Embracing Your Age is Embracing Your Strength | 50 Over 50 | Columbus, OH Photographer

This beauty is one of our latest 50 Over 50 clients, and we were so thrilled when she agreed to be a part of this.

Raynea has been through a lot of storms over the past few years, and what a FIGHTER she is. Her story is one of perseverance and strength through the storm.

This is what she had to say:

“I believe that when we have walked through trauma and we have fought so hard for ourselves that we absolutely should document who we came out as on the other side of the storm. That is exactly why I chose to have portraits done by Whitney. I want nothing more in life than for my children to look at their mom and see a women that fought through it all; a strong, determined, resilient warrior. I also want women to know that they are worth fighting for. I absolutely love being in my 50’s. I’m stronger, healthier and fiercer than ever before. I encourage you to embrace your age. Embrace your strength. You are a powerhouse.“

The Best Thing About Being Over 50… is Being Over 50. | Dayton, OH Photographer | Aging Gracefully | Portraits for Women

The women who have graced our studio for this project have brought with them the greatest wealth of knowledge and experience. Their take on self-love, aging gracefully, and life in general has been such an honor for us to witness at WDP. Carrie is no exception to that. She has such a carefree vibe about her that makes her energy completely contagious. She walked through the doors, fully trusting our process – and our studio wardrobe lol, without a single item of clothing and said, “I’m not getting any younger, this is who I am… let’s do this.”

This is what she had to say:

“How can you succeed at aging gracefully? For me… aging gracefully begins with giving myself grace, accepting how old I am, owning it, and loving who I have become over the years. I find loving myself is the springboard to everything else.

I find loving myself is the springboard to everything else.

The best thing about being over 50… is being over 50. I have five decades of experiences, good and bad, that have shaped who I am, how I think, what I take seriously and what I don’t. Each decade has made me stronger and taught me something valuable. I know I am a better person at 50 than I was at 40 or 30 or even 20. I have always been about living a healthy lifestyle and spending time with family and friends; both make me feel terrific. Feeling terrific sparks energy. Energy transcends into beauty, defined not by the wrinkles on my face, but instead by the twinkle in my eye, glow in my smile, and the pep in my step.

Energy transcends into beauty, defined not by the wrinkles on my face, but instead the twinkle in my eye, glow in my smile, and the pep in my step.

Maty Jean May (my mother) once said, “It’s better to be looked over than overlooked” but I have learned not to let my looks define me. Instead, I focus on the best of what is yet to come.

Aging Gracefully & Gratefully | Dayton, OH Photographer | Women’s Portraiture

This beautiful tribute to age and beauty was written by one of our incredible 50 Over 50 women. Keri is stunning, which you can clearly see in these images, but what stands out to me the most about her is that she doesn’t let anyone tell her who she can be based on the number of years she’s graced this earth. She becomes more and more independent and true to who she is every single year, and that’s one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever witnessed. I’m honored to have her as a part of this project.

This is what she had to say:

“I decided way back that I would embrace my age and rewrite what “older” would look and feel like. The best is yet to come and it’s never too late to reinvent yourself. I think there are a few layers with aging gracefully. The first is how we take care of ourselves, our skin, our minds, and our beautiful bodies. The second is the way we show up to the world, how we present ourselves and dress. What we choose to wear is an outward expression of how we feel about ourselves and who we truly are. For me, I love fashion, so wearing something I love, that makes me feel good is an easy way to inject a little fun and self-love into my day. I ignore most of the fashion beliefs that I’ve been told all these years as to how we should or shouldn’t look at a certain age; how we should style our hair, when we should stop wearing something that would show our legs off, or when to wear less makeup… WHO makes these rules? My philosophy on fashion is if it makes you feel good, wear it! We need to be so confident in who are are at ANY age, that no one’s opinion, judgement or rejection can rock us. Our life isn’t our life if we care what others think.

We need to be so confident in who we are at ANY age, that no one’s opinion, judgement, or rejection can rock us.

As women, our health and self-care is so important; it’s not selfish. For me, this means focusing more on Pilates and resistance training, more water, a diet that includes healthy fats and protein, with a lower carb ratio. Even though I don’t live my life in fear of getting older, I do fear losing my health and that is one thing I won’t compromise on. I try every day to do my best with my diet and overall health. We have to keeping nourishing and moving our bodies.

Finally the mental aspect of age, and probably the most important comes down to gratitude. I wake up every day grateful for another day; another day to be better and to do better. Age is just a number, and as women we need to inspire one another to be the badasses we were meant to be. A glowing woman can help another woman glow and still be lit.

Age is just a number and as women we need to inspire one another to be the badasses we were meant to be.

This is 64. I am proud of it, the wrinkles, the scars. I have lived and I have earned it all.”

Marlene Mota X W.D.P. (Featured on HM.com)

I had the opportunity to work with fashion blogger and model Marlene Mota in New York this summer. Marlene is a full-time fashion blogger, living in Harlem, NY. She has modeled for top designers, as well as the runway and for several publications, with fashion photographers from across the industry. She is looking forward to her future in fashion and building her personal brand.

We planned this shoot with high fashion meets affordability in mind. H&M is exactly the type of brand we knew could complete this look.

Paired with a leather, Chanel handbag and mixed with a fresh perspective of East meets West; this shoot was brought to life by this beautiful location in Brooklyn, NY.

There’s just something about shooting in New York, the city lights, the grit, the dream chasers… there’s no other place that can inspire like NYC!

Check out the full shoot below!