500px is committed to providing photographers with opportunities to participate in evolving trends within commercial advertising. We not only want to provide an authentic look at global experiences, but redefine representation and drive inclusivity within commercial photography.
The 500px Commercial Grant: Project #ShowUs was shot and produced as part of the Dove, Girl Gaze, and Getty Images larger, Project #ShowUs campaign. The Project, which was first launched in 2019 has been recognized for its creative and disruptive approach to challenging beauty standards.
In previous years, Project #ShowUs has been awarded the Cannes Lion, Silver Lion, and Glass Lion for Change awards for its efforts. 500px was honored for the opportunity to participate in such an important initiative for the second consecutive year.
“70% of women still don’t feel represented in media and advertising.” – Dove Impact of Beauty Stereotypes Quant Study 2019
We know authentic representation in advertising matters and that challenging how women have been represented historically within advertising is essential in creating a more honest, progressive, and inclusive industry for all women and non-binary individuals. Confronting and challenging the status quo allows women the opportunity to craft their own narratives and shift the focus of how they are seen and represented. This creates opportunities for women of all ages, shapes, and sizes, to see that there is one standard for what a ‘beautiful woman’ looks like; that beauty is found within all women.
In response to the outstanding number of amazing submissions to the 2021 Project #ShowUs campaign, 500px decided to offer two additional Commercial Grants, working with seven international female photographers, providing each with a $1,000 Commercial Grant to capture real women, their stories, and the aspects of their identity they’re proud to share with the world. To ensure the authenticity of this Commercial Collection, the photographers worked closely with their models to provide accurate keywords that honestly represent how they feel and see themselves.
In this Collection you will find strong, confident, and proud businesswomen, creatives, athletes, survivors, community leaders, daughters, mothers, sisters, and friends who support, inspire, and empower those around them. They contribute to a louder voice within advertising and media, championing for change, insisting the ways we represent women rise to reflect the authentic experience of women around the world.
Lima, Peru
“I grew up surrounded by powerful and unique women who taught me to fight for what I believe. They taught me that anything can be achieved if we are united and that women do not need to fit into any mold to be beautiful. With Project #ShowUs I was able to work with some amazing women and it was a wonderful experience to be able to capture their essence and inspiration in photos.
Project #ShowUs will always have a very special place in my heart, it allowed me to work on a theme that has been the greatest source of inspiration throughout my life, and provided me the opportunity to share that message using photography as a medium.”
Explore Camila’s #ShowUs Collection
Introducing:
Patricia Anduaga: friend, woman, mother, beautiful, confident, proud
Antonella Nicolella: beautiful, confident, body shape, woman
Camila Boggio: vulnerable, authentic, proud, unique, creative
Maria Paula Cespedes: wife, mother, strong, proud, happy, beautiful,
Anelisse Young: wife, loved, excited, cute, strong, mother
Adriana Samanez: woman, independent, photographer, friend, beautiful
Valeria Boggio Anduaga: loyal, strong, lovely, sister, natural, simple
Chicago, USA
“Being a part of Project #ShowUs again has been such an honorable experience. This is such an empowering project for me because I’m able to showcase the beauty in women and non-binary individuals that aren’t typically seen in everyday media.
This year I focused on a smaller group of individuals because with COVID in our midst, I thought a more intimate group would be a bit more touching. Focusing on the emotions and personalities of my subjects was very important to me this time around because I felt that was most authentic. I only hope that through these photos people can see not only the outer beauty of these individuals, but the inner beauty.”
Explore Dahyembi’s #ShowUs Collection
Introducing:
Dahyembi Neal: strong, confident, natural, beautiful, honest, sister, photographer
Kynnah Neal: sister, friend, model, black woman, bold, confident, beautiful
Rachel Verhoef: woman, actress, friend, model, expressive, empathetic, intelligent
Sara Carter: whole, creative, woman, confident, beautiful, badass
Estelle Schuster: friend, skater, artist, proud, beautiful, unique
Kenzy Brown: friend, skater, non-binary, trans, proud, strong
Saratov, Russia
“Project #ShowUs is very important to me; highlighting the power of women and creating a free, equal, and inclusive world is the main inspiration and theme behind my art. I believe that it’s the creators in all different industries, advertising, cinema, photography, music, writing, who are the ones who should shape the positive changes in society.
