What It Actually Means When I Say My Sessions Are a Safe Space

I use this phrase a lot. Safe space. Inclusive environment. A place where everyone is welcome. And I mean every single word of it but I also think it deserves more than just a line in a bio or a hashtag at the bottom of a post.

So let me tell you what it actually means when I show up for you.

First, a confession.

I am a photographer and I still get nervous being on the other side of a camera. I know what it feels like to hold your breath right before the shutter clicks. I know the instinct to stiffen up and put on a face that doesn't quite belong to you. I know what it's like to look at a photo of yourself and immediately find everything wrong with it before you've even really looked at it.I have literally cried over pictures people took of me because I thought I looked huge, or round, or old, or just plain weird.

I built my entire approach around that feeling because I never want anyone in front of my camera to feel that way for longer than the first five minutes. And even then I'm working to make it go away as fast as possible.

A safe space is an emotional environment, not just a physical one.

When I say safe space I'm not just talking about a quiet location or a comfortable studio setup. I'm talking about the feeling in the room. The energy between us. The understanding that you are not here to perform for me. There is a significant difference. A performance requires you to show up as something. Being witnessed just requires you to show up.

My job is to create enough space for the real version of you to feel comfortable enough to come out. The version your friends and family see every day. The one that laughs too loud and talks with their hands and forgets to be self-conscious because they're too busy actually living. That version is always in there. Sometimes it just needs the right environment to feel safe enough to show up.

You have the remote to this whole experience.

This is something I mean completely literally. If a location doesn't feel right, we find a different one. If an angle makes you feel exposed instead of empowered, we change it. If something isn't working for you at any point during our session, you say the word and we pivot.

You are not a subject in this. You are a collaborator. The session belongs to you and I am there to serve your story, not the other way around.

I will never push you past a boundary. I will never make you feel like you owe me a certain kind of photo or a certain kind of energy. If you need to take a breath, we take a breath. If you need a minute, we take a minute. We move at whatever pace feels right for you.

My space is inclusive. Always. No asterisk.

My workspace and every session I do is and always will be a safe and welcoming space for every member of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. My peeps shouldn't have to have that stated but the world sucks soemtimes and they deserve to know it's true. This is not a conditional statement. It is not something I say because it's good for business or because it's the right thing to post about or even because i am a part of that community. It is simply who I am and how I operate. (It also works as an awesome filter for people who might not align with my approach).

Every person who books a session with me deserves to feel seen, respected, and celebrated exactly as they are. That includes how they identify, how they show up, who they bring with them, and what their family looks like. All of it is welcome here.

For the person who has always felt awkward in front of a camera.

This is for you specifically. The person who has avoided photos for years because they never found a space that felt safe enough for their story. The person who has been told to just smile and never felt like that was quite enough. The person who is a little bit scared to be truly seen but also really ready for it.

I see you. I have built everything I do around making sure you feel protected in front of my camera. Not just captured, protected.

Your story deserves to be documented. Your real story, the whole complicated beautiful messy real one. And I would be honoured to be the one to do it.

Until next time :)

Michaela