut for a beauty campaign.

Ain’t we all our own worst critics, and it behooves none, but it’s. Just. So. Easy.

I am still glad to have taken part, I think hanging out naked is an important part of healing the self-critical part of oneself. There’s always space for reflection and change.

I also really love my pineapple hat, how could anyone not!

Join in by contacting me via my contacts page.