Day 1 Email - full text and audio recording:
#SelfietoSelfLove: A 5 Day Empowerment Challenge
Day 1: Selfie Tips
Hi!!
I can't believe it! It's DAY 1 of the #SelfietoSelfLove Empowerment Challenge!!!!! It's finally here!!
**** If you'd like to listen to this email in an audio recording, click here: empowermentphotographer.com/selfietoselflove It's under 10 minutes long! ****
Today is all about upleveling our selfie game. Here's a collection of my best tips and tricks to get you started.
THIS IS IMPORTANT - if you get nothing else from this email before you go post your selfie, GET THIS: other people's selfies have a knack of looking easy and simple, but they're actually kind of an odd, specific art form, and it's something that takes a lot of practice! There are a lot of moving pieces to a selfie (posing, lighting, not dropping your phone on your face, etc....) - and our sweet, sweet facebook group The Empowerment Studio is the perfect, safe space to practice in. So don't worry if you don't feel like you're nailing it right away. That's what we're here for, to give you an empowering environment where you can put yourself out there and see what happens!
And now, as I've been promising you, let's learn how to take better selfies! Here are just a couple of my tricks - for the rest, go to empowermentphotographer.com/selfietips (there's so many more tips over there, so do go take a peek!):
Phone/camera/selfie tips:
Find your light - hold the phone up in selfie mode and then spin around to find the light you love most (bonus tips: look for even light, not sun/shadow patches; face TOWARDS a light source, unless you're outside in lots of light, and then put the sun behind you)
2) Find the actual camera. Take a moment and look for where the selfie camera lens is on your phone! It's so easy to watch yourself, or accidentally be looking at the flash instead of the camera - this tip makes a huge difference!
[Tips #3-5 are over at Selfie Tips]
6) Take a bunch of selfies in a row before you look at any of them, review, and then take more if you want to! Seriously, quantity is key (or at least it is for me! I loosen up as I go, and find that I usually like my 20th selfie more than my first! Doesn't mean the first is bad, but I'm able to show up more like myself as I relax into it.)
Posing tips:
1) Get ready in your mind to smile - think happy thoughts, or imagine you're posing with someone you love taking pictures with! I tend to smile more naturally when I'm taking a picture with someone else, so I imagine I'm taking the picture with a friend or my son!
2) Try different angles - move your chin up, down, and all around, or keep your head in one place and move the phone! Soften your shoulders - or wiggle your shoulders around - try all sorts of combinations until you find what you love! Take pictures as you make adjustments with your body, and notice which poses you dig most.
[Tip #3 is over on the Selfie Tips page]]
4) Imagine that you are wiggling ferociously as you take your picture (but just on the inside, or else your photos will all be blurry! Though, maybe a photo that is blurry from joy is actually the ultimate selfie, so never mind me, wiggle on!)
If you feel like it's not working:
1) Put your phone down and try again in a minute - sometimes we just need a chance to reset. Maybe even listen to the Day 1 #SelfietoSelfLove Empowerment Pep Talk again!
[Tips #2 and #4 are over with the other Selfie Tips -- #2 is a particularly good one, I think!]
3) Dance, make a goofy face, wiggle around - give yourself permission to have fun with it, and know that your personality shining through is more than enough to make it a perfect selfie!
✨And now, on to our Day 1 #SelfietoSelfLove Prompt!! ✨
Today, your challenge is to implement as many of these tips as you want, and take as many selfies as you want, and then choose your *favorite* to post in the Empowerment Studio on the Day 1 thread. And then scroll through the comments and leave compliments for at least three other people who posted!
A couple of ground rules to consider for this selfie:
1) No Snapchat, Instagram, or other filters of any sort. Let's not hide behind something that modifies our faces! (Yes, this is vulnerable! It's a challenge, remember? But also, you can do this!! Remember - you are going to be posting this selfie in our loving Empowerment Studio facebook group! You are accepted and celebrated exactly as you are in there!)
