
Happy Martin Luther King Day! I knew I wanted to feature a black artist today, so when I found this remarkable photography, I was thrilled!
Georgia-based husband-and-wife team Kahran and Regis Bethencourt of CreativeSoul Photography capture what they call “under-celebrated beauty.” How anyone could look at these gorgeous images and not feel like celebrating is beyond me. The duo travels around, styling and taking strong, beautiful photos of little girls. The photos are often accompanied by interesting details about the girls – their dreams, their hopes, their challenges. I find the pictures really inspirational; the Bethencourts do a marvelous job of capturing the girls’ spark and strength and sass.
In 2013, the Bethencourts, whose child photography studio was well established, recognized that natural African hair and styling was drastically underrepresented in their industry. They made it their business to go about changing that, and their AfroArt series was born.
“We decided to showcase kids with natural hair to empower them (and others in the industry) to embrace it and for the kids to be proud of their culture and natural curls. When we first started out we were primarily working with child models, but now more than half of the kids have never modeled before. Most of them just see it as a fun experience, but they usually leave the studio feeling a little more proud and self-confident.”
I was fascinated to learn that the photographers don’t let the girls see themselves until “the big reveal,” so all that attitude and confidence is captured in the photos. There were so many gorgeous pictures, I got a little carried away with their Instagram posts below. There’s loads more to see, too.
You can see all of Kahran and Regis Bethencourt’s gorgeous photography on the CreativeSoul Photography website and on Instagram.
January 20, 2020 at 8:27 am
Beautiful and very creative photos, Donna 😀
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January 20, 2020 at 11:16 am
They really are! I love how powerful their subjects look.
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January 20, 2020 at 11:47 am
They really do
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January 20, 2020 at 8:58 am
Wowza, I’m glad you found these artists! The photos are stunning and indeed creative. I’m not sure I could get far without eating those cupcakes though!
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January 20, 2020 at 11:17 am
The cupcakes would be a trial for me, too!
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January 20, 2020 at 9:02 am
Why is there only one girl that is smiling and seems to be having fun? But all of them are wonderful pictures – Hal
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January 20, 2020 at 11:18 am
In my opinion, they are exuding power – smiling not required.
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January 20, 2020 at 9:35 am
Pretty girls and the ‘outfits’ are Wow!
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January 20, 2020 at 11:21 am
The styling is magnificent, and those girls truly are gorgeous!
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January 20, 2020 at 10:08 am
Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.
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January 20, 2020 at 11:21 am
I agree!
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January 20, 2020 at 4:33 pm
Stunning portraits. Those little girls have more poise and grace and beauty than I will ever possess. My attitude maybe matches theirs.
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January 20, 2020 at 9:37 pm
I felt exactly the same!
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January 21, 2020 at 7:28 pm
I loved this! As a black woman, i felt so beautiful looking at the artistry and power in their young faces. Just astounding! Thank you so much!
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January 21, 2020 at 10:19 pm
I’m so glad you liked the pictures. I feel like these girls are going to grow up feeling so proud of them!
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