In The World Of Filters And Facetune, This Photographer Calls Us To Appreciate The Real Faces Of Women

Epidermis is a series that was born out of Sophie's personal and commercial projects where she has about 10 years of experience. "I'm interested in the human condition," she told Bored Panda. "Typically portraiture based, often with some elements of place and surrounding, I use people to express my own pre-occupations and concerns."

"Most of my personal projects seem to come from my own life experiences and throughout there is always some element of my own vulnerability," she explained. "I began to reflect on my own past and feelings towards my skin, I’d suffered from severe acne. Back then, there were no idols, role models and people to look up to who had anything but flawless skin. Which obviously meant I struggled with my own self image. We’ve come a long way since then, what with body positivity and generally people speaking out about beauty standards and promoting diversity. However I still felt that there was a lack in representing skin in an honest and open way. Epidermis for me was a way of showcasing beautiful women in skins less often seen."

Sophie wanted to not only start a discussion about skin, she hoped this work could also empower other people, making them feel more comfortable in their own skin. "It’s still something I personally struggle with but hope one day I can practice what I preach. With a lot of these kinds of series, there’s an element of trying to shock, but that was the opposite of what I was trying to achieve. I really wanted Epidermis to be seen as a beauty shoot first, and a commentary on skin second."

And it worked, in huge part thanks to the beautiful models in front of Sophie's camera. "My casting was quite social media based," she said. "I approached a few people who were already sharing their skin stories and through this finding a voice and an outlook."

"Once I’d started sharing a few photos, it was much easier to put out an open casting as people realized it wasn’t in any way exploitative and I was actually trying to find beauty in this."

After working on the series, Sophie believes she's realized that we are a lot more self-conscious of our image than one could imagine. "I think that’s true in most things. I was genuinely amazed by the reception the series had and the coverage it received. I’ve had personal messages from people all over the world thanking me for shedding light on the subject. I think it shows that the more open and honest we are about these things, the less alone people feel and the less stigmatized they become."

The photographer added that it’s important for us all to take responsibility and set an example for the younger generation by embracing the things that make us unique.