Her art shows bare skinned women lying in the buttercup and poppy fields. Green grass adorned with tiny yellow and red flowers.

Some of her muses prefer soaking in the sunlight, standing tall with the sunflower crops. Surrounded by butterflies playing around them, tingling their hair.

Alexandra Sophie’s work is every woman’s dream. Pictorial forms of my bucket list if to be specific. Read her beautiful story to find if it resounds with your soul, as well.

Describe the canvas of your life to us.

I live in the French countryside with my husband and two young home-schooled sons. My husband is an artist, also mainly working from home, so we basically are all day balancing work and fun with our boys.

You are young and incredibly talented. Were you always interested in the art of photography?

First, thank you for your kind words! I started photography as a child when my parents would give me disposable cameras on school trips. That’s how I first fell in love.

Was the shoot ‘Mother Nature’ done for a client or is it a part of your personal project? Also, was it difficult to spot the mothers who were ready to pose?

My first pregnancy inspired me more than I ever thought it would. Feeling life blooming inside me changed me, of course, and my work. Many people guessed I have children just looking at my job, and not even this series, but simply my fashion work. I find it really amazing. Finding women to pose was a struggle, but it became easier as I started having a couple of first pictures to show potential models. I didn’t find as much variety as I had hoped, though. Women with different body shapes and sizes tend to have more difficulty understanding that they are absolutely beautiful and photography material!

All your projects speak of body positivity and self-love. Explain the concept behind ‘Secret Garden’ and ‘Jardin Fleuri’ a little more. Also, what kind of instruction did the models get before the shoot?

It started from a drawing I drew while pregnant. It represented a pubis with grass (the hair) and flowers growing. I have zero talent in drawing, but when I found this picture again once my son was born, I felt inspired to create it with my favorite medium: photography. I gave no instructions to models before the shoot, only to come just as they are.

How did you come up with the idea of using Nature’s motifs as metaphors to display menstruation, childbirth, stretch marks, etc.?

This series is the celebration of nature, so it came naturally!

Are all your subjects professional models? If not, do women feel comfortable posing nude?

No women on this series were professional models. Some are more confident than others, and while professional models are more “used to it,” I don’t think it changes anything to the person.

How do you perceive nudity?

It’s who we are.

Does your work also speak of homosexuality?

Not yet, but the series is not over. I’m pursuing the series and hope to create images to represent things such as a miscarriage, a taboo event which most women have to experience someday in their life and which can be devastating, illness, old age, transsexuality, abortion, prenatal or post-partum depression because pregnancy isn’t always a fantastic experience, even when everything seems “ok”.

What do you suggest to women seeking self-love?

Disconnect. Stop watching the news. And connect with yourself. I promise you should not have to feel forced to wear makeup to go out in the street or to shave your armpits!

If you were a flower, what would you be?

Buttercup.

Do you maintain a garden in your home? Describe it.

It’s very small and this year, with my youngest son being a few month old, I must admit I didn’t take as much care as I should have, but it’s still full of bright calendula which requires no care and is healthy and tasty to eat and apply on the body! I also enjoy nettles, which grow by themselves, and even though it’s considered the weed, it’s so tasty, as healthy as the priciest super-foods, and you can also make shampoo and laundry detergent with it!

 Where do you want your flower-bed to lie?

Under a clear sky. Well, not entirely clear, I would need a couple of clouds and try to find shapes in them.

Most of your work has women wearing pastel or neutral colors so that the background is strongly visible. Describe the beauty of nature from your eyes.

Harmony. And strength!

Like I said, her work is the pictorial form of my bucket list. Reminding me of my happy hallucinations. Telling me that only love towards my body will make me the greatest lover. Silently leaving a word that all of us will find our answers in nature.

This article was first published in November 2016.