About

Welcome home, everyone. I am so happy to be back with you on the Straight Talk for a Curvy World podcast. My break was just a little longer than I had anticipated, but I took the time to line up some amazing guests for upcoming episodes. Today, Elaine Turso is here to tell us about her boudoir photography business, and to discuss body image.   Why I'm Smiling on the Outside Because my book is done! My long-awaited book is complete and it has a new title, Smiling On the Outside: Secrets, Sex, Shame and the Search for Self-Love. It will be available on June 6th, 2017. I’ll be sharing more about it as the launch date approaches.   A Quote to Kick Off the Conversation "A person's success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.” — from Tim Ferriss’s book Tools for Titans   Body Image: The subjective picture or mental image of one's own body. Elaine Turso has a rule in her studio, anyone coming in for a photography session must adhere to, they are not allowed to say anything disparaging towards themselves. She calls it being body positive. Many women have a hard time standing naked in front of the mirror. Their first reaction is to let their inner mean girl judge and criticize them. But, Elaine wants to change that. At her boudoir studio, Elaine starts by making women feel beautiful by helping them to dress in a flattering piece of lingerie, then she elegantly lights the scene and she works to capture the woman’s beauty, inside and out. She wants to ultimately capture their soul. Women are subjected to unrealistic ideas of what a woman’s body should look like and Elaine is saying, “enough.” Elaine has lived with a burn on her upper torso since she was 5. It took a long time for her to come into body acceptance, which she says, is a mind shift change. She tried to cover herself at all times at school. She was blessed with having very supportive people in her life. Elaine knows not everyone has that. She has finally accepted her body now that she is close to 40.   Using Photography for Healing Elaine courageously shares her story of being violated as a young girl. She identifies with those who need healing and she tells a story of one woman who wanted to recreate the scene of when she was attacked. Elaine was charged with the difficult task of capturing the hurt and the trauma. “The Uprising of Annie” shoot was followed up by a video, in which the woman told the story of being robbed of her sense of safety at the age of 13.   Send Me Your Questions and Your Stories You can share your comments, questions and feedback with me at Annpeck.com or on social media @Iamannpeck. Send me a private email at ann@annpeck.com (I am the only one who reads it). Join the Straight Talk for Curvy World Community on FB and take the survey I mention in the podcast.