In April of 2023, Janessa sent me an email sharing that she had just received a life changing diagnosis: Breast cancer. She was young and in her thirties, supposed to go on a huge trip out of the country, and instead, here she was reaching out to me about a boudoir session because she was facing surgery in just a couple of weeks.

After meeting for her initial consultation, I earnestly encouraged her to consider two sessions- one before chemo and one after. She readily agreed.

Janessa is open, honest, raw, and real. She is a warrior and a fighter. She knew that if she was going to go through this journey, she wasn’t going to be silent about it- she was going to share everything to help encourage and inspire other women who may be on the same one, too. That struck a chord in me, I felt like we were so similar in that way. So I couldn’t help but think how powerful it would be if, at the end of this journey, Janessa could have a side-by-side comparison of her body, her soul, her spirit, after going through chemo and radiation. I knew she loved and cared for her body before it changed, but what I really hoped to show her and any other women in her shoes, is the strength and beauty in her body even AFTER it had gone through so much trauma.

The day of Janessa’s second session, she arrived at the studio with a bright smile on her face, hair freshly shaved, a buzz and excitement emanating off of her. We had made a plan to do some photos with absolutely NO makeup to start, and then our sweet friend Camille would be joining us to do her hair and makeup for the last portion of our shoot.

We knew we had to work quick, as she had a radiation treatment that afternoon. The sunlight streamed in through the studio windows as Janessa stood there, a whole new being before me, and all I could think as she gently wrapped her arms around her legs, her hands caressing her soft, new buzzed hair was-

RADIANT.

Once again I felt the irony of the moment, that that was the word echoing in my heart chambers as Janessa danced and played in the light on the studio floors, breathing deeply and sighing contentedly into this new body of hers. It was so fitting though. Radiation by all definitions of the word, is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. Radiation was what Janessa had had to endure for months, after a sharp scalpel had left a new scar on her breast. It was what had made her lose her hair, made her sick and weak for months.

And yet, here she was. Radiant. Emitting the most powerful energy right before my eyes, like the intense rays of the sunlight spilling on her face, like the very machines she had sat underneath week after week. Radiant. Beaming, shining, stronger than any cancer, machine, or treatment. Refusing to be snuffed out, refusing to be knocked down.

Radiant.

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To forever remember her journey, I helped her choose her favorite moments and we designed a bound album of both Janessa’s before and after sessions.

Months later I dropped it off at her home- a home she had gardened in and taken solace in during her time in chemo- and we flipped through it together misty eyed…

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What I loved so much about this session was showing that what the enemy came to steal, kill, and destroy, God turned around and used for good. When we surrender and put our trust and faith in Him, he brings us joy and peace even in the midst of hopeless situations. His radiance outshines even the strongest of darkness that tries to overtake us. And that is the hope and beauty we can wake up to each and every day.

Thank you Janessa, for trusting me and allowing me to be part of this incredible journey of yours.

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If there is anything I can say to Janessa and women like her in her shoes:

You are so beautiful. Not in what you look like, but in everything you are.

You are capable of being sexy, whole, strong, and courageous, even when you go through hardships.

God is for you, and he is with you.

ROMANS 15:13

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

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