CHICAGO (WLS) — It’s Women’s History Month, and one Chicago photographer is rewriting beauty standards one click at a time.
She’s capturing the portraits of 100 women, all 50 and over.
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When each woman steps in front of the camera, they agree to be photographed with no makeup and no retouching, as Kambua Chema takes them on a journey of vulnerability, reminding them women are beautiful at any age.
“I think women, as we age, we become invisible,” Chema said. “We talk about everything that seems real, like, what is it like to to grow old? I mean, we all have the same aches. Are you going through menopause? No, are you having hot flashes?”
For months, Chema has been developing a portrait series celebrating the natural beauty of women 50 and over. So far, 66 women were each asked to finish one sentence: “I have earned every line because …”
Participant Stephanie Johnson said “my grandmother inspired me.”
“I think I’m beautiful, too. Even if any, even if no one else thinks I am, I know that I am,” Johnson said.
Soon to be 74, Johnson says her confidence was rooted in her grandmother. But stepping in front of the camera still required courage.
“Being raw, oh my gosh, I said, I can’t wear lipstick, really? Because I always wear it when I walk out the door,” Johnson said.
Stripping away the comfort meant confronting a lifetime of expectations and choosing, instead, to just be.
“Their lines are experiences,” Chema said. “I think at 50 and older, it felt like a good place to look back and reflect and say, ‘OK, I’m 50. You know, what have I done?’”
And in that reflection comes freedom. Chema says it’s in those open, honest moments that she captures something deeper than a photo.
“There’s something beautiful about being authentically natural and unveiling and just being you,” Chema said.
And with time comes clarity.
“Do what you want to do in your life. Do the things you want to do because time is too short,” Johnson said.
Chema is looking for 36 more women to be part of this exhibition that is going to have a show opening in late May.
Anyone interested should visit kambuachemaphotography.com.
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