I feel like in every woman’s life there comes a point where you need to leave the old you behind and step into your true self. In reality this will often depend on many factors- how you’ve been conditioned to think, your tolerance levels, your relationships etc

I’ve also always thought of myself as an independent woman, but this summer an incident occurred which very much showed that I had fully lost the independence I valued so much. I’d actually handed it over and allowed someone else to control it. Social conditioning made me accept this without question, with little to no benefit to who I am as a person- emotionally, financially and physically.

All the things that made me me had been stripped away to the point that I’m no longer the Donna I recognise. I’ve given up my freedom, my finances, my career, my passions- except for photography. I’ve managed to keep that because it fit in to my ‘duties’ without causing disruption.

I’ve entirely squashed who I am silently to appease others which in turn has allowed that abuse of power. Being a people pleaser is clearly an issue of mine.

But the incident this summer made me sit up and realise that I was no longer going to accept the role forced on me by others with no benefit to my life, my passions, my goals and my future. I could finally see everything for what it was. It’s almost like the cloud lifted. Maybe it’s that magical moment of turning 40- the bullshit radar is just no longer tolerated.

I wouldn’t be truthful to myself if I continued to play small. It wouldn’t be fair to my children who would witness this social conditioning and also grow up thinking it’s ok to let others dictate their needs and wants above yours.

So this series of image represents the start of that process for me. The emerging from the ruins of my past life. What I thought was a castle turned out to be a facade with crumbling walls.

Where it goes from here I don’t know, but already I feel stronger. I feel more myself. And I’m returning to who I am. Moving forwards is the only option. Going backwards will only leave me vulnerable in the ruins of someone else’s creation.

When it comes to choosing a photographer, it's essential to take your time and find the right fit for you. I appreciate that you're here to learn more about me before making a decision—this shows how much you value the connection and trust that are vital in empowerment photography. To help you determine if we’re the perfect match for your upcoming shoot, I’d like to share a few things I truly love about this art form and a bit about who I am.

#1 – I’m a people person. Empowerment photography requires a strong rapport, and I genuinely enjoy getting to know my clients before our session and starting the creative process before you even step foot in my studio. Building that connection is crucial, which is why I offer in-person consultations (usually at my fave cafe The Green Dot in Bishop’s Stortford) or Zoom calls to foster trust and comfort.

#2 – Embracing body positivity. Like many, I too have struggled with body image, but after years of personal growth, I now celebrate my body and encourage others to do the same. I am more than happy to show and share my story with you to help you shake off those shackles. Witnessing a client’s reaction to their photos is incredibly rewarding, knowing they’ll have a lasting reminder of the moment they embraced every part of themselves. It encourages them to always be reminded of the freedom and joy they felt for themselves which is an important part in the journey to accepting and loving ourselves.

#3 – Confidence boosting. I take pride in being a professional confidence booster. It’s truly amazing to help women recognise their beauty, both inside and out. The joy on their faces when they see their photos is a moment I cherish every time.

I could share countless reasons why I love empowerment photography, but I believe this gives you a glimpse into my passion. If this resonates with you, make sure to get int ouch. You never know which experiences in your life will be the life changing ones, but I can hand on heart say that I believe this one has been life changing for many of my clients.

Ever since my 40 over 40 Project, I’ve been waiting for this day.

Rather than the anticipated fear of ageing that I’ve always had when big birthdays approach (I felt the same when I turned 13 and became an acknowledged teenager and actually even the day I turned 10 I still have vivid memories of- that feeling of despair and almost broken heartedness at saying goodbye to single digit life. So this is clearly a thing for me), but turning 40 I was excited.

I don’t know if it was a culmination of meeting some incredible women and finally learning true self acceptance, or if in fact you just turn 40 and it turns out you really do just give less of a damn. But I wanted to expose a part of me that had been deep rooted in shame and disgust.

My post partum belly.

It’s taken me many years to get to the point of post partum acceptance, and on my 40th birthday I just felt the shackles go and decided to get naked and take some portraits.

With luck I will be in this body far longer than I’ve already been in it, so why was I wasting my time and energy on the concept that others might judge me for my post birth body. My firstborn was a large baby. Far too big for my body. With my second baby I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, so I actually think I went undiagnosed with gestational diabetes with my first… but the care I received with my first was sub par at best the whole way through. Either way, I was left with a tummy that knocked my self confidence.

My son is now 10 years old, and over the years I’ve learnt to appreciate what my tummy has meant. I’ve gone from hiding my tummy to now wearing bikinis on the beach. There’s almost a thrill I get now when I do that. A sense of defiance and an advocate for all those mothers that didn’t get their previous bodies back after children. I mean what a misogynistic view point in itself (thanks media for that one).

Whether or not your body drastically changes with or without birth, our previous bodies shouldn’t even become an ideal. We should be nurturing the bodies we have.

Without that stretching I wouldn’t have my baby’s. Without the misshapen skin I wouldn’t have nurtured and grown two healthy children.

Yes I could remove the skin. But I’m not a fan of surgery at the best of times, so for me it’s not a route I wanted to go down. It felt like denying what my body had been through and how my children came into existence. Plus as more of my friends had babies I realised we all have post partum changes. Our breasts change after children, our tummy’s change. Some of my friends have grown an extra shoe size. I mean there’s no control over how we will change, but some of us physically do while others don’t change at all. And in truth it’s all ok.

