Check Out Bella Fernandez’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bella Fernandez

Bella, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I got started modeling in college for student projects at Stephen’s College in Columbia, Missouri where I got my degree in Fashion Marketing Management & Merchandising. I moved to Kansas City after graduation in 2016 and started working jobs in my degree field while continuing to model part-time for fun. Over the next three years, my modeling continued to grow while I was continuing to work regular jobs in my field, and those jobs are starting to get in the way of modeling opportunities and I was having to turn things down. So in June 2019 I decided to take the leap of leaving my full-time job and see if I could be a freelance model full-time.

I have now had modeling as my full-time job for five years, and have extended my offerings to consultations with people wanting to get into the freelance modeling industry, and photographers who want to know how to better work with models.
I also do self-love coaching with women which was something I found through the artistic nude modeling I have done. I had a number of women reach out to me in 2018-2020 saying that what I did inspired them to want to love themselves more and I was able to help them do a photo shoot for themselves, and learn to embrace and love their bodies
From there, I was very inspired and I am now working on building a retreat business in which I will hold space for women to come together and work on self-love and strong energy of sisterhood.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I live a blessed & beautiful life but it can be a struggle sometimes. One of the struggles being that since I am freelance, not only am I the model, but I am also my manager, promoter, social media worker and every other piece involved. What I am most passionate about doing is being on a photo shoot and creating with my body and bringing the vision to life, and the admin work that comes before and after and sometimes be very draining. That is the kind of work that any small business owner has to go through though.

Another challenge is working past peoples judgments. I worked long and hard to not care what people thought about me because I know what I am doing with my life and my good intentions with what I do, but have often found people have preconceived notions, or ideas when they hear I am a model and then after getting to know me realize that I have a lot more depth than they assumed I would have, & I strive to help societies vision of what a model is like.

The same kind of misunderstanding and judgment comes from the artistic nude work that I do, where I work on showing that the human form is not inherently sexual, and can be a beautiful way to express art. Our society has spent a long time telling us that nudity is synonymous with sex and that is just not true. It is always a huge compliment to me when at the end of a conversation someone would tell me that they once thought that way, and after looking at my work it helped expand their mind and it makes them reconsider.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Although I do a wide variety of modeling styles, I am most known for my nude in nature art modeling. I deeply love nature, and when I am doing that kind of work I see myself as a conduit for the energy of Mother Earth to express herself through me. The purpose of the image is not about the body, but seeing how the body blends with the environment around me and becoming one with it

Something I am very proud of is the way I was able to help change the modeling scene in Kansas City. I did not do it alone, but I know I had a major impact because when I moved to Kansas City in 2016 I had a large amount of photographers reach out to me interested in shooting fine art nudes as they had been unable to find anyone who would openly do that kind of modeling before. And when I moved away in 2022 there was now a large market for it and a number of women who did that kind of modeling all very empowered.

I am a full-time freelance model and women’s self-love coach
The latter was something I found through the artistic nude modeling I have done. I had a number of women reach out to me saying that what I did inspired them to want to love themselves more and I was able to help them do a photo shoot for themselves, and learn to embrace and love their bodies.
Women who had gone through abusive relationships and were now trying to reclaim their body as theirs, a woman who was a new mother, and she had had anorexia before her pregnancy and gotten healthy for her child, but was now in a completely unfamiliar body and needed to learn how to love it. A trans woman who wanted to learn to embrace the femininity she had felt all her life, but was told by the world she was wrong.
From there, I was very inspired and I am now working on building a retreat business in which I will hold space for women to come together and work on self-love and strong energy of sisterhood.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Reaching out on my website or any social media is the best way to either book a photo shoot with me or a coaching and consultation session.

I will be launching my women’s self-love retreat business in 2025 and will announce that via my email list from my website.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bellatrixortreat.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/bellatrixortreat2
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/bellatrixortreat