You are perfect, just the way you are. You were made to be you- not anyone else. You are infinitely important & valuable
Film by Vanilla Bear FilmsToday, we're launching our Christmas Campaign '#beautyisfreedom', a daring campaign, designed to encourage you and let you know why you are truly beautiful, and deserve to be completely loved and adored.
The Models...
A few months ago, I asked for volunteers to model for WAHP, without any make up, without any airbrushing, no filters, and without any 'flaw' removal or fancy studio lighting. We had a lot of applications, but we only had 12 places to give. We would have absolutely loved to have photographed all of you if we had had enough places!
My little helper for this project has been Zoey Groves, you might know of her on Instagram or recognize her in WAHP pics as she's modeled for me since the beginning! Something Zoey wants to pioneer in, is the creation of a new kind of model agency, which recognizes passion, individuality and true beauty over height, weight and bone structure. So I put her in charge of the entire model board- which is no easy organization task!! She also assisted in photographing most of the girls with me- so you can see some of her lovely images amongst mine below...
Let me introduce to you, our 12 babes, who, just like you, are an amazing gift to the world. I call them, my 12 days of Christmas. From the 1st of December, their final (secret) headline images will be released, one per day, to remind you every day for 12 days that I think you're perfect just as you are.
Day 1: ZoeImages by Sarah Caulfield
Zoe is so warm and gentle. She finds wonder in such creative & unique places, so it's lovely to experience that with her. We got up to start filming at sunrise, it was so peaceful and beautiful! She's so friendly and easy going, that it just made the day full of joy- without anything taking away from the experience of the present. She's so used to having her photo taken now, cause she's a blogger, with hundreds of thousands of fans, who have fallen in love with her adorable personality & look. She's so gorgeous, oh and she loves eggs ;)
Day 2: BonnieImage by Sarah Caulfield
Image by Sarah Caulfield
Image by Zoey Groves
Bonnie is 14! I know, hard to believe, mostly because of her incredible tallness, which we believe is made up of like 90% leg, haha. She is simply gorgeous. When you meet her, she's very graceful, her manor and demeanor are full of quiet sophistication, which is a dream to be around. If you ever get the chance to touch her hair it's like way softer than paddy- Zoey and I were pretty much crying with hair joy. We are mega Bonnie fans, as are a growing number on Instagram, and it's obvious why, mega gorgeous.
Day 3: ElisaImage by Sarah Caulfield
Image by Zoey Groves
Image by Sarah Caulfield
Oh my goodness, Elisa, where do we start... she is the sweetest little cutie, without a shy bone in her body! It's hard to pull off cute and sassy at the same time- they don't usually mix. She is so fun and easy to be around, she had me laughing constantly- I want her one-liners to be sold as ring tones. She was super hyper and excited with us, cause she's a mega fan of Zoey, and WAHP, but once the camera was on her she was straight in to playful & creative poses, enjoying herself and just going for it. She was remarkably free and confident in who she is, and wants to be the first signed model at AntiAgency with a cleft lip palate.
Day 4: Abbie
Image by Zoey Groves
Image by Sarah Caulfield
Image by Sarah Caulfield
Abbie is a dream. She's beautiful from every direction, the number of pictures we could have taken was endless, cause she has such a versatile look that surprises you- every time she turns her head, there's a new beautiful angle. She's very surprising, unexpected, and quite mysterious. She is kind, fair and generous, and her natural and gentle attitude reflects her inner loveliness.
Day 5: JosieImage by Sarah Caulfield
Image by Sarah Caulfield
Image by Zoey Groves
Ah my cheeky little cutie, I felt like best friends with her as soon as we first spoke and hugged, I loved being around Josie. She somehow makes me feel good about myself, like I'm fully accepted by her and not judged in any way. She doesn't seem to hold back parts of herself, like you don't have to earn the right to know her or enjoy her company- instead she's just there, ready to be friends immediately! Amazing! I could barely take photos because I was in such adoration. All the friendliness of her character is contrasted with her dark & edgy look, like if grizzly bears knew they were Vogue...
Day 6: CourtneyImage by Zoey Groves
Image by Sarah Caulfield
Image by Sarah Caulfield
Courtney is so kind, kind kind kind kind kind. She's super fun and really interesting to listen to- I could just let her talk about things all day and I'd never get bored. She's also super encouraging, she genuinely speaks confidence in to peoples lives. Her natural kindness came through in all of her pictures, especially in her eyes. This is even more impressive, when you know that we were shooting her in torrential rain- through the cold, wet, and a lot of waiting for dry patches, she just helped make the whole time fun, without any negativity. She has such a unique look, what a dream.
Day 7: SophieImage by Sarah Caulfield
Image by Sarah Caulfield
Image by Zoey Groves
Sophie is wonderful!! She is so mega chill and easy going! I feel like she's super loyal, like she's gonna stand there with you in the storm. Which of course she did, cause she was also photographed in torrential rain haha, which she made so fun! She's such a team player, willing to get completely soaked and look like she can't even notice the rain! Her absolute beauty came out so easily in the photos, and the acute angles of her face were so defined and interesting, it was like photographing a contradiction of sharp ruggedness and gentle harmony, amazing.
