A note from Danielle: This is a guest post from the fabulous artist Kimberly Patiño. Enjoy loves!

Have you ever looked at a photo and just stopped everything that you were doing to stare at it? It’s happened to me millions of times a day!

Photos have a way of stopping you in your track to make you feel incredible.

As a photographer, I have been taking images for ten years. Every time I see a photo, whether it is old or new, it always takes me to a different state of mine.

Photographs, to me, are portable time machines: they take you to another place in a matter of seconds! Every photo that you’ve taken or has been taken of you is a memory. It was a moment in time that you wanted to savor and keep – to remember and cherish. You felt so great that you stopped everything to have that photo taken because, at that moment, everything was amazing.

Wouldn’t you want to feel like that every day?

We are always surrounded by busy lifestyles, to work deadlines, to picking up the kids from school, to grocery shopping…the list goes on. Being surrounded by so many things can often lead to stress, which then takes a toll on your emotions, which then drops down your self-esteem. However, if I were to whip out an old photo of your greatest childhood memory – happy valley returns. So why not use that in your day to day life! How do you do that?

Create an Inspiration Board with your very own photographs!

Here’s the thing: there is so much talk about vision boards and how essential it is to create a vision board and how you need to take time out to stare your vision board so that it will manifest and all your dreams will come true.

Okay yeah, I got that part. Here’s what happens though: when we focus so much on our vision board and things don’t work out the way we want them to, we get that low self-esteem feeling again. You start to think that since things aren’t working out at the moment, maybe I’m not good enough or smart enough or talented enough. And that is full on malarkey! Why? Because you have a history of photos that shows all of the great things you’ve done.  So next to your vision board, set up your inspiration board as well!

What do you put on your inspiration board? Here are five tips to get you started:

1. Achievement

Think back and remember the first thing that you ever achieved or accomplished. It could be graduating high school or college, it could be climbing a mountain, or maybe when you baked your first cake. Whatever it was, you know you worked hard to accomplish that goal. You earned it and you made your friends & family proud that day! Find a photo of that moment and put it up!

2. Happiness

Every time you were happy, you definitely took a photo. Find images of the times where you were at your most happy moments. Mine, for example, is the day I brought my two cats home for the first time (oh I was a happy momma that day haha!). Every time I look at that photo, I smile from ear to ear big time. So find the photo that brings out that huge cheesy smile because that is the happy moment!

3. Heroes

Now I know certain people like to put up photos of super models, political figures, and icons because they want to be just like them or at least get to that level. What I have found more valuable is finding photos of the people closest to you: the ones who were there when times got tough. It could be your parents, your best friend, your mentor, or someone who passed away. Those heroes were the ones who truly believed in you and saw something in you that you couldn’t see. They are your cheer leaders and they wanna see you succeed; you can’t let them down, right?

4. Adventurous

Have you ever done something so crazy that you never thought you would do? That is what I mean by adventurous! Whether it was losing 30 pound or going on a wild safari, it was a moment that you never thought in a million years you could do – but you did it! This kind of falls in line with Achievement and that’s okay because you made a bold/daring move in your life that worked out for the better! So the next time you think to yourself “I can’t do this, there’s no way!” you look at that photo and it will remind you that if you could do that, then you can do anything.

5. Before & After

Take a photo of when you were a kid or a teen and put a recent photo of you alongside it. This technique is used a lot in the fitness world but I think that it is beneficial no matter what you do. Why? Looking at your first photo compared to a recent one of you now shows you how much you have grown. It shows you that out of all the things you’ve faced (good, bad, happy, sad, excited, nervous, etc.), you’re still here. You are still learning and you are gonna continue living life to the fullest.

This has helped me follow my passion, create my business, have more self-confidence, and know that I have done so much in my life…and I still have more moments to capture!

KP

Kimberly Patiño (b. 1989, New York) is a portrait and art photographer living in New York City. She received a BA from Hunter College and studied with Gloria Inès Patiño de Arbelàez,  a Colombian painter. She has exhibited in group shows to include: The See.Me Gallery, The 440 Gallery, Greenpoint Gallery & the Art Crasher traveling gallery. Kimberly’s work has been published in various magazines & websites. She currently volunteers/assistant teaches at the Hunter College Photography Department and continues to shoot portraits for modern women.