A before and after photo of a weight loss transformation can be a really powerful image.
It conveys, in one simple image, a journey of where someone was and where they are now. This kind of photo is so seamlessly expressed that anyone can easily digest the message.
But what happens when extraordinary people are delivering that message?
Two and a half years ago, Bath Beard decided to undergo gastric bypass surgery.
“Honestly, I was coming up on my 40th birthday and took a long hard look at what I was doing to myself and how far I had let myself go,” she told LittleThings. “I researched the surgery and looked at all the pros and cons before approaching my doctor. For me, it was the best and most concrete way to make a real change in my life.”
She wanted to document the monumental change, so she approached her friend Blake Morrow, a Toronto-based photographer and digital artist, about creating a before and after portrait. But she didn’t want the typical shot.
“I wanted to document it in a way I hadn't seen before,” she said.
That’s when Blake got a brilliant idea…
Blake wanted to create portraits that combined two versions of the same woman. He wanted to honor his friend’s unique personality while celebrating change.
Together they created the The Beth Project, a photo series of Beth before and after her surgery depicted through pop culture.
Pop culture is a common thread between the two friends who are self-proclaimed sci-fi geeks. “He loves comic books, I love comic book movies,” said Beth.
Two weeks before her surgery, Blake got Beth in the studio and shot 12 “before” characters of her. Two years later, and 150 lbs lighter, they finally shot the “after” photos.
“It wasn’t necessarily like, ‘You have to lose at least 150 pounds,’ it was more like, ‘When do you feel like your "after" has arrived?’ ” Blake said.
Beth had a blast being Blake's muse. “I'd done some theatre in the past and the chance to play around with the characters was a great joy.”
Bath's favorite photo of the series? “I spent quite a bit of time traveling throughout Latin America and I'm a big fan of Frida Kahlo's work," she said. "When I finally got to see what Blake had done with it, I almost cried.”
And Blake's favorite photo? "I really love the prison image. Who doesn’t love a curvy woman in a pencil skirt?”
“I hope that [this project] shows that just because I was heavier, I didn't let it hinder my spirit,” Beth said.
“I had reached a point in my life where my I wanted to be more active and try more things and losing weight was the way to do that. I'm still pretty much the same me, I'm just more of the me I wanted to be.”
Although most before and after photos usually have a very specific message, both Beth and Black hope these photos convey a new meaning: “That you actually can feel totally at home in your skin," said Beth. "No matter what your size is.”
