The School Portrait Project
Visual Media like television, movies and photography, have too often fallen short of meaningful representation. Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC) and other marginalised groups are not portrayed as often, and when they are, it’s often through stereotypes, perpetuating inhuman and dangerous narratives. By failing to represent these groups accurately and with meaning, the media stereotypes perpetuate and continue to do harm.
This project aims to capture School Portraits of Children in South Africa who's parents, and themselves, are making huge sacrifices in their pursuit of an education. These photographs are often too expensive for parents to afford. This project, put's these photographs on the mantel piece.
Beautiful News | Photographer reframes way school photos are taken to celebrate students
School portraits reflect our educational achievements, but due to high costs of photo paper and professional lighting equipment, not every student has one. Zach Louw set out to change that, raised money, and took the photos with a Smart Phone. "You don't need the best camera, the power lies in the photo being in the hands of the beholder, and not stuck as a memory".