Abel Wilson on Fstoppers

My love for fashion photography comes from the same reason I hate it.
The glamour associated with it.

A few years back, a friend who I dearly cared about; attempted suicide over problems she had over her appearance. She, like countless other young people in our generation, had come to believe that she was ugly because she didn't match up to the standards that were presented to her in visual advertising. She thought that the beauty presented in magazines, television and the internet, was "standard" (i.e. normal, which made her depression worse) which she failed to achieve. After struggling with eating disorders to look "thin and normal" she ended up trying to take her own life, which she was thankfully unsuccessful in doing.

My friend is not alone.
There are countless other young men and women, under the influence of the images are really insecure about themselves.
An idea which is manufactured with the use of extreme retouching, makeup, lighting, etc. They are ignorant of the hard work and dedication which goes behind creating these extreme ideals, to prey on their insecurities.

After that incident I made a vow to combat these ideals by making people realize that they are beautiful, just as they are.
None of the models that I have used so far, are professional. They are all normal people, who never realized the full extent of how beautiful God created them.
These sessions are done pro-bono, to create art, which makes a difference.