Weight Loss Surgery Forums

Life on the Other Side of the Lens

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by Tracy King

As a professional event photojournalist, I have become quite comfortable being behind the camera. Over the years, I have spent hours shooting everything from weddings with 350 guests watching to Live 8 Philadelphia with a crowd of 1 million stretching for a mile. Well, ?comfortable? isn?t really an honest description. Up until two years ago, at 5?10? and 284 pounds, I had learned to ignore my size in order to gain the courage to stand front and center before crowds to get the shots I needed. I was constantly reminded of my size when I worked, especially when I found myself running out of breath, breaking out in embarrassing sweat after climbing stairs, or barely being able to get back up when I had knelt down.

The very core of being a photojournalist is acting as a silent observer. This was my comfort zone both professionally and in my daily life. All of that changed when I decided to undergo gastric bypass RNY surgery with Dr. Terrence Fullum at Upper Chesapeake Bariatric, in Havre de Grace, Maryland, on April 21, 2006. With each pound of the 130 I lost came the emotional challenge of suddenly being forced out of the role of silent observer in life. With each passing month, I learned to embrace a new life out in the open. My new healthy body was here to stay!

One of the joys of losing weight for me (and there are so many!) was having smaller feet and being able to buy normal-size (and incredibly cute!) shoes. I have been a customer of Rack Room Shoes for many years?even when I was morbidly obese, I loved their name-brand shoes and could find shoes there that fit my supersized feet! The store has had a ?Models Wanted? contest for their customers for the past five years, in which they select actual customers to feature in their advertising campaigns, giving them the experience of what it is like being a professional model. I thought about sending a photo for the first time last year and was amused with myself for even entertaining the idea. Me, enter a modeling contest?

Not since my children were toddlers had I included myself and my husband, Chris, in our family Christmas card photo. My son, Parker, is now 16 and my daughter, Sara, is 14. Last year was only the second time in 13 years that I took a complete family photo for our card. I had felt much more confident since my abdominoplasty and breast augmentation with Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez in June of 2007, so when I remember how much different I look, I am not quite so camera shy. Still, it sometimes takes a moment to register that it is me that I am looking at when I see the recent photos.

I shrugged off the ridiculousness of the idea and sent our family photo off to Rack Room Shoes last Thanksgiving. Several weeks into March of 2008, my husband checked voicemail one evening, and when I returned home he met me in the driveway. He asked me as I was getting out of the car, ?Are you ready to be famous?? He then told me that Rack Room Shoes had called and said they wanted to use our entire family in their next ad campaign. They had asked if they could bring their team up to our house for the two days of shooting. I was simply speechless. ?They want to use all of us? Me included? Are you sure? What a ?wow moment!??

We hosted the Rack Room team of three photographers, a producer, an assistant, a professional wardrobe stylist and makeup artist and their assistants in our home for two full days the first week of April. They took over our first floor, with one room holding racks of clothes for us to wear and another full of foundations, mascaras, mirrors and flat irons; photographic equipment was strewn across our porch and lawn. ?This is straight out of Ugly Betty!? my daughter said.

It was 45 degrees outside and we needed to pretend it was warm and sunny. I was definitely out of my comfort zone. This was a much bigger deal than any of us had expected, but it didn?t take long for all of us to begin having fun; we loved being fussed over, having our hair and makeup done, and dressing up in beautiful clothes. I got to keep the 12 pairs of shoes I modeled, and I also received a store gift card to spend on more! We were even treated to dinner with the team and received a priceless album and DVD of our photos from them.

A few weeks ago, our local newspaper ran a story about our family and the modeling campaign, in which I opened up about having had weight loss surgery. I went back and forth about telling the reporter, but I wanted to be honest about what this photo shoot truly meant to me. It meant no more hiding!

Our photographs have since debuted on the Rack Room Shoes website, in their stores coast to coast, and nationally in the Sunday newspapers. We couldn?t help but giggle when we went to our local store in Annapolis and saw our photos all over the store. One photo in particular (of me in a flowing white sundress against a tree showing off some cleavage and bare arms!) represents, to me, just how far I have traveled in my weight loss journey.

The best part of the photo shoot was being with my family having fun, laughing, and thoroughly enjoying the entire experience together, because it was something that never would have happened two years ago. The modeling experience gave me the unexpected courage to say goodbye to the old me. Thanks to gastric bypass surgery, I am well on my way to being the person I always wished I could be and I am living a life I have only dreamed of living. I will continue to embrace every single day.

Tracy King is a professional photographer and a member of ObesityHelp.com.
Visit her profile at www.ObesityHelp.com/member/IncarnatedAngel.