“Within yourself, you are what is most important” – Lexie, AHP Senior 2024
Project Beauty 2024
Project Beauty 2024 is a dedication to the innate beauty found in each member of our Senior Team. As with previous years, during this shoot, we asked our girls to arrive at Studio253 as naturally as possible: free of makeup, bold clothing, color, and even nail polish. Although each of those items has a place in our portrait work, the heart of AHP is people. This shoot invites our girls to show up exactly as they are. As they dare to strip away the physical barriers that allow us to hide parts of ourselves from the world, I hope it inspires you to embrace your most authentic self and ask, “What makes me feel beautiful?” Let us know what you find!
Why We Celebrate Project Beauty
2024 is now the sixth year AHP has celebrated Project Beauty! Predominantly working with high school juniors and seniors, I don’t think there can be enough emphasis on empowering teens and young adults. Founded by Cincinnati photographer, Thomas Nguyen in 2017, Project Beauty seeks to emphasize true definitions of beauty and shatter stereotypical ideals that keep us in boxes. More than that, it is a campaign to share personal stories. We all have an image of who we are, and sometimes it doesn’t match how we look in our heads. The beauty industry, social media, celebrities, and even our own communities play a role in forming this image. By sharing our experiences, we can help build a new, more realistic image for ourselves and the women around us.
AHP Senior Team on Shattering Stereotypes
Each year that we participate in this campaign, it becomes more important. 52% of young people aged 13 -19 are unsatisfied with their bodies, with girls being more affected by negative thoughts about weight and personal appearance than boys. According to the same report, physical dissatisfaction is the third biggest concern causing harm to teens. Just behind worries about unemployment and failure to succeed. We have to shatter these stereotypes for the health of teens everywhere. No high schooler should have to worry about their appearance as much as they worry about their future goals. As Senior Team member Olivia says, “As long as you feel beautiful, you ARE beautiful.” That should be the whole story.
Defining Beauty By Your Standards: “I Am Me”
– Maddy Weaver, Class of 2024 Senior Team
What I love about Project Beauty, is that it allows each of our girls to define beauty on their own terms. We get to take a day and use the normal “hair and makeup time” to really sit with and question what we see as important. These photos will always be a reminder of that time and hopefully, inspire others to do the same. While each of our definitions may be different, no one is alone on the journey. Our Senior Team girl, Maile, sheds more light on this: “Embracing yourself along with your perceived flaws is a part of growing up, and recognizing that everyone has them helps us overcome them together.” By being silent about our concerns, we only give more power to our insecurities. Even as we work to define what beauty means to us, Project Beauty is about bringing people together. Let’s keep sharing our stories and spreading this message for a more beautiful future.
Let’s Connect!
If you want to chat more about an empowering portrait session of your own, I would love to hear from you. It’s easy to reach out on the AHP website anytime. You can email me at [email protected] or if you prefer, call/text me at 530-412-0730.
