In a world full of strong, demanding, and controlling “male” eyes Elizabeth R. Johnson has addressed the problems of how a “women” should act and look in the commercial industry.  Female models are expected to look and act a certain way for the runway and on set.  The industry calls for these models to be a size zero, quiet, and without any opinion.  The male gaze tells us that women must be something fun to look at, something for men to play with, and someone for men to push around.  As a plus size female photographer in this world Elizabeth has tried to conform to this thought process, but it is an old way to live.  Not to mention the wrong way to live.  She wants to shake up the eyes we have put onto bodies larger than a size 14.

She has not hidden these women in her photographs, rather she has brought their bodies out of the shadows and into the light where they belong.  This photographic journey has been a safe haven for her subjects, and she has taken these photographs on their terms and comfortability.  She has made sure that her subjects felt beautiful on the inside and outside while creating imagery that frees them from captivity.

"I started off this project with a mindset and awareness that I wanted to show the world that plus size women can, and will be, photographed.  I knew that I wanted to be comfortable enough in my own skin to be able to have my photo taken, but also be able to take self-portraits.  Working through my body image and helping others through their body image has really opened my eyes to how my body moves as an individual." - ERJ

www.erj.photography

"Emily was my first subject in this series, so in a sense she was my guinea pig. I knew that Emily’s personality needed a sultrier and moodier look, so I lit her from the side. She was ready for the shoot the second I asked her and has always wanted to get her photos taken. So being able to give her these photos really helped push me to finish the series. She was pretty surprised by the images when I turned the camera around and said, 'looking at myself in these pictures, doesn’t make me feel exposed, they make me feel powerful.' That statement right there was the reason i wanted to complete this series." - ERJ

"Kenzie has never been comfortable in front of the camera and has always wanted photos taken of her. So, when I asked her to be a subject in my senior project she was thrilled. She was a joy to work with and I am so happy with the final results. During the shoot I had everything planned out for her, from doing her makeup, to having an off-campus studio all set up to make her comfortable. Once we got into the shoot, I was able to go through and start choosing my selects. I remember her looking at the photos and she teared up a bit and said, these photos are like nothing i’ve ever done before…. I wanted to make sure she was okay with what we had produced, and she then said this, for the first time ever, I looked at a picture of myself and thought... I look sexy.” - ERJ

"Madison has always been a very bubbly girl and I wanted to capture her essence. When I brought up my senior project, she wanted to be in it without a doubt. Once again, I had setup the off-campus studio with some gels so that we could play around with the light. The outcome I have gotten from Madison was really important to reach and this is how she felt, this photo shoot was honestly empowering. Feeling good, resulted in looking good. Being in this photo shoot was a boost of confidence I had been looking for and then to see the pictures afterwards, I was so excited and full of self confidence.” - ERJ