So this is my version of 40. My tummy isn’t toned. It’s soft, it wobbles. It has wrinkles. When I bend over it’s almost like a man’s ball bag. No one complains about those do they… so que sera.

I know my body hasn’t finished changing. It’s constantly changing. With the menopause around the corner it’ll change again. I’m ok with that.

I can not even begin to tell you how freeing doing this self portrait session felt. If there’s a part of you that you feel shame over, I actively encourage you to confront it. Turns out, my belly doesn’t look half as bad as I thought it did, I actually quite like it. And I appreciate the other areas of my body that I’d completely forgotten about because of all my thoughts were consumed by my belly. When all along, it was doing exactly what it was meant to do. Helping to grow my children, and keeping me alive.

Image as part of The Proud Project. Titled: Grief

❗️Trigger warning ❗️

The day I took the series of images was on the 5th anniversary of my Dads passing. It’s always a day of reflecting and remembering now.

These images helped me to showcase my thoughts and feelings around the time of his passing and how consuming death becomes even after so many years.

Even though my Dad was on palliative care and we were expecting his passing, the period of time leading up to his death was excruciatingly hard.

I handled his dying in the only way I could. By pretending it wasn’t happening.

For me, my Dad has and always will be the oak tree in my life. He was a solid man- the best person to turn to for advice because he was a fountain of knowledge. He had strength a plenty and such an unselfish heart. He inspired me in so many ways. I was proud he was my Dad. He had such a dry sense of humour and a worthy addiction to chocolate.

So I refused to acknowledge he was dying. Even when the oncology consultant sat us all in a room to tell us there was nothing else that could be done and he had weeks left, a couple of months at best with blood transfusions, we all just shut down. I imagine most families cry. We all just left the room in a state of shock and pretended it was your average day. We discussed how good looking the doctor was and my dad just sung to my son who was sat on his lap in a wheelchair on the way back to the hospital ward. We all heard the doctor. We just pretended we hadn’t.

So I refused to acknowledge he was dying. I could visually see it. But my brain wouldn’t allow me to accept the truth. I kept a barrier up for self preservation. I was weak when he needed me not to be.

All those conversations I wish I’d had, I avoided. Instead I kept jovial and upbeat. But my body betrayed me. My throat and mouth were covered in ulcers. I just quietly sat in pain.

The morning he died, a part of me died. I held his hand the entire night, cleaned up the blood that came from his body and played him Jimmy Reeves through my phone. I talked to him about anything and everything. By the time I’d reached his bedside that night he could no longer speak or move, so I was doing what I thought was best. Distracting him. But in reality, I was distracting me.

I didn’t tell him enough that night that I loved him, because I didn’t want him to feel like it was a goodbye. I didn’t want him to know he was dying. I refused to let go of his hand. Clinging onto it like a small child holds onto a parent for assurance and guidance. His hand being my safe place.

He’d been in a state of concious paralysis so when he finally passed I was glad it was over. But internally I was broken. Watching someone die is like sitting in a boat and watching a person drowning but you just can’t reach them. It’s torture. But whatever I felt, it was nothing compared to what my dad had been through. It wasn’t a good death. He’d been let down by medical practitioners and he had no pain relief.

When someone dies and you don’t have those conversations but you know there was a chance you could have, there’s a deeper sense of loss for all the things you wish you’d asked or were brave enough to say.

He passed away at 4.04am and I drove back home to my own family. Again my body betrayed me and I was sick. The trauma too much to take in. I felt weak and lost. I was ashamed that I couldn’t match up and be his oak tree when he needed me. I was small and pathetic in my feeble attempts. I hid away in fear.

I remained the small acorn and cloaked myself from the pain I felt. I could protect myself in my shell, but I couldn’t protect the damage happening to him so it was easier to ignore his pain and pretend life was just normal.

I saw the light go out in his eyes. The moment his soul left. With it he took part of mine.

His death changed me fundamentally. There’s a before and after version of Donna. I think trauma does that to anyone.

I had a pyschic reading with Morgana Marie on his anniversary. and something she said really resonated with me.

He had to die so I could grow.

After a winter hiatus (with full house renovations so no studio to hand), it’s time to come back with a brand new exciting project. I floated the idea last year, but because of everything going on I couldn’t really get it going without the space I needed and half my equipment in the loft.

Plus the longer I’ve sat on the idea and the concept, the more it’s evolved. I absolutely loved The 40/40 Project and the women that I met were incredibly inspiring. I wanted more of that because it brought an acceptance over who I was just by being in their presence. Unknowingly, it created a self acceptance to my perception of ageing. I met so many women on so many different journey’s. From the just widowed, the newly heartbroken. Those going through medical trauma and treatments. Those awaiting results on life changing health matters. I met women who were defying the media’s perception over being a woman over the age of 40. I also met those that embraced the slower lifestyle ageing presented them with. It was incredible. I encountered all the highs and all the lows. Ultimately I came away with a very different view on how to confront the ageing process in a way that was my decision and not impressed upon me by the media. Acceptance, excitement and joy.

The stories moved me, and the portraits I created stirred deep in my soul as the stories came to life visually.

The Proud Project follows on from this. It’s not age dependent because I feel many of us struggle and have struggled throughout the ages. The more we see the visuals of this the easier it is for us to accept exactly who we are or who we’re wanting to become. I talk about my body issues and how photography helped me confront parts of my body I disliked. And I do believe photography provides great therapy in that sense. But I wanted more than just personal therapy.