Day 8: Sacha
Image by Sarah Caulfield
Image by Sarah Caulfield
Image by Sarah Caulfield
Day 9: Siobhan
Image by Sarah Caulfield
Image by Zoey Groves
Image by Sarah Caulfield
Ah our cute chum, what an absolute babe! Siobhan has such a fresh and fair face, like milkshake in snow. She gives off a dreamer vibe, like adventure is around her, and possibilities are endless. Her face is like a big love heart, so warm and inviting, just like her real heart. What a mega babe.
Day 10: Taylah
Images by Sarah caulfield
Taylah's hilarious, she has a most random and funny stories, we just had such fun, and such a laugh together. But my goodness is she beautiful. Her hair matched Paddy's, which is quite an honour for both of them really haha! Like her hair, Taylah is wild, what she says and does is powerful and has a great effect on others, and she has tremendous power to share through the stories in her life. I'm so excited in her future in art therapy- maybe she can run some WAHP art therapy workshops for me. It's obvious that she is all about caring for others, and that loveliness shines in her eyes. Beautiful in every way.
(Taylah's eyebrows are permanently tinted, none of the models are wearing make up)
Day 11: Ruby
Image by Sarah Caulfield
Image by Sarah Caulfield
Image by Sarah Caulfield
Day 12: Molly
Images by Sarah Caulfield
Just as I'm able to write these things with confidence, about these beautiful girls I've met- I could write just as much about you. I guess you're probably thinking a few things about that statement- let me explain...
These girls weren't chosen because they sent in 'perfect' pictures- they are not 'flawless'. When something as silly as a spot on your face is seen as a flaw, then of course, no one can be 'flawless'. Nearly all of these girls have spots, which you can see in the images, who cares- we all have different complexions.
When photographing, I am able to find light and colours that hi-light inner and outer beauty. I can quickly gauge what will make models comfortable and free to enjoy themselves and shine in images. I rarely do any hair or make up.. one time, I put bright blue eyeshadow on my girls cause the collection was bright and fun, but that's the extent of it- otherwise models are just photographed as they come. I don't ask for models to be the 'right' height or weight. I find girls who fit the brand, which is simply fun, light hearted, young and cute, which is very broad and encompasses many looks.
I have not just made up stuff that I've written about each of them- these are genuine things that I see and believe about each one.
The reason I can tell you confidently that you are perfect, is because I believe in Love and Acceptance for all. That is not a flippant thing that says 'oh we're all perfect, so relatively there's no standard so therefore no one stands out'... it's not a competition... rather, it's the truth that every single individual is so valuable, so unique, so treasured, and one-of-a-kind, that we all stand out. It's a transcendent viewpoint that true beauty is not defined by a 'one size fits all' standard measure like a lack of spots, strong cheek bones, tiny waists, height, proportional features etc, but of seeing each person as an individual, and experiencing who they are apart from what we're told we should be.
When I say I 'believe' in Love and acceptance for all, it's not just that I think it, or hope it... it is a foundation of everything that I expect, rely & build on, it is a certainty, an assurance and a truth.
I want to share this belief with you, because I also believe that not knowing how valuable and perfect you are, inside and out, is detrimental in so many ways, like a tax on the air you breathe.
The loud world tells us that in order to be beautiful, we need to be like this, cover up this, act like this, succeed in this way, and very often- buy this or that and it will change you so that you become happy. But beauty says so much about your identity, I believe a lot of things are advertised at the cost of self esteem.
If photographers and magazines didn't edit out spots, would they feel like such a problem?
The body was never made to be celebrated alone, it was made to be enjoyed in harmony with all of the rest of what makes you, you. For me, real beauty is when you're free to be fully yourself, when your uniqueness is free to shine, when you're uninhibited, when no one can take your identity away from you because they were not the ones who gave it to you in the first place.
I think we can easily, momentarily, be swept away by a fleeting, surface level of glamorization- like when you see some flowing, swooshy, long hair, but it is really short-lived and doesn't last. I feel like it's a cheapening of beauty. We experience that wonderful long hair for a moment, but the joy is fleeting, because glamour is thin. We remember that first initial spark, but don't notice that the lasting effect is of inadequacy or idolatry.
Beauty however, has depth. It sees further, it doesn't quit... it's a force of it's own- it appears and disappears of it's own will, you can't control it or replicate it, and when you try to, you just create something that's deceptive enough that you think it's the real deal, but untrue enough to leave you empty.
Beauty Is Freedom. Let's be Free.
All my Love & HAPPY CHRISTMAS! From Sarah, WAHP X
Send us your thoughts & bare faces or images of what you see as true beauty, using #beautyisfreedom #declare imperfection, and we will add it to our #beautyisfreedom gallery on our website!
Instagram: @wearehairypeople
Twitter: @W_A_H_P
1 comment
Totally loved this video and blog. It is amazing and it is no nice for a company to actually say the truth about ‘flaws’. I idolize Sarah and Zoey. x x
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