Photography as a healing art

Usually, the main purpose of portrait photography is to make the subject look good. Here is a story about a photographer whose aim is to make the subject feel good. He has chosen subjects that traditionally have been portrayed in a negative fashion, even stigmatized, because of some physical condition or deformity. He treats them - what a revelation! - as human beings, as normal. And it makes them feel good about themselves.

Ths story is called "Using Photography to Create Positive Exposure," from the Healing Arts blog at Psychology Today by Cathy Malchiodi.

I recommend watching the video that's embedded in the article. Rick Guidotti, a trained and experienced fashion photographer, is infectious in his enthusiasm for this project. The one criticism I have of the video is that it shows only subjects who, to me anyway, seem inherently beautiful already. Therefore, it's even more important to visit his website and see the wider variety of subjects he works with as part of the organization he founded called Positive Exposure.