I wanted to create something that could actively help others outside of this project. A photographic book with different stories and visuals representing a wide section of society and the challenges we individually face at different times, whether that’s visual to the outside world or not.

We all have stories, and the more those stories are shared the more we realise that everyone has their own hidden battle, thoughts and feelings. The more we acknowledge and confront those areas we’re meant to be ashamed of, the more healing can occur. It gives us the chance to truly accept ourselves and others in all our unique attributes, rather than to focus on the differences. I wanted to gift everyone with the permission to sit in their feelings on days when they feel different or insecure and to know that they’re not alone.

I want truth, I want reality. I want raw emotion. I want to create art in its many guises with subjects that aren’t afraid to sit in those feelings and are ready to show up as themselves to the world with pride.

If that sounds like a bit of you, take a look at The Proud Project FAQs to learn more or sign up here.

Neurofibromatosis: A genetic condition which causes tumours to grow along the body’s nerves.

Scoliosis: Scar from scoliosis surgery which is where the spine twists and curves to the side.

Body rolls and dimpling: Representing more body types is important for all women.

In 2019, I embarked on a journey that led me to say 'I do' to a small, intimate wedding that was truly magical even if it was tinged with sadness due to my Father’s ill health. As a photographer myself, I understood the importance of capturing every precious moment of our special day. However, I encountered a common challenge - most photographers only offered full-day packages, which didn't align with our vision for a shorter, more intimate registry wedding.

Faced with this dilemma, I decided to take matters into my own hands and revolutionise the wedding photography industry. Introducing wedding photography packages specifically tailored for intimate celebrations lasting no more than 4 hours.

Whether you're exchanging vows on a weekday or a weekend, I am here to provide you with affordable options that cater to your unique needs. Say 'yes' to capturing your love story in a way that perfectly fits your journey together.

At Donna Duke-Llande Photography, we believe that every moment, no matter how small, deserves to be cherished and immortalised. Let us be a part of your special day and help you create lasting memories that you will treasure for a lifetime. Say 'I do' to intimate wedding photography that captures the essence of your love story.

One of the hardest aspects of owning a business is having to advertise and promote it- especially if you use socials in which to engage with your clients.

Facebook and Instagram are still exceptional marketing tools, but having to take photographs and write captions takes up a lot of time. Using a camera phone creates great results but it doesn’t often look professional and depending on how you want to market your brand this can hinder the client you’re after.

This is where I come in. I hold branding days for local businesses where I go into your place of work and photograph as much content as I can and deliver the high resolution and low resolution files to you, so you have all the marketing material you need. Whether that’s for printing, website or socials.

My online galleries are easily accessible and if you have a website manager you can just give them access to your online gallery so it removes that extra work of having to source the perfect image and wasting hours of your day.

These branding sessions can be one offs or you can book them in multiple times during a year so you have content that takes you throughout the seasons- especially important for those of you that use the holidays as part of your marketing efforts (Valentines, Easter, Halloween, Christmas).

My job as always is to make running your business easier and more efficiently and these days definitely do that.

Contact me for more information on my content branding session.

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Here are a few brands that I’ve worked with in the last couple of months::

Helen Cowley Riding Academy

That’s Sooo You

The Little Arts Workshop

Carter Hair and Make Up

What can I say other than thank you for supporting my first exhibition featuring so many of you at The Belgian Brewer!

I started this project when I was 37 and I started having that panic moment over the concept of turning 40. So I did what I do best and I confronted those feelings by starting The 40 over 40 Project and honestly it’s been the best therapy for me. I have met so many of you and you are all so individually inspiring. I think back to how I felt about turning 40 at the start of this project and I’m embarrassed. I’m embarrassed over the pre conceived ideas I had over what turning 40 meant. Very clearly the media and all the anti ageing ads had made me feel that getting older just wasn’t ok. And then I met all of you… women climbing mountains, women who are enjoying the most incredibly adventurous lives. Women telling me stories over what they’ve achieved and what they want to achieve. Women who love themselves without shame or disappointment. And of course one woman who would have given anything to have reached her next decade, who we sadly lost not long after her session.

What I‘ve learnt is that in your 40’s you all seem so much more accepting over who you are and what has come before and what will come after. Your lives are intermingled with grief, joy, pleasure and occasionally despair but ultimately you’ve never felt more alive. There’s a sense of security and freedom. And so as I enter the final years of my 30’s I’m excited (turning 39 this week and I couldn’t be happier with who and where I am). And I want to make sure I fully embrace turning 40 by writing a bucket list of 40 things I want to achieve before I turn 40. I’m going to celebrate and look forward to being able to say I’m 40 and proud.

So not only am I saying thank you to you for being part of this project , but it’s also a thanks by showing me and guiding me towards something I was fearing. You paved the way to help me accept myself, and I hope thorough our photoshoot I was able to do the same for you. I hope I was able to show you just how incredible you are and how much you inspire me. I wanted to show you how I see you and in turn how the world sees you.

The incredible posters on the night of the exhibition didn’t survive the strong strength glue to keep them in place, but so many of you wanted to have your posters so I’m offering them to you to purchase at £40 each. I’ll be popping an order over to Douglas who designed and created them. So make sure to follow the link if you wanted your poster too.

Enjoy these images by Maria Akore who was also part of The 40/40 Project herself.

Having a photoshoot can seem really self indulgent at first, but when you find the right photographer it can be one of the most therapeutic experiences you can have.

