Body Image

This series was created to show people for who they are and to prove no matter who you are or what your story is, that in the end it's okay to truly love every part of who you are. With this, I've decided to ask five people about themselves while allowing them to create their own captions for the chosen pieces. Questions I posed to them are what they like or dislike about themselves physically and to explain to me why in order to bring that across through a photograph. I would also then take a photo of the parts of them they don't mention that I find unique. Through these photographs, I wanted to be able to show to them that every part of who they are is something to be proud of, even if others put them down for it. With that, in reality we are all beautiful and unique in our own ways despite the standards of society shoving perfection down our throats. In the end, what exactly is perfect? Why do we allow beauty standards both for male and females to allow us to believe that our bodies aren’t perfect in their own way? This is what I want to focus on because no matter what body type we have or what our appearance is, we each have one thing in common; we each in our own ways have things we would like to change in order to be accepted. At first, my project was all about showing beauty in its real form and to help those I am close to appreciate themselves in a better light. I was able to do this for them, but I was also able to learn something about myself in the process. As an end result, I found out more about the people I keep close to me, people I call my friends for many different reasons, and I found a new respect for my own body as well. Although I am not included image wise, on a deeper more personal level I found out that much like my friends, I too felt the same as they did. They allowed me to photograph them in their most vulnerable state and with doing that it made my bond with each of them much stronger. Your body is your temple and you are perfect.

CHLOE DANCER

I am both the figure and the ground, relative only to myself, not forced into any mold.

Sized up by none, positives and negatives adorn each other, redefine themselves beyond catastrophe.

The cast and the mold like an embryo in a shell, apre-butterfly in its cocoon, a body, flesh, the home of my spirit. This is my body. And I cherish it.

CROWN OF THORNS

For this photo, doesn’t need much of a caption. The look on my face holds a thousand words.

There’s nothing much to it but a bandana and long hair.

I’m sure people notice I don’t belong in this generation, and I believe the same.

FREE BIRD

When I was younger I was heavy. I was extremely self-conscience of myself because I was bullied.

The only thing that remains from those days are the marks on my arms. They’re a constant reminder for how far I’ve gone in life.

People today make comments about how skinny I am now. I pay no mind to them, it’s just a shame I didn’t do the same when I was young.

THE OTHER SIDE

When I see my imperfections out in the open for all to see, it’s hard to really express those exact emotions and give them meaning.

One thing is for sure, I never thought I could look at a part of my body I’m self conscious about, one I love, and be able to say they’re beautiful together.

It’s something I carry around everyday. The feeling of wanting to hide my imperfections from the world.

IRON MOON

Almost all of my tattoos and jewelry are shown in this picture, I think that is pretty awesome because they are components of my appearance that I chose to bare every single day

I like seeing my body from this perspective because it really translates some of the pertinent issues I have with my body, I often find myself criticizing parts of my legs or my stomach. Those things are exposed here, but the photo itself is absolutely lovely and that is really cool!

This photo is my favorite of all that were taken of me, it helped me to appreciate the arches and curves of my body while capturing the true femininity of my personality.

FERAL LOVE

This photo makes me feel beautiful, I rarely get to see myself through the lens of a camera

We can't choose which body type we'll have, how big or small certain parts of us appear. I like this photo because that truth is evident. However, we can choose features like tattoos and our hair to extenuate our individuality, and that truth is also evident here

I think that being photographed gives an individual the opportunity to put themselves on display, which is something that we do everyday in a very indirect way. The pose that I am in is suggestive to how I see myself, by showing my skin but tightly holding my legs close to my chest, the duality of how I view my body is definitely revealed.

MILO GOES TO COLLEGE

I am not amazing, spectacular, or superior but I am a hero.

I hide my face but I am more afraid of showing my chest.

On the outside, my shirt is my mask.

You can look me in the eyes but you will never see me.

I'm not a superhero and I don't look like one either, but I do have a secret identity.

I don't wear a mask and I don't look down on those who have, but I do have a uniform.

My shirt is my armor and the smoke is my weapon.

Today, I am defenseless.

Today, I am just human.

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