2) No one else in the photo with you - no kids, no partners, no animals. No Chipotle burrito (mmmm 🌯😋). You get to be in the spotlight, baby (remember! safe, loving space!!) -- this is your chance to take up space and not have to share it with anyone else. You can do it, I promise.
3) No goofy faces! You KNOW I'm all in on being goofy and ridiculous, and I've even been known to make a ridiculous face in a selfie from time to time. But this week, we're going to leave that behind. It's a protective layer that we don't need right now. I'm not saying you have to smile - you can be serious or sexy or cozy or sad or mysterious or neutral! But let's allow ourselves to show up without hiding behind a silly face, just for this week, and see how it feels!
Okay, my darlings. That's a wrap for Day 1. Let's go get our selfies on!! Here are your next steps:
1) Visit this link: empowermentphotographer.com/selfietoselflove
There, you'll find:
- a screen recording of me doing a selfie video and then screenshotting it and cropping it to make a selfie
- alllllllllllll of my outtakes while I was taking my selfie for today. I ended up choosing a photo from my video selfie (which you can see on that link as well!). I caught the light in my eyes just right, and had an easy, soft smile that felt reflective of my mood. My big smiling selfies didn't quite feel in alignment for some reason, and that's okay!
- a quick Empowerment Pep Talk audio recording for you to listen to to pep yourself up to take your first selfie for this challenge
2) Listen to the Empowerment Pep Talk, and start getting into the right brain space to take your selfie.
3) Take that selfie, my dear! Refer back to this email (and my Selfie Tips page - http://empowermentphotographer.com/selfietips) for little tweaks you can make to find your light and your pose. And most importantly, PLEASE be gentle and kind with yourself. You are a deeply beautiful human being, whether or not you feel like that shows up perfectly in your final version of your selfie.
4) Now, head over to the Empowerment Studio, look for the Day 1 #SelfietoSelfLove prompt post, and drop your selfie in the thread. This might feel a little scary, but remember: we've got your back! You can do this!
5) Compliment at least three other people who posted. This is a group effort, and so much of what is amazing about this is knowing that we are all going to lift each other up.
Let's do this thing together. I'm so excited to see all of your beautiful faces in the studio. We are going to have such a great time this week. Thank you so much for joining me on this adventure. Let's make some major magic happen together!
YAYYYYYYY! See you in the Empowerment Studio!!
- Kinzie
PS Don't forget I'm going live at Noon CST in the Empowerment Studio every day this week to go over some of these tips (so many of them are visual!) and to cheer you on as you embark upon this epic, transformative experience! See you there!
PPS Please reply to let me know what you think of these selfie tips, and tell me if you listened to the audio recording or read the email. I'm so curious about your experience, and I promise I'll personally read and respond to every single email! I truly want to hear from you!!
Day 2 Email - full text and audio recording:
#SelfietoSelfLove: A 5 Day Empowerment Challenge
Day 2: Find Your Wiggle
Hello again!!
Welcome to DAY 2 of the #SelfietoSelfLove Empowerment Challenge!!!!!
Congratulations to those of you who have joined us so far. You are doing something SO HUGE for yourself. You are showing up, making space, and taking a chance. And I can tell you are all feeling the abundance of magic coming back to you. Isn't it SO COOL??!
If you haven't posted your Day 1 selfie, no worries!! You can easily catch up on your selfies in the Empowerment Studio! You have all week to get caught up! 📣Don't forget, folks who participate fully in all five days of the #SelfietoSelfLove challenge will be eligible to win a complimentary Empowerment Boudoir Experience -- so let's make it happen! 📣
And now on to today's #SelfietoSelfLove SELFIE PROMPT!
⭐️TODAY, your challenge is to take a selfie that INCLUDES your favorite body part, but also your face! ⭐️Feel free to use all of the fun tips and tricks we learned about yesterday - http://empowermentphotographer.com/selfietips!
