Miss Chiaki

At one of my my recent pillow parties (Miss Christina's - to be blogged soon!), I got to meet this extraordinary woman. Her name is Chiaki, and the reason I'm blogging her separately from the pillow party is because not only did we get tons of excellent shots of her ... but she really touched me. She's such a beautiful woman, and I don't think she realized she had this inner vixen just dying to come out.

After her session, I showed her some of the shots on the camera (something I usually do during and after the shoot), and Chiaki actually had a few tears when she saw herself on camera. Having that kind of reaction - it totally drives me forward to do this work, because it's such a confidence booster for women. And that is AWESOME!!!

Here are a few more from her session with me ...

After seeing some of her edited images, Chiaki wrote me the nicest love note - and I thought I'd share it with you guys (posted with permission, of course!).

Ashley, you are an amzing photographer! You have a wonderful gift and are touching the lives of women in way that you don't even know... Over the past couple of years I have been struggling with my weight and have lost a lot of confidence and have many time felt unhappy. I have not felt comfortable in my skin for a very long time...when Christina first asked me to do this, I was very hesistant. Even up to the day of the shoot, but when I saw the beautiful shots you did I thought to myself "I can do this!". You made me feel so comfortable and beautiful. You have no idea how much this has meant to me and I thank you so much for sharing your gift with me. I haven't felt this good about myself in a really long time... you are amazing!

Thank you with all my heart. ♥ Chiaki