There are thousands of photographers out there- even in Bishop’s Stortford alone. We all work within different genres but I’m the only photographer that works solely with women and I believe that’s because I lead with empathy and a genuine want to help you see yourself whether you love what you see in the mirror, or there are issues that you focus on and struggle to accept.

I know what it’s like to focus on a body part and truly struggle to love it. So today I wanted to tell you my story which starts back in my teenage years. A story which has seen me overcome a hatred for my body and has helped me accept and no longer focus on my body image in the way I had previously.

As you read it I want you to think about how reframing your mindset could lead you to that freedom you don’t currently think is possible.

I went to the extreme really to help me overcome my issues, you certainly don’t need to go to that extent (read on and you’ll understand what I mean). But the lesson I learnt ultimately was that by being able to see myself through other people’s eyes it gave me the permission I needed to stop that internal battle.

My story focuses on my breasts.

So this story is always going to be intermingled with sexuality simply because of the nature of the area I struggled with and the era in which I grew up where there was a heavy emphasis on sexualising the female body- not something that the today me would encourage unless it is a personal requirement for you to deal with those emotions. And actually even going through it for me, the process was never sexual it was always about acceptance.

In my late teenage years my chest had a growth spurt. I went from being a B cup which I was quite happy with as I was a typical tom boy kind of girl that loved sports, to suddenly developing G cup breasts overnight- or at least it seemed that way.

The reality was I just didn’t notice until people started pointing out to me that I had “massive breasts”. I liked being the non descript girl at school. Attention made me uncomfortable so you can imagine how I felt when suddenly I was getting attention because of the size of my boobs.

At the time I was living abroad. My dad had a job that took our family to Singapore, so to have this sudden growth spurt in a country where actually the women as a population were generally smaller was difficult. It was impossible to find bras that fit me. C cup was the maximum cup size the shops would typically stock. It made my already awkward body feel even more ridiculous. There were no bras for a girl my size. As a teenager I felt so uncomfortable in the body I had. I’d wear bras that were too small and then I’d wear a tight black boob tube on top of my bras which essentially pushed my boobs down- I was basically binding my own breasts. Visually it made my chest look smaller than I was, which gave me the confidence to continue being the old me. The less visual my breasts were, the less comments I’d receive.

My mum knew all about my breast issues, but as an A cup and my sister being a B cup my family didn’t really know best on how to support me as a young teenager. She knew how upsetting my breasts made me feel, so she took me to the doctors to discuss options. Of course the only option really being surgery. The doctor spoke to me at length and told me that surgery wouldn’t be performed on a teenager or really anyone under the mid-20’s, simply because there’s no way of knowing how much growth is still going to happen. And of course the breast tissue is still developing and changing. So I carried on for the next few years in the same way, a boob tube pushing down my natural breast tissue so that they would be less noticeable.

Ultimately my breasts made me feel really embarrassed. They sexualised my body without my permission.

I left Singapore and headed back to the UK to start university. At the time the whole glamour model scene seemed to be kicking off. Daily there were glamour models in the newspapers, the magazines and wherever else you’d come across them at the time. What made them household names? Their breasts. Many chose to actually get surgery to increase their breasts to align themselves with the career choice they had chosen. For me, this was a different way to see my body. I was given these “comedy sized boobs” and women were paying thousands to have their natural breasts doubled or tripled in size and here I was wanting to have mine essentially cut off. These women were choosing to sexualise their bodies with their breasts. It was their choice.

The more I witnessed the rise of the glamour model, the more I started to question my own breasts. It’s funny but it’s true. The more we visually see ourselves in others, the easier it is for us to accept what we deem as flaws.

Instagram and social media currently is definitely paving the way for body acceptance. What was hidden behind closed doors previously is now being shared with positivity. New mother’s are able to see other women with post partum bodies. Stretch marks are being loved. Masectomy scars are being shown and celebrated because they symbolise life… all of these may mean nothing to you. But to someone who struggles with that themselves, it means everything.

And that was how the glamour industry made me feel. It gave me a place where my breasts weren’t seen as ridiculous.

And so while I still had breast reduction surgery as my end goal, I decided to see if I could delve into the glamour industry. For those unaware, the glamour industry is topless modelling. It’s in essence sexualising the body for visual content. But the choice to sexualise my body was my choice. No one else could sexualise my body without my permission now because it felt like the control was mine.

For me, it was never about who was seeing my breasts. It was about seeing how others perceived my breasts in an environment where it seemed the larger the better. It was about being surrounded by other women where I felt normal. It was about all of us getting ourselves ready in the same changing rooms and none of us being shy or afraid to be topless around each other. It was a sisterhood.

Whereas before I felt I had to hide them away, squash them down and pretend they didn’t exist; I was now learning to fully embrace them. I wasn’t made to feel they were out of place for the first time in my life. And I felt in control of my body finally.

I spent 8 years in the glamour industry, I was incredibly successful at what I did. I invested what I earnt into property and when I became pregnant with my son I was able to walk away. The job was never a forever job- it can’t be really when actually it was based so heavily on quite shallow aethetics. But it was exactly what I needed as a young woman. The job had prevented needless surgery, it had given me my confidence back and ultimately I started to learn that we all feel flawed at times and that focus can become so detrimental. I worked with some of the most beautiful women, and yet they were fighting their own self loathing battles which I couldn’t understand. And I realised we are all on that journey and it’s only our own mindsets that can lead to that kind of acceptance otherwise there’s no stopping point. It doesn’t end.

