Post-baby bodies captured in all their raw beauty
Jade Beall was already an established photographer when she took a series of self portraits just five weeks after her son was born – the main image above is one of them.
“The photos were of me with my son, breastfeeding, just holding him completely bare, both of us,” Jade told BuzzFeed News. “I had rolls in places I never had in my life, I had dark circles under my eyes, I was raw and I didn’t Photoshop any part of the photo to make me look different than I actually did right then.”
The photos went viral
Mothers who had seen the images shared from her photography studio’s Facebook page contacted her to ask if she would take portraits of them “just as they were”.
Jade was inspired, and the A Beautiful Body Project was born. A book of black-and-white photographs of mothers, accompanied by their own stories in their own words about what beauty – and feeling beautiful – in a culture that alters over 90 percent of all media means to them.
“My intention for this book is to continue on with other ‘A Beautiful Body’ volumes such as beautiful women facing ageing, beautiful women dealing with cancer, beautiful young women facing eating disorders and beyond,” says Jade.
Jade’s images of motherhood are breathtaking
There’s no denying that the expectations faced by women who have given birth are particularly harsh.
“Shaming mothers for not ‘bouncing back’ after childbirth can cause feelings of failure when being a mother is challenging enough.And when a big number of us have already lived a life of feeling un-beautiful prior to giving birth,” Jade tells HuffPost.
“My dream is to be a part of a movement of being kind to ourselves and to others. And witness a generation of young people that no longer waste years of precious life on self-loathing like I have because they think they are un-beautiful.”
Embracing the changes to your body after motherhood can be challenge. Taking that challenge to the next level and having it captured on film takes even greater bravery.
Clearly, looking at the album above, facing any fears is so worth it. The end result is magic.
Feeling comfortable in my own skin is a goal I aspire to, particularly since becoming a mother. I want my daughters and sons to know that the human body is an amazing and beautiful thing – no matter what the dimensions, colour, smoothness or scars.
