As I Am Sessions: A Space to Be You
You don't need a new version of yourself. You just need the space to allow this version of you to exist fully.
It helps to have someone actually see you clearly as you are. When that’s reflected back to you, you see that this version of you is beautiful, whole, and enough. That’s what As I Am Sessions are meant for.
Not to be a transformation of who you are, but a transformation in the way you see yourself.
It’s about a recognition and acceptance of who you are right now.
There’s no need to wait to lose weight, or get the right outfit, or feel more ready. You don’t need to wait for some future chapter where everything lines up and you finally feel like yourself again. You can reconnect now.
Introducing As I Am Sessions
These are for the woman who is ready to step into her next level.
You’re doing the inner work, and this is where you step into it fully, not about performing, or being a highlight reel, or breaking yourself to fit someone else's idea of beautiful.
This is about you, being whole, as you are right now, as you define yourself. It’s being enough. This is your next level self.
What are As I Am Sessions?
As I Am Sessions are photoshoots in my New Braunfels studio that are designed to give you the experience of being seen as you are, not as performing a version of yourself for others.
This is a guided photoshoot, where the focus here isn’t on looking picture-perfect or performing beauty.
It's an intentional experience, designed to create the space for you to show up.
All of you. The parts you love, the parts you're still making peace with, the parts that have been waiting for permission to exist out loud.
You define what that looks like. What you wear, your energy, what you want to feel, your expression, it’s all on your terms.
My job is to walk you through it. To create an environment where the real you, is not only welcome, but carefully and lovingly drawn out.
You don't have to know how to pose or already feel confident. You just have to take the first step of showing up for yourself.
You've Been Showing Up for Everyone Else
You show up for your kids, your clients, your team, your partner. You hold the schedule, carry the mental load, and keep things running.
You’re the person people count on and you’ve gotten so good at that role that somewhere along the way, it became the role that takes up all the space.
Most days you’re not even on your list of things to take care of. When you do make the list, it’s only if there’s time left over.
Spoiler alert: There’s never any time leftover when you’re the one taking care of everyone else.
But you already knew that.
The idea of doing something just for yourself probably feels like a crazy idea and might even make your eyes roll.
You think, “Sure, that’d be great. Maybe someday.” Except there’s no such thing as someday.
After photographing women for 10+ years, here’s what I’ve watched happen with the women who finally stop waiting:
They come into a session still carrying the weight of the world and all the ways they’ve learned to see themselves through criticism and comparison.
When they show up for their photoshoot and then see their images something changes.
A photoshoot gives them space to see themselves outside of every role they have.
Photos don’t change who they are.
They just show you the you outside of every role you fill and you see it’s beautiful and enough. More than enough.
That’s what an As I Am Session is, a space, maybe for the first time in a while, that is just for you.
When someone is seen clearly, really seen, not posed or styled into something they’re not, what comes through is almost always more than they expected.
My Studio Has Always Been This Kind of Place
My studio is a place of no judgment. It always has been. There’s no standard of beauty here and you’re allowed to exist without performing.
You are your own standard of beauty here, and that doesn’t just sound nice, it’s something I’ve discovered photographing people for 10+ years.
When you look at the individual without comparison, every feature and every expression is extraordinarily beautiful.
I see that in every person I photograph.
As I Am Sessions are designed to give you space where you don’t have to perform, explain yourself, or show up as anything other than exactly who you are right now. And the resulting photos serve as physical proof of what I see.
What the Session Looks Like
Beforehand we’ll talk a bit to get acquainted. I want to know what you’re carrying, what you’ve been putting off, what you want to feel when you look at these images.
This conversation shapes everything: the environment, the light, the way I direct you.
I’ll direct/guide the session so you don’t have to worry about what to do.
It’s less like a serious thing and more like a conversation.
During the session, I’m not looking for a pose, I’m looking for the moment where you forget to focus on the camera and something true comes through. It’s laid back and relaxed.
What You’ll Walk Away With
Images you actually recognize yourself in.
It sounds simple. But most women have nothing but photos of themselves that feel off or disappointing, maybe too stiff or there was no direction or not great lighting.
What I’m after are photos of you that are glimpses of the real you. The expression, the details, where you think: that’s actually me.
Your photos close the gap between how you see yourself and what the camera sees.
You don’t change, the change is having someone see you clearly.
It’s not a transformation. It’s a recognition. You were always there.
You Don’t Need a New Version of Yourself
You need someone to actually see the you that’s already here.
The version of you that’s here now is enough. That’s what gets reflected back to you.
As I Am Sessions exist for the woman who’s done waiting for some future version of herself to deserve this. You get to come as you are, not as a workaround. That’s the entire point.
If that’s what you’ve been waiting for, I have a few spots open. Send me a message and we’ll talk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to have a specific reason or milestone to book?
No. Some women book around a birthday, a business or career shift, or a season of life. Others book because they’re simply ready and can’t point to a single reason why now. Both are exactly right.
What if I’m not photogenic?
I’ve heard this from almost every client I’ve photographed. I also photograph camera-avoidant women specifically — it’s not a category I work around, it’s who I’m best with. The direction and conditions I create are designed for exactly this.
What should I wear?
We’ll talk through this before your session. I’ll help you choose outfits that feel like you, not a costume, but things you’d actually wear. You don’t have to figure this out alone.
Where are sessions held?
At my studio in New Braunfels, Texas. I serve women across the San Antonio, Austin, and Texas Hill Country area.
How do I book?
Reach out through my contact form and we’ll start with a conversation. I want to make sure this session is right for you before anything else.
Erin Valkner Photography is based in New Braunfels, Texas, serving the San Antonio, Austin, and Hill Country corridor. As I Am Sessions are portrait sessions for women who are ready to be seen as they actually are.