Photographer in NY Reveals Beauty in all Shapes and Forms

Beauty is not just something reserved for the rich and famous or supermodels, but, how wide is your canon of beauty?

Former supermodel photographer Rick Guidotti started to wonder about the different perceptions of beauty, after an encounter at a bus stop changed his life. The person with whom he encountered was a spectacular albino girl. She had white hair and pale skin, and Guidotti though she was absolutely breathtaking.

After asking the girl if he could take her picture, and receiving a negative answer, photographer Guidotti started to investigate about albinism, autism, and other genetic, physical and behavioral conditions. He quickly realized that the appearance of these people distorted even their own perception of beauty. In most cases, they didn’t like what they saw in the mirror, and were actually embarrassed about how they looked.

When working with supermodels such as Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer, he felt frustrated because he was always told who was beautiful and who was not. As an artist, he says, he sees beauty everywhere. He then decided to leave the fashion world behind, and created a non-profit organization called Positive Exposure. With the help of photography and video, Guidotti advocates to transform the perception of people with diverse conditions that make them look ‘different’, and help them see their own beauty. Some of his subjects have said they didn’t think of themselves as beautiful before this experience. One young mother even said Guidotti was the first person ever to tell her how beautiful her son was.

Guidotti’s work is changing lives for good by celebrating the richness of human diversity. His photos have appeared in Life Magazine, helping lots of other people with genetic conditions, and the world around them. With his photographs and videos, Rick Guidotti helps the world, not to just see these people as “normal”, but to really feel comfortable with the idea of inclusion, no matter how it looks.

Image credit: Rick Guidotti – Positive Exposure