Beauty Redefined Series - What is it?!?!? - TRD Photography
Beauty Redefined Series - What is it?!?!?!
I'm giving you a break from photos for a post. As you might have noticed, the past several days my posts have centered around what I call the beauty redefined series. Last summer I started shooting for a series of photos that I wanted to do a couple of things with. 1. I wanted to share peoples stories about different elements of their life and 2. In light of those stories, I wanted to construct a broader view of how we look at our fellow people. From the first part of the series, listening to people share their stories and struggles, I learned so much.
A lot of the series that really interest me revolve around the concept of beauty. I think it's an interesting concept for a few reasons. Honestly I think beauty is one of the words that we all know what "it" is, but the definition differs from person to person. It's ingrained in our heads, in our cultures. It's this ideal that we strive for but never quite achieve and in my mind it's because it doesn't exist. There can be no clear cut definition of what beauty is. It differs from person to person. Freedom is another similar kind of word. We all have a different take of what freedom is. We're told that we live in the land of the free, but how far does that freedom actually go? Beauty is something that's preached, but what does it actually entail?
A lot of times we're taught that beauty and ugliness go hand in hand, and it's true, you can't have one without the other. However we're taught to look at outward appearances and judge them. I think ugliness isn't anything appearance based. It's in our actions, in our emotions. Hate & brutality, greed, these are things that define ugliness to me personally and I feel that beauty is in our imperfections. It's in our differences. It's what makes us, us.
The Series for me is something that is a continually evolving project. I'm learning from each person that I've gotten to work with. My goal is to share the stories and the differences, and each of us has a story. My goal is to tell those stories, touch on issues of our time, and my goal is to photograph the individuals in a way that it's not about the identity of who one is, because these stories could belong to your neighbor, your brother, your sister, your co-worker, the person you pass at the grocery store, the guy you nod to that's coming out of the bathroom.... These stories could be any of us. And that's the point.
I'm about to start shooting round 2 of the series. If you'd like to be considered I'll be organizing an upcoming date to shoot round 2. It's all shot in studio on 35mm film. To be considered you must email me your story and why you'd like to be part of the project. We will take several photos but only one is used for the series. If your story is sensitive, you are more than welcome to use the handle of anonymous when we share your story. I realize that some are more of a private nature. We hope you'll share your story with us. If we don't receive your story, we won't be able to set anything up for this series. No photoshoot experience required. Male and Female welcome. Signed release required at shoot.
Beauty Redefined Series - Zack - TRD Photography
Beauty Redefined Series - Zack - TRD Photography
Beauty Redefined Series - Zack -
" My fitness journey started 5 years ago while noticing all of my family members getting diagnosed with some sort of illness. Whether it be obesity or diabetes, almost every family member had one or another, if not both. I know some things can occur without our prevention, but I also knew that poor eating habits, lack of exercise, & lousy excuses didn't contribute to a healthy lifestyle. I remember one morning it just hit me that I wasn't going to be another family member that didn't care about ones health.
So I went full force. I didn't have much money at the time so I remember eating plain chicken & broccoli (5 meals a day). My daily schedule was waking up at 4am every morning to do fasted cardio, work 6am-6pm, have night classes to finish my degree from 6:30pm-9pm, then after all of that, get another workout in with the weights. We're talking 18 hour days.
These decisions didn't just develop a healthy lifestyle, it completely opened the doors to new opportunities for me. It made me mentally & physically stronger than I could have ever imagined. I knew if I could commit to bettering myself starting with healthy decisions, then I could take that commitment & determination onto whatever I chose to do in life. "
Zack
Beauty Redefined Series - Alicia - TRD Photography
Beauty Redefined Series - Alicia - TRD Photography
Beauty Redefined Series - Alicia -
"I grew up with the ideals of being skinny is good, fat is bad. You had to be skinny to get ahead in life. You had to look like the girls that flaunted their stuff on the catwalk and wear expensive, beautiful garments: virtually "perfect". All the time growing up, it was constant in my mind because of the persistent sight of these women in fashion. Girls at school would be made fun of if they were fat. Of course, wanting to fit into the "perfect" society I had those thoughts of "I must be fat" when my body was perfectly fine. Now a days; I am getting skinny shamed. "Girl eat something!" "What are you a size 0, you look like you don't have an inch of fat on you!" Being "skinny" is now becoming bad too. Women are living in a double standard world of you can't be too fat or too skinny otherwise you will be criticized for that. For that I have come to not like the word skinny for that reason.
In a world that is constantly chasing perfection, I feel so imperfect to those standards that it hurts:I just didn't feel beautiful when I chased it myself. When I know that I am not what they want me to be. I know that I personally have seen that I am not like everyone else. I am my own person, which people don't get to see because they are so misguided by their want to be like what society has imprinted on our minds. I feel like we weren't taught to be individuals, Instead we were taught to try and fit a mold of society.
