“At first, I decided to do the photoshoot as one of those experiences you should try at least once in life—like skydiving, traveling to a country where you don’t speak a word of the language, or trying exotic foods.
I never thought this shoot would transform me so much or have such a positive impact on how I see myself. I only thought, Why not? Why not give it a try? It’ll be fun.
I remember that during our preparation and throughout the entire shoot, Mariana was incredibly attentive. She asked me how I wanted to see myself, how I was feeling, if everything was okay… I didn’t even know exactly what I wanted. I said I wanted to see myself as beautiful—but more than beautiful, I wanted to see myself as sexy, desirable, but without that “Playboy” or men’s magazine look.
After all, I had always seen myself as the nerdy girl, kind of awkward, covered in acne—the cool girl, the smart one. But never the hot or popular one. These are labels we carry for years, shaped by what society values and tells us we should be. If you want to be intelligent and successful, if you want to be seen as a strong woman, or even if you’re a geek who loves nerd and pop culture, then sexuality doesn’t fit you. Seeing yourself as sexy or beautiful isn’t for you—that’s for other women, the “party girls,” the “funk dancers,” the stereotypical “dumb blondes.”
So many completely wrong and distorted ideas that sit in the back of our minds, poking at us, damaging our self-esteem, and reinforcing hidden prejudices. Because, according to these ideas, you can’t be intelligent, beautiful, sexy, confident, and geeky at the same time.
This photoshoot transformed me on a deep level. And as Mariana said to me during the session—why do we put ourselves into boxes? Why do we let these limited stereotypes define us? Why can’t we truly be everything we want to be? And to that, I add—why do we carry so many internalized prejudices?
Well… for the first time in over 30 years, I saw myself as sexy, desirable, curvy, beautiful. And seeing myself this way didn’t take anything away from the other versions of Marina that exist within me. The biggest proof of my transformation? Feeling completely comfortable allowing Mariana to use my images.
The old Marina would never have allowed that. She would never have felt comfortable. But when I saw the photos, I thought again—Why not? After all, I look stunning, and I see no problem in sharing that with others. And this is coming from someone who has been completely off social media for a while now…
Mariana helped me find the best in myself, to accept and see myself fully—without limits and without boxes.”
