As the year draws to a close, I want to share a story I don’t tell often, although it has been told, so perhaps you have heard it before.

When I was around 13, I did everything I could to be perfect—straight As, leadership roles, caring for siblings, and completing chores before homework. I worked hard to be that elusive enough, and tirelessly chasing the praise that would satiate my need to confirm I was meeting that goal.

But one day, after an argument in which I was definitely rebelling against a decision I disliked, my mother said words in her frustration with me that would shape me for years:

“I love you because I have to, but I don’t like you very much.”

That sentence stuck like glue to my heart. I felt in all that I did - I still wasn’t enough, that perfection was the price of love, and I spent years trying to be “better” in every relationship after, just to deserve it.

That belief turned into toxic perfectionism, a fear of rejection, and an exhausting need to constantly prove my worth.

Maybe you’ve felt this, too.

The idea that love, value, or being seen comes with conditions—that you have to earn it. That you have to change or shrink or be more, to be enough.

But here’s what I’ve learned—and what I now show the women who come through my studio:

You don’t need to earn your worth. You are already enough, exactly as you are.

Photography has become my way of healing that belief—not just for myself but for every woman who steps in front of my lens. It’s my privilege to hold up a mirror and show women how beautiful, powerful, and worthy they already are, exactly as they are—without changing a thing.

As we wrap up 2024, I want to leave you with this reminder:

✨ You don’t need to be perfect to deserve love.

✨ You don’t need to hide parts of yourself to be seen.

✨ You are enough—without conditions, without striving, simply by existing.

Take a moment as you move into 2025 to ask yourself:

What would it feel like to stop proving? To release perfection and step fully into the woman I already am?

Below, I’m sharing photos of women who have done just that. Women who showed up as themselves, in their beauty, vulnerability, and power—and saw their worth reflected back.

Let their images remind you of this truth: You are not alone, and you are already enough, because most of them showed up feeling just like you might.

Step Into 2025 with Worthiness

If you’ve ever felt like you had to be “more” to deserve love or to show up fully, I see you.

And I would love the chance to show you what I see through my lens. To reflect your beauty back to you, to help you leave need for perfectionism behind, and to walk into the new year knowing:

You are worthy. You are powerful. You are enough.

Let’s make 2025 the year you embrace yourself fully.

Go to our group and share: What’s one way you’re leaving perfectionism behind this year?—I’m here to celebrate you.

With love and light,

Jessica Korff

Self-Love Advocate | Photographer