Outside of society's beauty, I have come to love a different part. My uniqueness of my own face and skin which is scarred from the psoriasis and acne that have plagued me through my life. I have a healthy body that holds cellulite and muscle. Which looks to be "skinny". I can say that I feel beautiful in my own skin because I see the beauty of my unique body."
Alicia
Beauty Redefined Series - Kendra Sumpter - TRD Photography
Beauty Redefined Series - Kendra Sumpter - TRD Photography
Beauty Redefined Series - Kendra Sumpter
"I've always been different. I see tattoos as art. Surprisingly, I get more older people that love my tattoos and tell me how beautiful I am with them. My tattoos make me feel like who I'm supposed to be. Different. Set apart from everyone else." Kendra
Raw No Makeup/No Photoshop with Brittney Berlin
Raw No Makeup/No Photoshop set with Brittney Berlin - TRD Photography
Raw Shoot with Brittney
Back in 2015 I decided to do a few raw, unedited shoots because I really love the message that it conveys. How you are beautiful as you are instead of you're beautiful because someone with photoshop skills. A lot of people really loved the images that came from those sessions. Some did the shoot sans makeup, others wanted to still wear their makeup. I've been wanting to do some more raw shoots because honestly, I want to do more work that actually makes a statement and isn't just "cool" to look at. I recently got to do a no makeup/no photoshop session with Brittney who is a model and hair/makeup artist here in Chattanooga. Because the whole "no photoshop" thing means different things to different people, the only thing done to these images was putting them into b&w. I also want you to read what Brittney had to say about her session as you check out these images... Read below.
Raw Photoshoot - No Makeup/No Photoshop - Brittney Berlin - TRD Photography
" A few years ago if you asked me to do a photoshoot without make up, my hair unfixed, and the photos would be untouched meaning not at all edited I would have refused. In fact I wouldn't have even let anyone see me like that! I was very caught up in what society views as beautiful and I was trying to obtain that standard."
RAW - No Makeup/No Photoshop - Brittney Berlin - TRD Photography
" I'm not going to lie, going into the photoshoot I was nervous. It's something I had never done before but I was still excited. I was having a lot of fun with the photoshoot but as soon as Ricky showed me the camera screen for a sneak peek of what it was looking like a huge smile came across my face and a feeling that sparked inside I can't really explain but I immediately got pumped! It was so empowering. Here I was with my hair a mess and no make up on to hide behind and I loved it! "
Multi-Exposure - Raw No Makeup/No Photoshop Shoot - Brittney Berlin - TRD Photography
" It boosted my confidence even more which I didn't expect to happen. I left the shoot feeling so good about myself and what I accomplished. Being able to look back at where I was and how I felt about my self then to now holding the confidence and love for myself and being comfortable doing something like this it a pretty remarkable feeling. " Brittney
RAW No Makeup/No Photoshop Session with Brittney Berlin - TRD Photography
RAW No Makeup/No Photoshop Session with Brittney Berlin - TRD Photography
RAW No Makeup/No Photoshop Session with Brittney Berlin - TRD Photography
RAW No Makeup/No Photoshop Session with Brittney Berlin - TRD Photography
Beauty Redefined Series - Jolee - TRD Photography
Beauty Redefined Series - Jolee - TRD Photography
Beauty Redefined Series - Jolee - TRD Photography
"I have always had a solid definition of beauty: everyone is beautiful. It's simple, and it gave me an outlook on life, that enabled me to see every person, with the same eyes: To not judge someone by their skin color, their clothing choices; or by their scars. There is beauty everywhere.
It wasn't until recently that I realized, I was not applying this logic to myself.
If I could see the beauty in every one and every thing around me, why would I not allow myself to see it in me?
I began to listen to those who love me, for who I am. Through this; I learned to love my self, and my body. Every scar, every dimple, every imperfection. I have learned to see my own beauty."
Jolee
Beauty Redefined Series - Post #4 - Photographer Ricky Davis
Beauty Redefined Series - Post #4 - Brian Baldwin - Photographer Ricky Davis
Beauty Redefined Series - Post #4 - Brian
"Beauty is....complicated. It's tattoos, piercings, cracks, and scars. It's being nice to your fellow humans and treating people like you want to be treated. It's everything that makes you a better person. Beauty comes from the inside and outside.
We say we want a perfect girl but everyday we prove with our actions that, that isn't true. We want a girl who is crazy enough to be fun and interesting but not crazy enough to get us arrested. We want someone who will be better and make us better because we were together." Brian
Hope you enjoyed reading this week's post from my Beauty Redefined Series. Stay tuned for next week!
