Jillian's Power

...she's in there

The universe did its thing to get this legend in front of my lens.

I can hardly take credit for any of the resulting images because I didn’t direct anything. I couldn’t. It would have been a shame to.
 

She walked into the studio with a quiet confidence. A woman who had been through it—through fire, through darkness, through moments that could have shattered her. But she was here. Showing up for herself. And that, in itself, was badass.

For years, she carried wounds that were never hers to bear. Moments which left her to navigate a world where trust was a fragile thing. She found herself in relationships that were a cycle of pain, of searching, of trying to find safety where there was none. But despite it all, she never lost herself completely. A small ember of strength always remained, waiting for the right moment to reignite.

She didn’t come for a traditional boudoir shoot. This was something else—something raw, something healing. Something that was more about reclaiming her power than fitting into a label. And as she sat before the camera, she shared her story. Years of pain. Shadows that lingered. Moments that had tried to define her but never quite succeeded. 

Her husband is her rock—steady, unwavering. A love that doesn't demand, doesn't push, just exists in quiet strength. And that love? It's part of her healing. Every year, she grows. Every year, she understands herself more. And every year, she gets better at recognizing when she's spiraling, at knowing how to pull herself back.

Through the session, she moved through waves of emotion—joy, sadness, vulnerability, power. There were moments she sat with her past, moments she let it wash over her, and moments she let it go.

 I .

And then, at the very end, something magical happened. She was inside a cocoon of healing, letting the warmth of self-love and grace surround her. The weight of her past no longer held her down; instead, it became the foundation from which she would rise.

And then, as if breaking through the walls of her old self, she emerged—stronger than ever, glowing with newfound power.

She wrapped her arms around herself in a hug, a gesture so small yet so significant. It was an embrace of everything she had been through, everything she had overcome. A declaration: I am here. I am whole. I am mine.

It was badass. She was badass. And in that moment, she was free.