The Sign of a Beautiful Person

graphic © eminentlyquotable.com

The sign of a beautiful person is that they always see beauty in others.

The testament of time has pretty much proved the changing perceptions on beauty, and different cultures have their own perceptions as well. However, in this age of superficiality, we are often bombarded with images of standardized beauty that we’ve become unforgiving of flaws and deformities.

One photographer chose to break free from the dictations of fashion industry, and focused his camera to a different kind of beauty. His name is Rick Guidotti, an award-winning former fashion photographer who is now working internationally with various institutions and organizations to create a broader understanding on genetic difference. His work has been published in established magazines, newspapers, and journals such Elle, The Washington Post, Journal of Medical Genetics, and People. This time he’s not working with long-legged models but people in various ages and cultures living with genetic, physical, cognitive, and behavioural conditions.

Although he chose his subjects for their unique conditions, the photographs’ emphasis are on who they are as a person and what makes them beautiful. Guidotti’s projects aim on shedding light to many forms of beauty while preserving the humanity of their subjects. “When I photograph people, I tell them to be themselves. They are not a diagnosis or a disease.”

Guidotti founded the photographic exhibition, “Positive Exposure” which premiered at the People’s Genome Celebration last June 2001, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in DC. He continues to exhibit in galleries, museums, and public arenas internationally.