Beauty Redefined Series - Post #3 - Photographer Ricky Davis
Beauty Redefined Series - Anonymous - Photographer Ricky Davis
Beauty Redefined Series - Post #3 - Anonymous
" So I'm fighting cancer. Which in and of itself isn't a big deal. It is what it is. But it takes over your body and changes it, inside and out. Things change that you never expected to change. You lose internal organs (for me, a radical hysterectomy). You pump poison into it to try and save you. You lose things that define you, like your long red curly hair. Your shape changes; sometimes you gain weight, sometimes you lose it. You bruise. A LOT. You look tired even when you're not; but lets face it.... you are. It feels violating to have your body betray you and what you felt as your femininity being taken away. I've had people yank off my hats; call me fat and ugly...and I've also had the reverse happen. I've been extremely private about my cancer; it's not public knowledge. But beauty; beauty is inside. But sometimes you need to feel it on the outside too, and our society is harsh about what it considers beautiful. I'm bruised, I'm chubby, I'm bald...but I'm still beautiful."
Anonymous
Beauty Redefined Series - Post #2 - Photographer Ricky Davis
Beauty Redefined Series - Claire & Marty - Photographer Ricky Davis
Beauty Redefined Series - Post #2
"The beauty I see is the devotion I have for caring for a spouse who can't take care of himself any longer. In a world with instant gratification and throw away marriages, I believe there must be beauty in faithfulness...." Claire
We hope you enjoyed this week's Beauty Redefined Series post. Stay tuned for the next one next Friday.
"What Makes You Feel Beautiful?" Allie - TRD Photography
"What Makes You Feel Beautiful?" Series - Allie - TRD Photography
"What Makes You Feel Beautiful?" The Series - Allie - By TRD Photography
"What makes you feel beautiful?"
"It's hard for me to speak on beauty in the conventional sense, but I'm sure that's not what you're looking for anyways! I believe in beauty radiating from the inside. Finding positivity, confidence, dedication, compassion, and originality in your life and highlighting it. For me, after a hard night in the kitchen I am filthy and sweaty. I've put everything I've got into what I'm passionate about and know that I've made delicious food. I think I feel the most beautiful then, cracking a beer and reflecting on an honest day's work." Allie
"What Makes You Feel Beautiful?" Series - Leighann W. A TRD Photography Project
The "What Makes You Feel Beautiful?" Series - Leighann W. A TRD Photography Project
"What Makes You Feel Beautiful?" The Series -
"What makes you feel beautiful?"
Leighann - "What most people see "Beauty" as, is overrated IMO. I'd rather people look at me and be inspired. That's where real beauty comes into play for me. When my nieces and little cousins look up to me and say they want to BE like me, THAT's what I live for. I don't want them to feel you need to be drop dead gorgeous to be somebody. I want them to know that it's being true to yourself that is beautiful. That's what makes me feel "beautiful" is being an inspiration to people who are looking up to me as a role model."
"What Makes You Feel Beautiful?" Krysten B.
"What Makes You Feel Beautiful?" Series - Krysten B - Photo by Ricky Davis of TRD Photography - Film Photo - Kodak Tri X
"What Makes You Feel Beautiful?" Series - Krysten B.
"What makes you feel beautiful?"
"There are a lot of things that can make me feel beautiful. From simply having a good hair/makeup day all the way to wearing no makeup and having messy hair and someone telling me I'm beautiful anyway. I've always had self esteem issues so feeling that way is very few and far between." - Krysten
"Why do you think we put such an emphasis on beauty in America?"
"The 'standard' of beauty has always been a part of the media. It obviously changes over time, but it's always there and it will always be there. I think there is such an emphasis on it because everyone will always want to be beautiful. Maybe not the standard beauty that is pushed to us through magazines/tv/movies, but in their own way." - Krysten
"What Makes You Feel Beautiful?" Series - Krysten B - Photo by Ricky Davis of TRD Photography - Film Photo - Kodak Tri X
Stay tuned for more from this series coming soon...
"What Makes You Feel Beautiful?" - Jessica W.
"What makes you feel beautiful?" Jessica Williams - Photographed by Ricky Davis of TRD Photography - Chattanooga, TN
"What makes you feel beautiful?"
The definition of beauty gets a lot of play in our society today. You're too fat. You're too skinny. You have stretchmarks. You've got wrinkles. There are arguments over what is beauty, what's not and how evil it is to not know the difference.
The only thing is beauty doesn't really exist. There are no set ramifications because we all have a different perspective of what it means to us. So the only real definition of beauty is what our definition of it is. That's the only one that truly matters. How we view ourselves, instead of how the world views us.
Along that line of thinking, I plan to work on a series. What makes you feel beautiful/what makes you feel unbeautiful?
I asked my good friend Jessica about what makes her feel beautiful.
"Learning to love myself has made me feel beautiful , looking in the mirror and loving what i saw staring back at me is one of the most beautiful feelings in the world." Jessica
Me - "What helped the most in teaching you to love yourself and being able to look in the mirror and loving the person looking back at you?"
"Self acceptance. My hips will always be curvy my chest isn't the fullest,my teeth aren't straight and I have double dimples on my cheeks but these are the things that make me ME." Jessica
"What makes you feel beautiful?" Jessica W. Photo by Ricky Davis of TRD Photography
How you see yourself is everything. Notice the perfect imperfections, but know that we all have them. By learning to love ourselves as we are, we can learn to love others for who they are as well....Until next time...