Angsty Gowns Photo Shoot
Beyond the Crown: Redefining Beauty Outside the Pageant Frame
This photoshoot was a collaborative project with designer Kambe Lovelace, cinematographer Ruona, DP Elijah, and models Beyonce and Paris. At its core, the concept explored the other side of beauty pageants and telling the stories that often go unseen and untold.
The idea centered on what happens to women who are rejected by pageants, who are told either directly or indirectly, that they are not beautiful enough. We wanted to sit in that uncomfortable space and visually explore the emotional aftermath, the sadness, the anger, the self-doubt, and eventually the pivot. That pivot into rebellion. Into self-definition. Into rejecting traditional beauty standards altogether.
The concept originated with Kambe, and from there it became a true team effort. Each of us contributed ideas on how to translate that narrative visually and emotionally. Rather than focusing on glamour or polish, the goal was honesty. Raw emotion. Unfiltered reactions.
Ruona led the short film aspect of the project, capturing movement and emotion in a cinematic way, while Elijah supported the visual storytelling as DP. My role was to document the story through both conventional and non-conventional portraiture. I intentionally moved away from standard “beauty poses,” opting instead for body language and framing that felt tense, vulnerable, defiant, and sometimes uncomfortable. The aim was to let emotion lead the image rather than aesthetics alone.
Through the portraits, I focused on capturing the emotional range that follows rejection, the moments of quiet sadness, visible anger, and ultimately a sense of rebellion and self-ownership. These weren’t images meant to fit into a traditional beauty box. They were meant to challenge it.
This project reinforced something I strongly believe: beauty exists in many forms, and a pageant should never be the standard by which beauty is defined. The absence of a crown does not mean the absence of worth.
Beyond the message, this project was genuinely fun to create. It was creatively freeing to work with a team that trusted the concept, embraced experimentation, and allowed emotion to drive the visuals. Collaborations like this remind me why I love creating. It’s because photography can be more than pretty images, it can also be conversation, critique, and reflection.
