rickguidotti

Rick Guidotti on Photographing Genetic Conditions to Reframe Beauty

CBS Evening News just aired this short segment on the work of photographer Rick Guidotti, who has spent years shooting portraits of people with genetic conditions for his non-profit, Positive Exposure. As we first shared back in 2013, Guidotti is using his background as a major fashion photographer to change the way people see and think about beauty.

Photographer Seeks to Redefine ‘Beauty’ Through Photos of Genetic Diversity

For many years, Rick Guidotti was a jet-setting fashion photographer. When he stepped into the studio in Milan, Paris or New York, he was instantly in charge of taking a model -- already an example of what we as a society deem is beautiful -- and capturing his or her best side.

But fifteen years ago, while he was doing research for a shoot he had considered doing featuring a woman with albinism, he was taken aback by the in-humane photos he found in medical textbooks. Speaking with genetic counselors, he found out that many will cover up the photos on the informational pamphlets they give parents when delivering a diagnosis.