I confronted my breast insecurity head on. The path it took me down set up the foundations for the life we have today as a family and it also led me to discover the power of photography. I spent many years being photographed and I know the power of a great picture. So after having my firstborn when I lost the ability to look “photogenic” in a picture (bearing in mind that was my job for the past 8 years), I then realised that being photogenic is actually a mindset. And after having my son I lost all the confidence I’d gained because my body had changed and I hadn’t accepted those new changes. When you lose confidence it’s a cycle and so I started to confront my own insecurities again.

I can not tell you the power that exists when you confront those uncomfortable feelings. It’s not even learning to love the way you look in an image. It’s about looking at an image and thinking “yeah, she’s actually alright” and accepting exactly who you are and the journey you’ve been on to get there.

Funnily enough my breasts after having my kids took themselves on a shrinking journey and so I’m grateful I didn’t have a breast reduction because I would literally have nothing left at all if I had! 😂 Typical isn’t it. All that energy wasted in my teenage years and my twenties and ultimately I’ll spend longer with the boobs I currently have then the boobs I spent years negatively obsessing over.

Photography has always been a therapeutic tool for me. I think hiding away from cameras definitely reveals an insecurity and I think many women (myself included) have felt that genuine fear of being in front of the camera. In fact I talk about it a lot in my About Me section where I discuss how I avoided being in front of the camera when my children were little.

After having my children I was left with your typical mum tum- thankfully people are talking about these bodily changes more frequently but when I had my first child these issues were still covered up and it’s very isolating feeling like you’re the only person to have been left with scars, marks and an overhang. Diastasis recti and two c-sections have meant the body I had pre-children isn’t coming back without surgery. So my options were to either love my body with its new squishy texture or to continue obsessing over it and feeling insecure for the rest of my life or until I went down the surgical route- something I’m not comfortable with. Kudos to anyone that is happy to get surgery but I’m the biggest wimp so I avoid medical procedures wherever possible. I’ve summarised my issues in a short paragraph but the reality is it’s taken me maybe 5 years to fully embrace my new body and it’s an ongoing journey.

Sometimes when I speak to clients I talk about insecurities and how they feel about their bodies. It’s important for me to know as a photographer how a person perceives themselves and whether they have a body issue that I can help them with. Because the reality is sometimes our own body hatred is deep within our minds and visually it’s never as bad as we make it out to be. Photography is the perfect tool to help you on your path to healing. I want to be able to enable you to look at yourself objectively- to take away the negative voices you have about yourself.

I frequently say to my clients that we’re going to confront their insecurity if they’re happy for me to guide them through it. The worst that’ll happen is that nothing changes- they never need to see the images again and no one will ever know. But the best that can happen is that I can help them see themselves in a different light- through kinder eyes and I can help them start their healing journey. There is beauty is our differences and it’s wrong to think we should all have to be the same. I will also happily get my mum tum out for any client that doesn’t believe I have my own insecurities.

I wanted to share some stories from a couple of clients that have been in recently. Some wonderful women that allowed me to help them photograph parts of themselves they’ve struggled with. I’ll let them tell you their stories in their own words.

“I'm Debbie, I'm 50 years old and have had body dysmorphia for a fair part of my life.

My story begins at just 11 years old when I was diagnosed with a spinal condition called Scoliosis meaning curvature of the spine. At the beginning it was only a small curve but as I continued to grow so did the curve. It then became life threatening and I needed to have some major spinal surgery to save my life. I needed metal rods and wiring inserted to help the stop of the curve becoming worse. Because I was different I was bullied at school.

By the time I was 20 I'd endured 4 major spinal ops and some other procedures to help with my deformity- primarily a rib hump which saw me have some of my ribs removed. I now have a 16" scar right down the middle of my back. It makes me feel self conscience and ugly.

But Donna captured my back beautifully and in a way to confront my imperfections (to me) and show me my body as art. We all have things we don't always like about ourselves but doing this with Donna has been a good and positive experience.

I'm not going to say I love my body or myself still because body dysmorphia doesn't disappear overnight but i's made me look at myself slightly differently.”

Debbie

“Lots of people describe their journey with their body confidence as a journey. But in reality, it's more like a dance.

The process of accepting and loving my body hasn't gone from hatred and then progressed to love. There are times I love my body and times it frustrates me. That's the dance. I’m in it, constantly. There is no beginning and end destination. But I'm definitely no longer hating my body and it is the most empowering feeling.

My dance with my back has been quite an intense one. It's the part of my body where the tempo of the music changes frequently. Sometimes it's like 90’s RnB, sometimes its like the death march, like I'm going into battle with it.

I 100% accept all of my body and absolutely adore nearly all of it. I've learnt to embrace who I am, drown out the societal expectations of me as a woman and focus on what feels right for me.”

Kayleigh Confidence and Empowerment Coach

If you want to try and see if I can help you with your body image or your mental health issues through my photography please don’t hesitate to get in touch. The worst that can happen is that you don’t change your mindset with me, but the best that can happen is that we start you off on your journey to accept and learn to love exactly who you are and to feel good about it.

