About She Rose
The idea for She Rose started in late 2017.
2017 was a unique year. It brought a lot of new attention to sexual misconduct in America. As a whole, we have started to have more conversations about the abuse of power and conversations about how/if we should hold people responsible for their actions. Throughout it all I have seen women in particular gathering the courage to speak up about sexual abuse and actually having their voices heard which hasn’t happened as much in the past.
I had been thinking about how I could use my photography to empower women who have overcome hardship, set backs, or pain in their life. I decided that in 2018 I was going to embark on a new photo project called She Rose. It would contain photos of women portrayed as superheroes inspired by their personal stories of overcoming an obstacle.
I sent out the word on Facebook discussion groups and to friends, asking for nominations. Each woman that was chosen for the project met with me 1:1 to discuss their stories and to brainstorm ideas of what their inner superhero might look like. Once that was decided, group photo shoot days were set up.
Using a makeshift studio in my living room, I had groups of five women come to take their photos each shoot day. I also coordinated with local makeup artists and hair stylists and clothing designers to help get specific looks.
After each shoot, I would narrow down the shots and start working on the photo composites in Photoshop. Each portrait took anywhere from 5 to 10 hours of finessing to get the effects just right.
This project is still in progress so if you or a woman you know have a story about overcoming and want to participate in this project please let me know. I’d love to do a shoot with you! Looking for women of all shapes, sizes, colors and ages.
