Wednesday 11 March 2015

Revealing Terezia: The Power Of Overcoming Depression

Hair and Makeup by Kada Issa from Bombay Beauty Loft. Styling by Studio Intent Boutique

I first photographed Terezia almost 3 years ago. She needed author photos for her then upcoming book "Heart Of Love Evolution" (which is now a Bestseller). She knew exactly what she wanted but allowed me to play with that a little, which turned out into my images being front and cover of her book, so neat!



She has since become a sweet friend. Despite her struggle with depression, which she speaks openly about through her book, she is a wonderful joyful person who is not afraid to let her emotions be known. You know she IS happy to see you, not only because she says it but because all of her being smiles. She has a gorgeous big and sincere smile with a great sense of humour and a talent for chatting. Every time we see each other (which is not often considering she lives in Edmonton) we have a time constriction, but we always end up arriving late at our next commitment, because she is so fun to be around with, that you won't notice time flying by. 


A big warm hugger, Terezia came once more to me, this time for a Reveal Your True Beauty session and as always a blast and lots of belly ache laughter. She calls me her "personal photographer" and I must admit, I really like the title.

Her brother (an amazing loyal and caring brother by the way), always her close companion, best friend and confident, has been present at both her sessions. Here's what he has to say about Terezia:


"She's gregarious, outgoing. Caring and sensitive.
Intelligent. Likes intellectual games, conversation.
Enjoys gourmet food. Shy. Likes gardening and Scifi."


Terezia has come a long way. Since publishing her book she has become an Award winning author and a writer for Huffington Post, CNN and Beliefnet. If you're interested in following what she's up to, you can do so at www.tereziafarkas.com

Here is what Terezia has to say about her Reveal Your True Beauty experience:

"Second time Fela Dales had done my author photos. Drove in from out of town just so Fela would be my photographer. Her focus on revealing the inner beauty of women and young girls is inspirational. We definitely need more Fela's in our world! Thanks for an awesome time, the laughs and beautiful photos. See you a third time next year!"




Sunday 1 March 2015

Revealing Andi: The Strength Of A Single Mom

Hair and Makeup by Kada from Bombay Beauty Loft. Styling by Studio Intent

I've always admired single moms. When my son came in the picture, we were three adults raising him and many times we thought we weren't enough. He is a handful!

When my mom went back to Colombia, my husband had a business trip and I had a week living as a single mom. I consider myself pretty tough. After all, I have endured and achieved a LOT of things in my life and if there's something I'm proud of it's my focus on doing everything the best way possible -top notch. But boy did I get a lesson on humbleness that week! I was waking up at 6am and going to bed at midnight without stopping. I was literally crawling to get to my bed; sore and mentally, physically and emotionally drained. I'll admit it, I cried as I was resting my head on the pillow. So if I had admire single mothers in the past, now I have a deep respect. I had only one week but they get to do it non stopping!




Enter Andi. She's a wonderful woman, mother of a cute little boy who moved to Alberta to provide her son with the quality of life he deserves. With nothing in hand, this amazing lady began her business You and Me Music, focused in music education specializing in Early Childhood Music. And she is good, really! I invited her to my son's birthday party, a group of toddlers. She was able not only keep their attention through the whole 45 minutes (which we know is close to impossible) but towards the end of the class, they were following the rhythm, tempo and making music together. Even stopping when she gave them the signal. All parents were VERY impressed. Not only she has a gift with children, she also has a beautiful sweet voice and you can feel all of it coming from the heart. I wouldn't be surprise that's what makes the magic work.
When she came to the studio for her session, we had the nice surprise of her playing the flute while I was photographing her, just so that it would look realistic in photos. I admit I took longer doing this just for the sake of hearing her play; it was lovely!


Here's in her own words what the Reveal Your True Beauty experience was for her:

"Had a wonderful time! I felt really comfortable in
 
front of the camera which is not my 'normal' state of 
mind when being photographed. Fela was great at 
coaching me along the way. It felt very natural! What 
a wonderful experience! Thank you Fela!"

Do you know Andi or maybe not? Leave her a note in the comment section below. Words of motivation go a long way!