Boudoir; often mis spelt as buodoir, budoir, bodoir, boudior is a branch off of portrait photography but the image gives a more sensual and sexy feel than traditional portraiture. It doesn’t have to mean lingerie, high heels, stockings or full nudity. It can be whatever you need it to be and taken to a level of comfort that you have. If lingerie is your jam then I’m happy to photograph you in it. But if you just want to dip a toe into boudoir you might feel comfortable wearing our in studio white shirt instead which covers you up entirely, or using a white sheet to keep yourself more hidden. There are so many ways to incorporate boudoir into your photo sessions. So I thought I’d let you know what boudoir at Donna Duke-Llande Photography looks like:

1. It’s a way to feel empowered and to appreciate your feminine form. They did it in the Greek and Roman days, and it’s time to bring that appreciation back for all female body types.

2. It’s something that’s done just for you. It’s an incredible feeling knowing that you’ve done something out of your comfort zone, and while you might gift the image to a partner we all know it’s really something for you.

3. It’s about being a bit more sensual in the imagery than traditional portraits. It’s about looking classy and creating something artistic that you will love.

4. It’s about showing a bit of skin, but how much depends on you. The pose is just as important as the outfit and actually a jumper with the shoulder pulled down can be boudoir and just as sexy as being fully nude or in an incredible lace bodysuit.

5. Your comfort is paramount and that’s why I work with an all female team who will make you feel comfortable throughout. We can close the set down if you prefer to just you and myself but rest assured your comfort always comes first.

6. Boudoir can be part of your photoshoot if you want to try it. It doesn’t have to be the whole session.

It sounds so self indulgent doesn’t it?

But it is so important that you invest in yourself because ultimately there’s just one of you and you are the only one responsible for your happiness.

So here are 5 reasons why investing is a necessity (in business and in life):

1. 100% of the investment goes towards achieving your goals. When you invest in yourself, (your brand or your life) that investment is solely being put into you and helping you reach the desired outcomes you need or want. All that time, money and energy isn’t going elsewhere. It’s focussed on helping you achieve your goals.

2. Frees up your time. Investing in yourself is another way of saying you’re outsourcing and that frees up your time and causes less stress. When it comes to work this could come in the form of getting a website developer or investing in yearly photographs that you can access easily for all your content needs- those jobs you don’t want to do can be done by someone else and instead you can use your time in an area of your business where you excel or enjoy some down time- down time when you’re a business owner is just as important as working consistently. In life you might get your nails done, or use a personal trainer… although you can paint your own nails or exercise at home the likelihood is you wouldn’t see the same results in the time it takes to use a professional service.

3. Avoids burnout. If you’re not outsourcing or you’re taking on too much and not giving yourself time to enjoy life and experience moments of happiness you can guarantee burn out will happen. When you choose to invest in yourself you can limit burnout because you’re doing things that you want to do, for your well-being and happiness.

4. Your productivity increases. When you invest in yourself ultimately you become happier and your relationships benefit from that too whether that’s at work or at home. You’ll often find you have more energy and your productivity increases because of that. Happy life = happy all around.

5. More confidence. Investing in yourself is telling yourself that you're worth it. Acknowledging what you need and desire is such an important first step to giving you more confidence.

Money spent on you isn’t self indulgence. It’s investment. It goes towards your mental wellbeing. Whether you’re using that money to excel in life or business it’s an important investment to make.

Remember, you are worth investing in.

Valentine’s Day is always an interesting date on the calendar isn’t it?

It’s the first proper event day as such on the calendar after Christmas, and it happens during the hardest few months of the year. Those months where we cling to any form of excitement because the dark days are long, cold and bitter. So even if we don’t actually intend to celebrate Valentine’s Day there’s no denying that it is a date that slowly creeps in.

The frustrating thing about Valentine’s Day is that it traditionally relies upon us being validated by someone else. And as lovely as that can be, it’s actually very damaging. Because what about those of us that don’t have partners? or those of us who feel forgotten on Valentine’s Day. Those of us that are going through difficult life issues and then feeling the pressure of this particular day looming?

Which is why for many years I’ve realised that Valentine’s Day should be about yourself. It should be about reconnecting with who you are and learning to love her and see her value. Nobody should validate who you are. Only you need to validate yourself.

A lot of how we feel about ourselves comes from the way we portray ourselves to the world. If we’re having a ‘good’ day we feel happier and more confident, but if we’re having a day where we feel less than comfortable it’s really hard to love ourselves during those moments. If those bad moments last a long time it really starts to affect us mentally.

As we get older and our bodies adjust and change it can be hard for many of us to love what looks back at us in the mirror. After all we’re bombarded daily by celebrities and models that have that ‘perfect’ body type. 

But let’s be honest, if you’re alive then your body is absolutely perfect in all senses of the word. It doesn’t matter if there’s a little wobbly bit here or there. Or you have a scar that runs along it. Or you have stretch marks. Or your boobs aren’t quite in the same place they were in your 20’s.  And yes while those celeb bodies might look amazing in magazines, we don't actually know what body hang ups they have themselves that we're unaware of.  

For those of you that have come in to see me, I've no doubt shared my post kids tummy with you- I like to show you that we all have parts of us we don't like.  Outwardly I look fairly petite and small but I have a body that will never wear a bikini ever again! But actually it doesn't matter and I've come to accept that part of me- although it took a long time.   

Your body will and does change, and it will continue to do so to keep you alive, well and healthy.

And you need to love it and yourself the entire time, not just on Valentine’s Day. But make this the Valentine’s Day where you step out of your comfort zone and really see yourself. Embrace just how wondrous and beautiful you truly are. Just like my gorgeous client did in this image which we took as part of the 40 over 40 project. She wanted to step out of her comfort zone and to see her body properly so she could learn to let go of the negative thoughts she has had over it for many years.

