"Changing the Face of Beauty" is a visual campaign to show the world how beautiful children with disabilities are. It started earlier this year by a Chicago-area photographer and a businessman.
Photographer Katie Driscoll has taken pictures of 17-year-old Cortney Kovak.
"Photographing children and individuals with disabilities takes some extra time," said Driscoll. "And I take the time for their light to show, and I feel that's important in photographing individuals with disabilities."
Katie is a mother of six children. Her youngest, Grace, is three years old and was born with Down Syndrome.
"I wanted my daughter to be seen, and I felt like through photography, I could give other people a glimpse of how beautiful she was. And so, that's kind of where that came from," said Driscoll.
Grace's photo became part of Steve English's business advertisement.
"I started putting Grace's pictures on Pinterest, and I said, 'I am getting people from all over the world looking at this picture and people are interested,'" English said.
"People were interested, and they saw the beauty in these kids, and so from there, we've just kind of grown. We've got over 150 models in our portfolio now, and we have 21 photographers who help us worldwide. [We] photograph individuals with disabilities. So, we are branching into advertising and hoping to make a difference," Driscoll said.
Cortney's mom, Michelle, has high hopes for the future.
"I think this whole project has been amazing just because it allows the people out there the general public to be able to view our kids the way we see them-- not the way that they see them," said Michelle.
"We're making it out there. We're making a difference,' English said.
"Changing the Face of Beauty" is not an agency; it's a campaign. For more information go to www.changingthefaceofbeauty.org
