“It doesn’t look like you; but it feels like you.”

That what Asha’s youngest said about the pictures of her mom. Asha Ramakrishna is the women you see in the photographs below. She is a wife, a mentor, and a mom. She grew up in Venezuela where [I was surprised to hear] when a little girl walks into a room, she is immediately judged based on “could she be the next Miss Venezuela” or not. There is even a grooming program for young ladies who are being considered. So to Asha, being beautiful literally represented better opportunities, a better life and a way out of a poor country.

Talk about pressure.

“I think I resisted that [beauty] side of me…” Asha says as she shares her story about the realization that she did not fit their traditional role of beauty queen. “I’m more of a natural person. I don’t wear a lot of makeup, I live in the country….but I’m so curious about seeing a different side of myself.”  

Because part of the intention for this shoot is to help challenge her daughters’ minds and their perception of beauty, Asha brought them in when it was time to pick up her portraits. We all had a conversation about the fashion industry, our own relationship with beauty and hopefully inspired them to see and think differently.  

Here are just a few of their favorites.

Photos | Bookings: Shannon Michelle
Hair | Makeup: Shana Christoforo

We recorded the reaction to Asha’s girls seeing their mom as a model for the first time (video coming soon).
Here are a few screenshots from that footage.