Every time she starts to think badly about herself this image is there for her to remind herself how incredible, brave, resilient and beautiful she truly is.

Some people are very personal about their make up, whether that’s because they like it to be exactly how they do it or as often is the case, they don’t wear much of it and don’t want to not be themselves in the portraits that are taken.

I completely understand that, and having a make up artist at your photoshoot is something I offer as a complimentary service.

You are never obligated to have to use one of my make up artists. So if you strongly feel that a make up artist wouldn’t be a great fit for you just let me know. As always every photoshoot is customised to your needs.

However, there are many benefits to having a make up artist on the day of your photoshoot, so if you are a little unsure here are 3 great reasons why you should use a professional make up artist for your portrait session:

1. Professional make up artists are highly trained and skilled when it comes to applying make up for photography. They are able to use high end products to help remove unflattering sharpness caused by the high spec quality of modern cameras. While there’s benefits to having sharp images we don’t necessarily want to see every facial detail in HD!

2. Normal everyday make up isn’t actually defined enough to be picked up on camera. So having your make up professionally applied can sometimes feel and look a bit heavy, but a make up artist isn’t preparing you for your everyday casual make up look, she’s preparing you for the strength of the lights and the way in which colour disappears quickly on camera. Even if it is a everyday causal look you’re going for you’ll need just a bit more definition then you’re used to to give the result you truly want.

3. Make up artists are specialists in what they do and can alter looks throughout a session meaning we can go from casual to glam easily. Hair up or hair down? With a make up artist present we can go for a variety of different styles. Having someone on hand to pamper you is also a great way to enjoy the full process.

When you book a portrait with me you will immediately be offered a make up artist at your session. This will enable you to truly relax on the morning of your portrait session and fully embrace the process.

My current in house make up artists are:

Emma from Emma Ford Make Up

Holly from Carter Hair and Make Up

Sarah from Sarah Catherall Make Up

A personal branding session here is a fully customised process, so getting to know you is the most important part of a branding session for me. Mainly because you are the key ingredient to your business. You are the unique selling point. Clients are specifically buying from you.

Whether the images you need are for your website, social media, your LinkedIn profile, branding materials, your email signature and so on… a personal branding session will help your prospective clients connect to you and therefore your business.

So what kind of information am I looking for?

Well firstly I need to know what the images will be used for, that way we can make sure you have images to suit the various marketing materials. For example in blog posts you may want your images to be more down to earth and friendly. Whereas your website home page you may want to appear more professional and experienced within your field. Knowing how you will use your photos allows us the scope to really build your personality into various areas of your marketing.

I also need to know what your brand colours are so we can keep within your brand palette and make sure we aren’t creating images that’ll look completely out of context on your website or socials. It allows us to choose clothes and backdrops more appropriately or if you haven’t built your brand or know what brand colours you want to use, this may be the time we build that concept together.

Building a brand is all about understanding how your client will connect emotionally with that brand, so that is an important part to building your personal branding photoshoot. We want to make sure we communicate your brands personality. After all a picture is worth a thousand words. So finding out how you want people to feel when they interact with your brand is essential.

Pregnancy is one of those occasions that needs to be celebrated because in reality it’s such a short period of time in our lives and such an incredible transformation happens. Whether this is your first child or your tenth you need to celebrate the incredible strength, resilience and superhuman powers you have for bringing new life into the world.

One of the biggest questions I get though is “what do I wear?“ -don’t worry I’ve got you covered!

A bodysuit

A simple black bodysuit will emphasise and show off your bump but keep you covered. There are bodysuits to compliment everybody and bring the right amount of va va voom depending on the look you want. You can get bodysuits with sleeves, sequins, no sleeve, deep v necks, high polo, lace, thong styles, full brief styles…

Fitted dress

A fitted dress brings elegance and style. It gives a very luxurious feel to an image. This can be something you already own (it doesn’t matter if zips don’t do up at the back, we can still work with it as long as it fits around the front) or something you might want to purchase.

Black underwear

This is a very simple look but it looks amazing. And of course most of us already have suitable underwear at home.

Fabric

The reality is you don’t really need to bring any clothes if nothing works, covering yourself with fabric might just be the look you’re after instead! Fabric can look so beautiful and sophisticated on a maternity photoshoot.

Jeans and a bra

This look is much more casual but still very eye catching and glam. And no doubt you have jeans at home! It doesn’t matter if you can’t do the buttons up, that just makes the belly pop even more and accentuate your beautiful bump.

Of course you also have access to my in studio wardrobe where we can pick and choose outfits that might compliment you and keep to the style you’re looking for. It’s time to have fun and capture stunning maternity portraits for you to treasure.

I’m a big fan of adding some sauce to a photoshoot. It’s so unapologetically feminine and beautiful. But it can be scary to know what to bring or what to wear, or to understand your comfort levels during a photoshoot that might include a boudoir element.

So I thought I’d share some of my favourite boudoir outfits so you’re ready to bring a little je ne sais quoi to your photoshoot.

1. Mens button down white shirt

2. Black underwear set

3. A bodysuit

4. Stockings

5. Birthday suit

Yes that’s right, we do sometimes go fully naked in the studio if you’re comfortable with the idea. We will carefully position you so fully covered up and its implied nudity instead of being full out there. We can even use in studio wardrobe materials to cover you and drape over you so you feel less exposed.