Now, I know this prompt might be a little tricky (some of you said your favorite body parts are things like your feet and your calves...... good luck! 😉😂😂) but don't worry - that's what the Facebook LIVE at noon today is for! I'll show you all sorts of creative ways to selfie it up that include these favorite body parts! (I think what I really mean is, "Good luck, Kinzie!" I better get stretching! 😂😅)
Also in today's LIVE, I'll be talking about the concept of "Learning Images" -- that is to say an image that includes something you love in it, but also might include something about yourself that is a bit of a challenge. In loving one, you can start to throw love at the other. There's a lot of power in that dichotomy. In seeing ease and challenge in one single picture. In seeing beauty and dissonance, smooshed up all together, creating a sort of chaos in your brain.
That chaos is powerful, and has a wiggle of its very own. And we all know the power that a wiggle has! A wiggle has the power to create change. A wiggle moves around, buzzes inside of you, back and forth, front and back, over and over again, until it boxes itself a little bit of space.
And that space, my friend, is where the magic happens. That space holds multitudes of possibility for you, and it's then up to us to fill that space up with our own brand of self-love. And when we make these gentle, generous self-love deposits over and over again, they begin to fill up that space, and burst out beyond what that space is capable of holding. And then, you are unstoppable. It all starts with the wiggle.
Alright, my dear. It's time to take our selfie. This one is pretty easy, in a lot of ways, because you already did it yesterday! For Day 2 -- it's the same - you might just need to get a bit more creative with your angles or your framing, to include this part of yourself that you love.
I strongly recommend that you listen to the Empowerment Pep Talk that I've got linked up here, before you take your selfie: http://empowermentphotographer.com/selfietoselflove - I guide you through finding your wiggle, and THAT, well, that's some selfie magic right there!
Just like yesterday, remember: no filters, no one else in the photo with you, and no goofy faces. I know this was a challenge for some of you yesterday, but ..... isn't that kind of the whole point? It's a challenge, and we can learn and grow and do this together!!!!!
Once you've taken your selfie, come on over and post it in the Empowerment Studio. And a few of you have done this already, but I would be just THRILLED if you'd share your selfies on Instagram, or in your Instastories. We'd love to share your photos in our stories so we can celebrate the heck out of you! Tag @empowermentphotographer and hashtag #SelfietoSelfLove so we can see your post!!
Be kind and generous with yourself today. You are so worthy.
I love you,
Kinzie
PS Don't forget I'm going live at Noon CST in the Empowerment Studio every day this week to go over some of these tips (so many of them are visual!) and to cheer you on as you embark upon this epic, transformative experience! See you there!
Day 3 Email - full text and audio recording:
#SelfietoSelfLove: A 5 Day Empowerment Challenge
Day 3: Trust
#SelfietoSelfLove: A 5 Day Empowerment ChallengeDay 3: Trust
Hello you incredible human being,
**** If you'd like to listen to this email in an audio recording, click here: empowermentphotographer.com/selfietoselflove It's about 11 minutes long! **** [If you're enjoying listening to the audio recordings, I would love it if you hit reply and tell me what you think!]
We've spent two magical days together, and the party is only just beginning. Before you read on, I'd like to ask you something. I'd like to ask you to trust me on this Day 3 Challenge. Implicitly. To trust that I know the Empowerment Studio, and that I know YOU, and that I know what you are capable of. To trust that we are going to take amazing care of you as you continue on this empowerment journey.
I recently read a line from The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo that took my breath away. It read: "It was a singular sensation to be held so gently and yet so fiercely, to be stared down at with so much love." This is what we do in the Empowerment Studio. We hold you gently and fiercely, and we stare down at you with all the love. We've got you, darling.
Let us hold you. Deal?
Today's #SelfietoSelfLove Empowerment Challenge prompt is to take a selfie that YOU feel sexy in and post it in the Empowerment Studio.
Now, before y’all run away or start screaming or hiding your face behind your hands, let me just tell you: this is something everyone can do. Yes, including YOU.
