When girls pose for photos, the goal is to look pretty, right? Not if you ask photographer Kate Parker, who realized one day that proto-typical "pretty" shots of her two daughters — 9-year-old Ella and 6-year-old Alice — weren't the ones she loved most. Instead, she found herself gravitating toward pics that showed her daughters looking strong. Thus began her latest photography project, Strong Is the New Pretty.
"Initially, this project started as a desire to record my daughters and the memories of their childhood," Parker tells The Stir. "Then it organically grew into something different. I started to recognize that the images where the girls were authentically captured were my favorites. After seeing this, I started to shoot with that in mind."
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For the past three years, Parker has been photographing her daughters and their friends in all their imperfect glory — "loud, athletic, fearless, messy, joyous, frustrated," says Parker. "I wanted to celebrate these girls as they are, not how females are expected to be."
Parker hopes the photos in this slideshow will inspire more moms to coax their daughters to flout frivolous goals like looking "pretty" and just be themselves. As she points out, "Being pretty is not important," she says. "Being who they are is."
What's your favorite photo of your daughter?
Image via Kate Parker Photography
These Girls Kick Butt
"I coach both girls’ soccer teams and love these girls so much," says Parker about this photo. "They are all such individuals and tough as nails on the field. I wanted to capture their strength. I played soccer through college, and my teammates are still like sisters to me to this day."
When the Going Gets Tough...
"This was shot the night before my daughter Ella’s first triathlon," says Parker. "She was nervous, and I wanted to show her how strong and brave she was for deciding to do it. I asked her for her toughest face and this is what we got."
Who You Lookin' At?
"I shot this right after Alice and Ella got out of the pool," says Parker. "I loved Alice’s fierceness in her expression and the comforting hand of her big sister protecting her. They fight, but they definitely have each other’s backs."
Snow Day Silliness
"This photo of my daughters Alice and Ella was taken about three hours into a snow day," says Parker. "I was ready to send them back to school! We’ve all been there as parents, but instead of yelling at them, I hopped on the dining room table and shot away, tried to make the best of a loud and most likely someone ending in tears situation."
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Pool Party!
"I asked all the girls to jump in the water and do something fun," recalls Parker about this photo. "I wanted to capture the spirit, the silliness and the camaraderie of being 8 years old and the summer just beginning."
Hear Me Roar
This photo of a group of girls yelling into a fan shows that they aren't afraid to make noise — and lots of it. "Don’t we all remember doing this exact same thing?" points out Parker. "It is a universal and timeless kids game."
Embracing Life
"This is exactly the expression, enthusiasm and zest for life that I love about my daughter Alice," says Parker. "My goal as her mom is to try to make sure she doesn’t lost any of that. I don’t want anyone to dull her shine."
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