Everyone’s life has a story, office worker, mom, actress, housewife. The greatest stories come from the little things that happen every day, they make us who we are. Story Telling Beauty Portraits, by Great American Portraits™, tell those stories for today and tomorrow.

Below are the stories of Ying, Susan and Mai

Susan

Hi I am Susan

I work in an accounting office and have never been professionally photographed, unless you count my school photos 20+ years ago. My husband tells me that he thinks I am beautiful but that’s his job 🙂 I’m most comfortable wearing my tennis shoes, T-Shirt and maybe some lipstick to work every day.

I saw a few photos on Pinterest or somewhere and thought that could never be me!! My legs are short, I don’t know how to pose, I am just me, I’m no model. I jokingly told my husband and he thought it was a great idea. With encouragement from him, I booked my Story Telling session with Great American Portraits™ and I am so glad I did.

They made great suggestions on clothing that were fun, sexy and made me feel AMAZING. Then they pampered with professional makeup and hair was outstanding, I was beautiful, AND I was still me! Just a version of me I had forgotten about!! The girly me!

Like I said, I am no model, but they made the session comfortable and easy! They have an AWESOME location, and when it came time to taking my pictures, they showed me how to pose! They even made my legs look long and showed my feminine side with class! What I thought was a silly idea at first has become one of the most awesome surprises ever!

When I saw my images for the first time on a screen larger than life, I just cried. They were all so beautiful! Beautiful in an OMG that’s really me sort of beautiful! Then I thought, where would I ever show these. They had a solution for that too! I now have a beautiful Memory Box collection next to my perfume on the dresser. It makes me smile every time I see it.

Who would have thought at 50 I could look like a version of me that does belong in a magazine! A version of me that now believes my husband knows what he’s talking about when he tells me I am Beautiful!

Thanks to the team at Great American Portraits™

WIN A 600.00 SESSION!

Just for letting us know how to contact you, we will enter you into our monthly give-a-way. The winners will receive a pre-session story telling consultation to discover your own personal story. Then, just like a supermodel, you’ll come to the studio for your professional makeup and your personalized creative session. After that you will see the best images of the day to select a favorite image for your complimentary story telling portrait tile. This is a $600.00 package that is our gift to you,

Ying

I’m Ying

I grew up in China and moved to the USA almost 10 years ago to find a better, freer life. The only thing I really knew is that I wanted a change. I became teacher and wanted to get into acting.

I really wanted to become happier with myself. When I arrived here, I was heavy. I found a gym and took an interest in body building, that led to an idea of being in TV or Movies. However, I didn’t believe I was pretty enough. I started to work out in many different ways. I didn’t really see change daily, but I felt it. In my body, getting up early, doing my job, making time to work out and learning about what I wanted.

Today I am proud of how I look, although I can still look better, I guess that’s just how I am. Instead of hiding myself in lose fitting dresses, I am comfortable in anything I wear, an evening dress or a competition bikini. This also helps me feel better about seeing myself in a mirror or in pictures. I learned how to Instagram, but I never really knew how to be photographed. Great American Portraits™ have been great when we worked together as they took what I was comfortable with and showed me adjustments that made my portraits nothing short of fantastic.

It’s been just like working in a modeling or movie set. We exchanged ideas and they helped me discover what I wanted by showing me these beautiful photographs of myself!

These are photographs that I will look at and remember this time of my life for many years to come.

WIN A 600.00 SESSION!

Just for letting us know how to contact you, we will enter you into our monthly give-a-way. The winners will receive a pre-session story telling consultation to discover your own personal story. Then, just like a supermodel, you’ll come to the studio for your professional makeup and your personalized creative session. After that you will see the best images of the day to select a favorite image for your complimentary story telling portrait tile. This is a $600.00 package that is our gift to you,

Mai

I am Mai

I work in a healthcare center. As I was turning 49, I wanted something to remember my 40’s. I guess I am what you would call conservative. The Bra-n-panty pillow fight portraits are not really my thing, but I wanted to feel and look SEXY before I got too old!

When I’m not at work, I like growing vegetables in my garden and just wandering around outside on day hikes trying to put off Monday for as long as I can. I have always had a LOT OF HAIR but keep it mostly in a ponytail, it is just easier that way. I think I like things “easy”.

I was really nervous at the idea of doing a Beauty session or a Boudoir Session, I don’t even use those words daily. So, I spoke to a few friends and finally got the courage to email Great American Portraits™ and ask about their Story Telling Beauty Portraits. They called back and we ended up talking about me, what I wanted, things that I liked and so-on. We talked about hiking, traveling, gardening all the things I love, and they had lots of ideas on how to photograph the things I love doing. I didn’t really expect that, especially when the things I like don’t seem exciting.

When we narrowed down several of the ideas, we talked about how to make them exciting. That led me to several super fun shopping excursions looking for things that were fun but not too revealing. Being so conservative, I generally get clothes to wear and not clothes to have fun with, that was exciting.

When it came to the photography day, I got to the studio and had the greatest time being beautified! They really know how to choose colors and styles that made me look great and still kept me recognizable as me! I remember all the patience they had when it came to taking the pictures. I love hiking, but barely know how to walk in heels, OMG. They showed me where to stand, how to stand, and even how to toss my hair! They even said I would look better doing the hair toss then the photographer does (he didn’t have as much hair as me). Looking at my photos here, I am sure I look GREAT!

I always thought that beauty portraits were like those portraits from the 80’s with overdone makeup and feathered hairdos. Oh, how wrong I was. My portraits look like me, in a way that I wish was me every day, for that reason, I smile so much more when I think about growing up and no longer being in my 40’s. When I showed my mom even, she said they looked amazing, I really wasn’t sure how she might react, she’s even more conservative then I am, or so I thought.

I used to think that pictures were for showing off to other people, but now that I have had my own Story Telling Portraits created, I think the person who will want to see them the most will be the ‘me’ in 10, 20 or 40 years.

WIN A 600.00 SESSION!

Just for letting us know how to contact you, we will enter you into our monthly give-a-way. The winners will receive a pre-session story telling consultation to discover your own personal story. Then, just like a supermodel, you’ll come to the studio for your professional makeup and your personalized creative session. After that you will see the best images of the day to select a favorite image for your complimentary story telling portrait tile. This is a $600.00 package that is our gift to you,