Here's the thing: sexy can mean 1 million kajillion different things - there are as many versions of sexy as there are people in this world, and then some. As they say, sexy is in the eye of the beholder (that's how it goes, right? 😉).
I can hear the protests already: "I'm not sexy, that’s a word for other people." (Nonsense! I've seen your pictures already - you've already posted sexy selfies, we just didn't call 'em that!) "I’m not brave enough." (Ah, but you can choose to be!) "I’m too shy." (Shy is a label, not a fact.) "I could never post a sexy picture in a group." (This is a safe space for women and femmes, and it's a closed group! And we respect the eff out of your privacy. Plus, you get to choose the amount of skin/intimacy that you include in this picture. This picture might be fully clothed with a bit of extra power or sass added into it. I get in to this more below. Read on, warrior!)
If any of these excuses resonate with you (heck, they resonate with me a bit too! How else do you think I came up with them??), I invite you to take a step back and look at the past two days of this challenge in the Empowerment Studio. Scroll through all the photos, see how many beautiful, powerful people are there. And THEN, as you're scrolling, pay attention to the comments. We, as a community, know how to lift each other up. And today is going to be no different. In fact, if I had a crystal ball (ooh maybe I should get one! 🔮), I would dare to say that today is going to be even more full of compliments and empowerment than ever before.
So let's do this thing, shall we?
First up, let's get a few things clear!
Some things that a sexy selfie CAN be:
💗 A selfie in which you like how you look
💗 A selfie where you feel awesome/beautiful/powerful/brave/capable
💗 A selfie where you're not wearing as many clothes, or showing some of the clothes that are usually under your clothes
💗 A selfie where you're wearing a regular amount of clothes
💗 A selfie that shows more intimate body parts
Some things that a sexy selfie DOESN'T HAVE to be:
🔥 Any more or less naked than any other selfie would be // I really want to drive this one home. This is so important to me. This does not have to be a naked selfie. This just is a sexy selfie. A selfie in which you feel sexy. That's not a direct correlation to the amount of clothing you're wearing, or the amount of skin you're showing.
Some things that a sexy selfie MAY NOT be (at least ones that you post):
🚫 no nipples (dang facebook! #freethenip)
🚫 no crotches/vulvas/pubic hair
🚫 sexually explicit -- let's keep it PG (that means no implied sex/sexual acts, and keep your hands away from your underwear -- Facebook bots are QUICK to censor and I don't want to risk our amazing group being shut down!!)
Okay, so how the heck do you take a sexy selfie? You're in luck. Here I am, comin' atchya with my very best.... *drum roll please!*
Sexy Selfie Tips!!
Clothing:
- Wear as much or as little clothing as you want for this photo, but do make sure you feel great in whatever you're wearing. Add or subtract clothing to find what you feel best in!
- Don't be afraid to tug/lift/tuck/otherwise modify your clothing to create the shape and silhouette that you're after. I've taken some great sexy selfies when I was wearing a simple t-shirt - just by tugging at the neckline/lifting the hem a bit!
Posing:
- Include or try to feature one of your favorite body parts/something you love about yourself - if it's something you love about yourself, you will feel more confident as you're taking the picture
- Move that phone around again, and shoot from a lot of different angles
- Use a mirror if you want to! That's a great way to get more of your body in the photo
- Arch and twist and bend and wiggle to find your pose - you never know what combination body parts and angles you'll enjoy in a final photo
Expression:
Let's talk "sexy face": First of all, what the heck is that??! The face you have is sexy, always! BUT if you want to work towards a more typically recognized sexy face (or if you're just wanting to bust out a different face than usual for this selfie), here are a few tips you can try:
• whisper A-E-I-O-U in slow motion and watch your mouth as you do it. Sometimes one vowel or another will be the one that does the trick for you, and for other people, it's the shape your mouth makes as you transition from one letter to another. Try smiling a bit as you say it, and see if that changes things
• Breathe through your mouth, or breathe in, hold your breath for a second, and then blow out through soft lips
• Put your lips together as you're working out the pose, and once you're ready to start shooting, lightly part your lips and relax your tongue
• Look down or close your eyes, and right before you start taking the pictures, flutter open your eyes slowly and look directly into the camera
• Hold your mouth open lightly and breathe through your mouth, and then don't actively smile with your mouth, but think very very VERY smiley thoughts with your eyes
That last tip personally makes me look a little constipated, but it works for some people! What works for one person will be totally different than what will work for another person. That's why I have so many different tricks up my sleeve to get you to do different faces! All the more reason to practice all of these things in front of a mirror, or better yet, in front of your photo-ready phone, so you can snap a bunch of photos and review later.
