It's just like the reason we all cringe when someone wants to take our picture. The photograph doesn't lie, it shows us what's really there - whether we like it or not. It allows us to to look objectively at what's revealed. My bare pictures helped me accept myself as I was. In the portraits I saw things that I needed to work towards transforming but I also saw things about myself that made me happy, even proud. It's easy to hit "delete" or to shred an image so that it'd never be seen again. Whether you're losing weight or not, seeing yourself in the "raw" might offer you new insight into yourself and your life. I agree with you when you say on your site that people are being fed images of unattainable beauty and now more so than ever with the Internet. The result is many other girls (and guys too) who think they are supposed to, or should, or have to look like a model. What is the alternative How can they ignore it or look past it? I still take a look at the models and I am still bombarded by the images of unattainable beauty; I'm not sure we will ever have the ability to avoid it. But, this is where my nude pictures helped me the most. From those images, I understood that I was not a model (and I confessed that I didn't actually need to become one either). My images helped me understand who I was and what I needed. All along I said to myself "I want to look like the models," and I was incorrect. All I desired was to look in the mirror once in awhile and to be assured in the person (in and outside) I saw in the reflection. I wanted to adore myself. It's accurate, I still judge people to this very day. I see folks as "scrawny," "quite," "fat," etc. (Of course, I'd never express such views.) I believe that these terms and classifications have been embedded in us by these media-sourced images. After I find myself in one of these cases, I think about the context of my inner conversation. "Okay, I genuinely believe that man is 'scraggy?' What/who am I comparing them to?" Generally I discover the generalizations I make about others are in comparison to myself. Yes, in size, she may have already been leaner than me but she wasn't me. She hasn't gone through what I 've, she doesn't live my lifestyle, she doesn't have my same genetic make-up or family history, most likely she does not have the same goals and Considering visiting Unclothed Beaches as I do. She's not me. So why bother comparing? My advice on how exactly to dismiss being overwhelmed by external sources be egocentric with yourself. Think of yourself, of who you happen to be, of who you want to be. What makes you comfortable? What makes you happy? Be yourself and observe that. If you're unhappy with how you feel (which will be perfectly regular) make change to enhance that but do so on your own terms. Learn to love yourself. "Downfalls No. 1" by photographer Julia KozerskiMichal's Nudist Year: Looking Back on 2011 The naturist year of 2011 was a strange year for me: I leave my job. Not because I didn't love it. Not because I didn't like to bring in cash. I cease because I realized I was being manipulated. I couldn't let that. I started composing. I submitted about 20 pieces, all but one of which was short fiction, to various areas, mostly on the internet. One of them got printed. The one that was not fiction. I joined the organized naturist community from a sense of disgust. I'd learned fairly randomly the previous autumn that long time friends of my family were in fact naturists. Something which they hadn't ever told my parents, even though my dad had helped them move from New York to New Jersey, oblivious I consider to this day that they were moving to be closer to a naturist or clothing optional resort. I felt humiliated that they'd want to hide it from us. They'd encouraged me to join them that coming summer at the resort. In the spring I randomly started searching the web looking for the address of that resort. I never located it. Instead I found somebody selling a guide to the naturist resorts of the world. I purchased a copy. I went on a trip to Europe. I landed first in Poland, the nation of my arrival. I decided my next destination would be Croatia. From what I could tell from your guide, it was a nudist hotspot - at least in comparison to Poland, which didn't have anything at all. I invited a cousin of mine to come along. I doubt she'd any thought I was going there for naturism. When I would mention the word to her family, they kept nodding their heads, saying "Yes, yes. Nature." The day before Only when nakedness plays an adverse role with regard to the worthiness of the individual, when its intention is always to arouse were supposed to leave, she got robbed. Her bag was stolen. It'd her passport within it. Because citizens of the EU still need passports to get into Croatia, the trip was postponed. To learn more go to: http://cosmerewiki.universobs.com/index.php?title=Contemplating-visiting-Unclothed-Beaches-q http://schnupper.vfl-wiki.de/index.php?title=Only-when-nakedness-performs-an-adverse-purpose-regarding-the-value-of-the-person-when-its-purpose-is-to-excite-s