South African photographer Jodi Bieber reviews her project Real Beauty.

‘The work deals with reality; photoshop has not been used to remove blemishes, scars, cellulite and any other form of ‘imperfection’.

‘The photographic shoot was collaboration between me and each woman. Each woman’s pose was pretty much self-directed. I wanted each woman to project their personality or their fantasy into their shoot so they could explore their own identity in relation to beauty’

‘One thing that came to light in Real Beauty was that South Africa is conservative as a nation. People thought I was recruiting women for a pornographic shoot! The three main excuses that people used for saying no to being photographed (besides body privacy rights) were; “my” husband wouldn’t agree to it, religious views, and just feeling uncomfortable with their body shapes. Another issue that arose from the images produced from Real Beauty is the different belief systems held amongst different communities. Very thin and tall women might be perceived by their communities as being sick, possibly with HIV/Aids and more full figured women as healthy. In other communities thin women are often more desirable’

‘From the interviews I carried out most women believe that there isn’t a perfect body shape and it’s more about being healthy and feeling comfortable in one’s own skin’

See more of her work here