Bernadette, The 40 Over 40 Women’s Portrait Campaign

Bernadette, 55

Bernie had never been photographed before.  So when she arrived at my studio, she was a mix of nervous, and excited.  Her husband Angus had seen the campaign on Facebook, and decided to treat his wife to the experience.  Once Donna Hay started doing hair and makeup, some calm set in and the day unfolded beautifully.  Bernie wore a charming little tasseled dress (which she made!), and then changed into her favourite floral dress. She absolutely flourished in front of my camera.  The great thing about a portrait shoot is that you just arrive with your clothes, and you leave the rest to us. Your hair and makeup gets done, and you get gently guided through all the poses.

I have been described by my friends and family as…

Very loyal and I love a good laugh!

I am most proud of…

Raising my family.  Not following a career dream and being a stay-at-home mom, I can honestly look back and say I’m proud of the choices I’ve made.

My favourite quotes…

This is something my dad always said:

“Live your today.”

What advice would I give my 20-year-old self…

Stop worrying about what you think people are thinking of you or who you think you should be. Be you! Be authentically you.

You are the best you, you can be.

We all experience many lifetimes in this one life. What did you find were the most poignant changes as you entered your 40’s?

Significant changes happened for me as I turned 50. Maybe because that was when reality hit. I’ve been a healthy and fit person. My health took a huge dive and I realized that I needed to appreciate each day and not take any for granted. In a very short space of time I was facing the death of my beloved dad and mom-in-law, to my granddaughter being very sick, and both my sons facing huge trauma in their lives and my cancer. From living a relatively healthy, stress-free life, to huge stress and anxiety,  have learnt with the help and support of my husband, that I can overcome anything.

My thoughts on ageing…

Physically ageing doesn’t scare me at all. What does worry me is ‘have I lived my life to it’s fullest potential?” I have lived such a busy life, making sure everyone is looked after, have I enough time to make sure I have looked after me? When I turned 50 and made a short speech, I stood up and said that I felt I hadn’t accomplished anything significant in my 50 years, and then I looked at my 3 children and realized I had accomplished so much.

A story I’d like to share…

My biggest obstacle in life to deal with has been anxiety. As I got older it seemed to intensify. As my children got older and left home, I worried more. Even when my grandchildren came along it got even worse.

When I started waking up and worrying about what the day would bring and I didn’t want to leave my home, I knew I needed help. I found help in therapy and the amazing support and strength from my wonderful husband, Angus. Every time I feel myself slipping, he holds me up with gentle reminders of the tools I learnt in therapy.

Life tends to overwhelm me and while dealing with my own health struggles, we’ve had a few years with traumatic events happening that felt like waves continually crashing on our shore. How I’ve managed through all of this, shows my huge growth and resilience and I can truly say…”Wow, I did it! and I’m proud of me.”

For those of you that have stumbled onto my website, I’m currently doing a woman’s portrait campaign over a 12 month period. It’s called ‘The 40 Over 40 Women’s Portrait Campaign’, and it’s a celebration of the wisdom, courage, and strength of women in their 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and beyond.

We are now more than a quarter mark, having photographed 13 of the 40 shoots.  In July 2022, the campaign will culminate in a cocktail evening and exhibition of these portraits. It will be a lovely chance for all these inspiring women to meet up and celebrate each other.

Being photographed can be daunting for so many people. It takes tremendous courage, strength and vulnerability to put one’s self in front of a camera. So a huge thank you to the amazing women that have graced my studio so far! It has been wonderful to spend such quality time with you, hearing your stories, and I appreciate each and every one of you.

For many women heading into their 50’s, and for me having recently turned 50, I came across something very inspiring that shifted something inside me. It was a paragraph in David Schwartz’s best-selling book, “The Magic Of Thinking Big” (in the chapter ‘Cure yourself of excusitus, the failure disease’):

“And the fifty-year-old still has a big 40 percent – the best 40 percent – of his/her opportunity years left.

Life is actually longer than most people think.”

Interested in joining The 40 over 40 Campaign?  We are currently fully booked, but you can join my waitlist by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.  If there are any cancellations due to covid restrictions from clients traveling in from abroad, or any unforeseen circumstances, these spots will then be given out to those on the waitlist.