It’s common knowledge that we need to show up in our brands- we need to be the faces and help to build the likability factor which leads to trust. But it can be hard to know how personal to get. So I thought I’d give three ways on how to get more personal in your business.

Choose your content pillars

You might think the only thing you can talk about is your business and indirectly or directly selling what you offer. But actually that kind of content gets really boring even if you are offering something great. So you need to mix it up a little and choose a variety of content topics that work with your brand to showcase what you do and your personality. I am a photographer, and I predominately work with women. Either female entrepreneurs or women looking to regain their confidence and learning to love themselves. I know how important it is for potential clients to see me as Donna and not just a generic photographer. They need to get an idea over my personality. I can be funny and light hearted and so I do like posts that show that side of me. Silly mistakes that I make and having the ability to laugh at myself. I think it helps them to see that I don’t look at myself through rose tinted glasses even though I’m an advocate for self love. We all have insecurities and that’s ok. I like to empower women too, and a lot of content I share is about female empowerment or how I like to empower myself and about learning how to do that. Or calling out the injustices that women face. It’s about starting those conversations. I’m a big fan of the local area as well, and will often share places and other businesses in the area that I like to use because it helps build a picture over who I am, where I hang out, my lifestyle and my hobbies. I’m a mum and I know many of my clients can relate, so I will post up bits about my children and my home life. Your content pillars really will depend upon your brand. My aim is always to make people feel comfortable and to feel like I’m a friend because that way if they come in for a photoshoot they know enough about me to be relaxed in my presence because being in front of my camera can be a vulnerable position for many. At the end of the day if your personality shines through, people will want to work with you because you ignite excitement, laughter and joy in them.

Blogs

Your website should include a blog. It’s such an important part of how you can be found online. Don’t underestimate the importance of blogging. Being personal on blogs is a way to connect to your audience. Using your platform to speak your truth and get personal in a professional way is a great chance to capture an audience that want to learn more about you and more about what you’re skilled at. I love photography but my clients want to learn about business and building their brands or about how to learn to love themselves and take better care of their mental wellbeing (coincidentally my some of my content pillars). I find that you can cross promote information from socials into blogs or vice versa. With a blog though you have more room to get deeper with your clients and form stronger connections.

Create your social media presence

Being on social media really does rely upon being social. It’s not about posting something and waiting for clients to come in and just watching your like count go up. The reality is it makes no difference if you have 6000 views on a reel if you’re not connecting with the people reaching out to you. In fact big numbers on socials doesn’t necessarily equate to a busy business. You need to really look deeper into the connections that can be made on socials in an organic way with the people that follow you and the individuals that could be your ideal client. You need to be replying professionally and as your brand dictates to comments left on your posts. You need to be getting your name out there by connecting with other local brands or individuals. You really just need to have that presence without being spam like. If you consistently show up and you’re of service and value to your followers, your hard work will pay off.

Personal branding is a relatively new concept in terms of what it can do for business. A headshot is simply that, a corporate headshot typically just of a persons face, but personal branding brings in personality and your unique self. For entrepreneurs being part of your own marketing has never been more important. It’s the part of your business that’s unique and will be what captures your clientele to you and your brand specifically.

I incorporate headshots into my personal branding sessions, but I also want to be able to tell your unique story through lifestyle images, photographs of you in action, photographs or you and your products. We can capture fine details and so much more. All of my sessions are customised to my clients so once we have an idea over your brand we can build a vision that works with you and your needs.

The end goal of a personal branding session is to make you more profitable in business so it’s an area you’ll want to invest in.

You should consider a personal branding session if you:

• Are an entrepreneur

• Want to level up in business with your visuals

• If you are the face of your brand and you want to confidently put yourself out there to connect with your clients

• You want your marketing to look polished and professional

When you first start out as an entrepreneur it can be really overwhelming. There’s so much you need to do to be able to successfully launch. And being able to start on the right footing will enable you make and build decisions around your brand that keep your brand message clear and prevent you from overspending in areas that don’t require it.

There are 3 key investment areas that I believe all entrepreneurs should make when it comes to their personal brand, whether that’s starting up a brand or rebranding. These are the areas that should be focussed on.

Website

A good, clear website speaks volumes for your personal brand. If you aren’t tech savvy this is an area you may want to outsource. But with programmes such as Wix or Squarespace, it’s never been easier to create and develop a website on your own. This website is a Squarespace website and having used a variety of platforms over the years I have to say Squarespace is particularly user friendly. It’s just a matter of selecting a website template and then putting in your own images and copy to make it personal.

Logo

Your logo needs to help you stand out. It’s design is symbolic of what your provide and aesthetically it gives out a clear, concise message. There are cheap logo designers online, or logo programmes that churn out affordable logos. But this is an area you’ll want to invest in I believe, I’ve done it both ways and from experience hiring a designer is going to provide you with a bespoke logo.

Personal brand photography

The photos you show of your brand will be what brings your brand to life. It shows what you do, how you do it and the expertise and professionalism you have. You want your clients to meet the best version of you. A great brand photographer will help to create pictures that speak to your clients and build that trust with them. Your photographs will be used in all areas of your marketing, so you have to love the images of yourself so you can confidently put yourself out there in the various ways- on blog posts, in social media, on your website, on your business cards, on your LinkedIn profile etc.

There 3 areas will help to bring your brand message to your clients and achieve higher sales in your business. Investing in a great website, a bespoke logo and brand photography will always be worth it.