It’s those creatives that must change the world through representation and the destruction of old stereotypes. I live in Russia where from an early age, girls are taught responsibilities in appearance and behavior. Being told from a young age, “you’re a girl,” – all girls and women are forced to comply with the same standards of beauty and behavior.
I believe it’s time to change the world. I want every girl to be able to recognize her authentic self in advertising, on the cover of a magazine, so that different types of beauty are celebrated, moving away from heavy photo retouching that adds to an unrealistic standard of beauty. After all the photoshoots I’ve had, I am convinced that every woman is beautiful!”
Explore Inna’s #ShowUs Collection
Introducing:
Marinina: student, doctor, streamer, host, makeup artist, blogger
Anastasiya: businesswoman, artist, friend, creative, courageous
Toronto, Canada
“During the past year of the pandemic in Ontario, many of us have felt a loss of community and connection to the world around us. With endless lockdowns and stay-home orders, the impact on women and how we view ourselves in our day-to-day lives has been especially huge.
My collection of images for Project #ShowUs is a glimpse into the lives of four women who are standing strong through motherhood, entrepreneurship, healing, and recovery in the face of these unprecedented times. I saw my work for Project #ShowUs as an opportunity to share how womanhood and women’s identities still shine through the challenges and anxieties that this past year has brought. I am so grateful and humbled to be part of a project that lifts women and female photographers in such a collaborative way.”
Explore Jess’s #ShowUs Collection
Introducing:
Meiping Lew-Johnston: mother, businesswoman, strong, badass,
Jill Toth: survivor, sister, friend, confident, sexy, proud, successful
Christella Morris: beautiful, engaged, confident, strong, working mother
Anna Konstantopoulos: natural, warrior, motivator, independent, free
Jaipur, India
“It was such an honor to be a part of such a unique project. Being an Indian woman, it was important for me to represent diversity within my photos and showcase rural India and its growth. My mother, who grew up without a mother, and who wasn’t able to get her education, takes so much pride in raising her children. She’s so proud to be able to provide them with everything she couldn’t have herself, an education and a mother’s care.
I’ve always felt strongly that women deserve to be represented honestly within the media. I genuinely enjoyed working on this Project #ShowUs because it allowed me to shoot with a whole different perspective, and it has definitely boosted my confidence in my work.”
Explore Ashvini’s #ShowUs Collection
Introducing:
Mohini Devi: mother, wife, beautiful, confident, skin color, age, confident, proud
Nisha Sihra: fashion, education, confidence, sexy, badass, beautiful, bold, friend
Mishri Bai: beautiful, farmer, proud, happy, comfortable, confident, woman, wife
Tofino, Canada
“I loved having the chance to be a part of the #ShowUs campaign. I have always studied and paid close attention to the way women have been represented in a commercial setting and within the media—and even looking back to a mere 10 years ago, there has been so much change and growth. It was great to be able to show my perspective and the photographs of women I know or came to know during this process are so special.
When I work with women, I play off who they are, the energy and personality they each naturally have and never focus on any preconceived notions or standards of how women are ‘meant’ to be depicted. I hope that my work and the work of everyone else involved in #ShowUs can help keep moving the industry forward and break down the stereotypes and expectations of women. Let women define themselves in any form they choose and walk through society without scrunity for their personal choices.”
Explore Jordie’s #ShowUs Collection
Introducing:
Laurian Jayne: businesswoman, friend, loved, beautiful, blonde
Tendai Dodoe: confident, strong, beautiful, woman, powerful
Laveda Sobieraj: somber, loving, beautiful, badass, woman
Murrin Bewick: confident, strong, beautiful, woman, free
Kassidy Rees: feminine, strong, beautiful, confident, woman
Cairo, Egypt
“As a woman, raised by a woman, and as someone who has proudly photographed many women, I learn from their guidance to accept myself, to be myself, to have a voice through my art and to show our culture and heritage without victimizing ourselves. Women simply want to be accepted, loved, and respected as they are.
There are a lot of untold stories about women, and I think it is time for us to share our stories ourselves. I think that #ShowUs is all about telling the story of women through the eyes of women, and I am honored to be part of the story.”
Explore Eman’s #ShowUs Collection
Introducing:
Menna Elgohary: basketball player, hijabi, skilled, strong, powerful
Tasneem Ahmad: mother, beautiful, strong, confident, businesswoman
Learn more about Commercial Grants
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