I am really passionate about helping women to get outside of their heads and back into their hearts.

I spent a lot of my life trapped inside a body that looked aesthetically pleasing to the world, but with a torturous perfectionistic mind that would often see me over dieting, over exercising in this crazy pursuit of perfection with no achievable goal posts to get through.

I see this so much with women – we can often spend our best years feeling not good enough, and then our middle years regretting as we realised we had it all along. It is this age group I am particularly fond of shooting, as I know that one of my super powers is in helping women to get back in touch with themselves, see what the world sees and remind them in all the crazy of just how special, valuable, unique and gorgeous they truly are.

And when I meet someone who is a BIG thinker and OVER analyser like I have a tendency to do, I really resonate with them. I know I have an innate gift to help bridge the gap from thinking to being present with yourself whilst in my studio.

I loved Giovanna from the first conversation we had on the phone, she has this delicious Italian accent – that she constantly asks forgiveness for, and yet I could sit and listen to her read anything – the McDonalds menu – for hours!

We got on famously, and created some magic images for Giovanna, and I was so delighted that she agreed to share her story, as I know many of you may be feeling the same.

“I read on a magazine a beautiful article about what Paula does and I felt immediately that there was something special about her approach.

At the time… I was not at my best: I was dealing with some issues that were draining me, leaving me no energy and no time to enjoy the beautiful things in life.

Paula is so passionate, enthusiastic and able to connect with people. She understood immediately my personality.

Leading up to the shoot I had mixed feelings: on the one hand I was looking forward to enjoying a totally new experience and have some precious ME time; on the other hand, I was very nervous because I have always felt uncomfortable in front of a camera and I have never liked the pictures of me.

When I first saw my photos I could not believe I could look like this. In some of the photos I look very self-confident and I liked it!

The photos represent beautiful memories of an amazing morning spent with people who pampered me and were able to look beyond my tiredness and sadness. I still have that sparkle in my eyes that I thought was lost forever. I can still be a person full of energy and passion for life.

I have always suffered from lack of self-esteem, focusing my attention on my faults rather than my qualities. Paula made me feel that beauty is not about perfection, but about that special ‘something’ that everyone has, and that she is so good at capturing.

I would just say a huge THANK YOU for being such an amazing team: they took care of everything with professionalism, great smiles and…some bubbles to encourage me!

If anyone is considering a solo portrait session like the one I had – I would just say: go for it! It is great fun. The best gift for yourself.”