Compelling Complexion: Portraits of Albinism

Compelling Complexion: Portraits of Albinism

Since 2009 Brazilian Photographer Gustavo Lacerda has been shooting subjects of the Albino persuasion to create a beautiful and compelling portrait series of Albinism. I really love how the skin tones, colors and backgrounds all blend together, which provide a smooth and calm effect to each of these images. Im not sure what the intent of the series was or how it came about, but I am definitely a fan and would love to see more someday soon. Enjoy!

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14 Comments

Awesome images.  Are some of them supposed to look "Squished"? or is that just an error on the display in this webpage? NVM, just checked his site, looks like it's just an error on this site. I'm using Chrome, maybe it's displaying them weird.

Looks stretched out to me

They look squashed to me also. 

They do seem strangely macabre, I can imagine finding prints like these from circa 19th century on dogeared old photographic paper. 

No offense intended, just an observation. =)

Sorry guys, there was an error in the display. It is fixed.

I don't think he's doing albinos any favors because the portraits are almost creepy at times.

That's a tad bit insensitive isn't it? They might be a little uncomfortable, what makes them that way? The subject? So would you feel this way on the street? Why would you say that? "that black guy over there makes me uncomfortable" lol

I don't think he means the people, just the way the the images have been manipulated. 

The point of the series is to create a reaction (clearly). If the reaction isn't what was expected, you can't blame the viewer.

I don't feel that bleaching the backgrounds of the images was the best choice, I would have chosen to make the skin tone,hair and eyes more realistic and stark against a grey or blue background....for me, the last image of the little girl is sublimely beautiful. I'll buy that and love seeing her every day.

Agreed - don't think it's the most fetching colouring/light/editing for the subjects. As if he's trying to over emphasise their skin tone (or lack of).

Absolutely beautiful! There is beauty in all people!

It's the body language and facial expressions that give it the unease.  If you posed "normal" looking people in a similar manner, lit, processed, and color toned them the same way, it would feel just as uneasy.  The implied nude by having the torsos framed above any clothing, coupled with the posing and processing also makes a couple of them rather uneasy.  

Not saying there's not beauty in the photos, I think a couple of them are quite compelling.  However, they do have a distinct unsettling element that I think was quite intentional on the part of the photographer.

Exactly. some of them are cross-eyed. Nothing to be ashamed or anything, but does the 4thto last is a good choice? It just reminds the viewer of that fact (cross-eyed) and actually amplifies it (we rarely see the pupils of a person while side-shot).

I think the fact that he is showing that it may possibly sometimes be uncomfortable to be in their skin because of societies reactions makes the composition top of the line.