SUPER IMPORTANT: Don't be afraid to laugh at yourself! Taking sexy selfies can be a ridiculous experience, and you are doing an awesome thing by trying! If a regular selfie is already a specific kind of art form, a sexy selfie can be even more elusive! That doesn't mean it's impossible, though - it just means it'll take even more practice to find your groove. That's not to say you can't find an awesome pose/angle early on, but the more you do it, the more easily the sexy selfies will come to you!
Alright, my friends! Don't forget to be kind to yourselves as you are posting these selfies, and let's blow up the group with our love for others in the comments.
Happy Hump Day! ;)
- Kinzie
PS Don't forget, I'm going LIVE again at noon CST with a pep talk, and some more fun posing tips. I'll also be sharing my personal journey with sexy selfies and what they've meant to me!
PPS We're LOVING seeing your selfies on Instagram! If you feel like sharing, please tag us - @empowermentphotographer / #SelfietoSelfLove <3 <3
PPPS We're going to be making a final decision soon, but there's a chance we're going to have to reschedule the Grand Opening due to the impending winter storm that's heading our way this weekend. I'll make sure everyone stays updated, but I figured it was worth saying here too, so you can be on the lookout!
Day 4
#SelfietoSelfLove: A 5 Day Empowerment Challenge
Day 2: Find Your Wiggle
Hi!!!!
**** If you'd like to listen to this email in an audio recording, click here: empowermentphotographer.com/selfietoselflove ****
It is SOMEHOW already Day 4 (it simultaneously feels like Day 2 and Day 7,000 all at the same time, doesn't it??!) and I am just blown away by you all.
Now, I KNOW yesterday was preeeeetty challenging for some of you, and VERY challenging for others of you, and a few of you, it seemed to come a bit easier to (but we never know what's going on behind the scenes, do we?).
Y'all. THIS SHIT IS VULNERABLE AND HARD SOMETIMES. Dealing with our bodies, pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones, challenging our own understanding of ourselves -- in case you didn't realize it, by participating in this challenge, you are doing ALL OF THESE THINGS. If you haven't already, please give yourself a round of applause. You're doing this thing!!!!
We're going to lighten the mood a little bit around here - back to the regular selfie game! Or, as I put it in a text to Libby, “Whew! You get to take a regular ass photo tomorrow!" 😂 (though of course it's with a twist, because you know I like to keep it interesting).
🌻 Today's #SelfietoSelfLove Empowerment Challenge prompt is to take a regular ass selfie (I'm gonna call it that forever now 😂) that includes something you are learning to love about yourself. And then, post it to the Empowerment Studio, along with three compliments about yourself. 🌻
When you're posting your photo: DON'T TELL US WHAT BODY PART IS CHALLENGING FOR YOU! It's just going to be in the photo. Included in there somewhere, doesn't even have to be the focus. The focus is going to be in the compliments you give yourself. Just like you've been doing for others all week -- now it's time to turn it around and compliment yourself.
When you're complimenting others: DON'T GUESS WHAT THEIR CHALLENGING BODY PART IS. Don't reassure them (because we aren't guessing what they would need reassuring about!). Do make bold, unique, and specific compliments - about different body parts than you might normally compliment; about non-physical things; about energy and tenacity and strength.
