Mother of two Neely Ker-Fox has been utilizing her talents as a photographer to promote a more positive and supportive view of the human body, particularly the woman's postpartum figure, through her ongoing series titled Perfect Imperfections. “We as humans all have insecurities and we are all scarred, imperfect and flawed in some way physically and emotionally,” Ker-Fox wrote on her blog. But, the photographer explains, none of these “imperfections” warrant body shaming.
Ker-Fox admittedly struggled with her own body image issues after giving birth to her second child. Unlike the first pregnancy, this one left her with a body she could “barely recognize.” She now had stretch marks and loose skin that left her feeling self-conscious. “The days would ebb back and forth between grieving my previous physique, to truly understanding and battling to find strength in the fact that I've grown two babies in that body,” Ker-fox states.
This realization, coupled with inspiration from Ashlee Wells Jackson's 4th Trimester Bodies and Jade Beall's A Beautiful Body series, led to her empowering project. After putting out a call on social media, about 30 mothers were willing to pose for her liberating portraits. She was able to work with 16 of the women in the studio, allowing each mother to embrace the beauty of her unique, new body.
“This project is so much more than photos of stretch marks, or cellulite,” Ker-Fox told the Huffington Post. “It's about women coming out of the shadows and discussing their everyday struggles in an effort to normalize, to empower, and to educate.” The photographer even hopes to expand the series to include a broader range of people. “This project is not intended to just focus on Motherhood,” she says. “I see it having many chapters, with several characters all with differing stories to tell. I would even love to see some men participate in the future.”
You can read Ker-Fox's full account of working on this project with these courageous women over on her blog.
Neely Ker-Fox: Website | Facebook | Twitter
via [Huffington Post]
Thanks to Neely for sharing her images with us!
