Happy Pride Month with Heather Marie

June is finally here! When I started writing about Pride Month, I just knew I had to reach back out to Heather Marie from St. Louis, Missouri. Heather shines so brightly as a human with how she empowers and advocates for others. I asked her to tell me about the role pride plays in her business and personal life, and if she could share a session, and she knew exactly what she wanted to feature. 

“Hi! My name is Heather. I am a 31yr old creative portrait and empowerment photographer from St.Louis, MO. Pride is so important to me not just because I myself am a bi sexual woman but because it's everything my brand is about. Empowerment. Being able to be free and be yourself and be accepted for that. I can't say that pride has affected my business because I've always been welcoming to anyone who wants to get in front of my lens. And I treat everyone equally because no matter your race or sexual orientation I believe all humans should be happy and be able to feel loved, accepted, worthy and beautiful.

When Shutter Up Magazine reached out to me and they wanted to feature me in their Pride issue I was so honored and I instantly went back to Anthony’s photos. He reached out for a portrait session a couple months ago with me to celebrate his recent coming out! I think it’s so special to be able to express yourself and be accepted for who you are! I was so honored to do this shoot with him. We talked about coming out and acceptance and how indescribably happy he was about the positive reactions he received from his family and friends and how he finally was able to be himself. I hope that anyone struggling to come out please know you are so loved and you are always welcome in front of my lens to express yourself and be as free as you want to be however you want to be! I am in your corner. My job isn’t just about taking photos of people in lingerie, it’s so much more. I’ve invested so much into learning and appreciating and understanding people. Telling their stories and capturing who they are. This is about making humans feel human. This month is for celebrating but also a reminder that there are people out there who don’t get to be who they truly are and I hope you are a positive reinforcement in assuring them that when the world is against them there are people out here fighting with them and when they’re ready we will be there to help tell their stories. And I hope you go out of your way to make someone feel happy and loved. 

Happy Pride Month beautiful humans.”

Thank you for sharing your stories, Heather and Anthony. 

Happy Pride Month!