My goal is to throw so much love at ourselves and each other in these images, that even WE start to believe that those tricky bits of ourselves are part of a whole and we see that that whole is a beautiful thing.
Let's soar together. I believe in you.
xo,
Kinzie
PS Don't forget, I'm going LIVE again at noon CST, talking about my own personal learning images, and seeing my most recent boudoir photos from when I was 8 months postpartum.
PPS We're LOVING seeing your selfies on Instagram! If you feel like sharing, please tag us - @empowermentphotographer / #SelfietoSelfLove <3 <3
PPPS The Grand Opening is rescheduled - new date TBD. The weather is looking pretty fierce this weekend and I don't want to risk it, especially if the roads get bad. I'll keep you posted and we'll get a new date on the calendar ASAP!!!
Day 5
#SelfietoSelfLove: A 5 Day Empowerment Challenge
Day 5: Thrive
Day 5! We've done it!!!! YOU'VE done it!!!!!!!! One more day to go!!!!
**** If you'd like to listen to this email in an audio recording, click here: empowermentphotographer.com/selfietoselflove It's about 7 minutes long! There are also five days of Empowerment Pep Talks there for you to enjoy if you'd like! ****
How are you feeling? Are you exhausted? Totally pumped up? Drained? On top of the world? Have you experienced a radical transformation in yourself this week? What challenges have you faced? I would LOVE it if you would hit reply and tell me what your experience with this challenge has been. Would you ever want to do this Selfie Challenge again?? If so, why?
We've had a lot of selfie practice this week. And you know one of my tricks is to take a million pictures of yourself and then go back to choose one that you love most! That's super valuable. AND NOW we're gonna challenge ourselves on that one too. Mwahaha. 😉
*******
Today, your challenge is to take ONE selfie of yourself and then post it. No redos, no do-overs, no editing, no filters, no nuthin'! (Gonna have to work on the honor system here, because I can't creep your phones.) One picture; post it.
With the picture, post three compliments about your photo, based on things that you can see IN THE PICTURE. Think of it as complimenting a perfect stranger - you can only go off of what you can see in the picture.
*******
🍑 Just like always, remember: no filters, no one else in the photo with you, and no goofy faces.
Keep in mind - you may not love the first photo you take! Post it anyway!
[I literally just looked through the first picture of the sets of selfies that I've taken recently and, to be honest, cringed a little bit at the thought of posting any of them in the group! Even though you might all look at them and be like, "Kinzie, you're ridiculous! These photos of you are all totally fine and postable!" The thing is -- *I* am capable of finding something I don't like in every single one of them. WHICH IS EXACTLY THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS CHALLENGE, ISN'T IT??! (Woof.)]
That's what we're doing here. Shedding light on the fact that we are so hard on ourselves; beginning to release that narrative, and replacing it with a kinder one. It takes practice, and we can do it.
And the cool thing is, we get to continue that journey. Whether it's in the form of ongoing selfie magic, or because you decide to book your life-changing Empowerment Boudoir experience with me... If you keep doing the work, you'll begin to see yourself in a new light. And that, my friend, is everything.
So, my dears. It's time for our final selfie of the week. Day 5, let's thrive! (I just made that up, but it's got a pretty good ring to it, doesn't it? Definitely going to borrow that for the subject of this email!)
I love you all with my whole heart. Thank you for showing up - for me, for our community, and most importantly, for yourself.
xo,
Kinzie
PS Don't forget, I'm going LIVE again at noon CST, talking about my own personal learning images, and seeing my most recent boudoir photos from when I was 8 months postpartum.
PPS We're LOVING seeing your selfies on Instagram! If you feel like sharing, please tag us - @empowermentphotographer / #SelfietoSelfLove <3 <3
PPPS The Grand Opening is rescheduled - new date TBD. The weather is looking pretty fierce this weekend and I don't want to risk it, especially if the roads get bad. I'll keep you posted and we'll get a new date on the calendar ASAP!!!