This photographer takes stunning, powerful photos of women and girls. The secret? She doesn’t force them to smile
It’s something that happens to every girl on Earth eventually: you’re minding your own business, studying for class or waiting in line at a store, or walking back to your car, and a stranger passing by tells you to smile. “You’d be prettier if you did,” they say, or, “You’re too cute not to smile,” or “How can you have bad days when you look like that?” The gross, sexist implication is clear: women must perform happiness because it’s what men find most attractive. Our feelings don’t enter into the equation. It’s ick. It’s degrading. It needs to stop already.
That’s what makes Charlotte-based photographer Brooke Light’s portraits of women and girls so powerful. She says that she doesn’t make girls smile for their photo shoots on purpose. “Allow girls to show up, take up space, and not smile if they don’t want to,” she wrote in the caption of a recent TikTok video.
@bdlighted never underestimate the power of a photoshoot for your kids confidence #moodymini #kidsphotographer #childrensphotography #portraitphotographer #confidenceboost #kidsconfidence #familyphotoshootideas #familyphotoshoots #studiophotography #blackandwhitephoto #girlpower #girlempowerment #donttellmetosmile #momsofgirls #girlmom #greenscreen
♬ Little Girl Gone – CHINCHILLA
And the results are simply stunning. In the video, Light shared a series of photos she took of girls, not a single one of them cracking a smile. And you know what? These girls look beautiful. They look powerful. They look like their authentic selves. It’s honestly magic.
In the comments, many people are sharing their thoughts—both about the photos themselves and the idea that women can take up space in the world without pasting smiles on their faces for the benefit of others.
“This just healed my inner child a little bit,” one of the top comments says. Another commenter shared, “I love how they’re not trying to be anything ‘extra,’ just their raw and savage selves.”
So this is your sign. If you don’t want to smile today, don’t. Your “raw and savage” self is as beautiful as any smile, and all women and girls deserve to just be.
