“I’m looking at these people and thinking that’s kind of scary to me.”

That was professional photographer Courtney Bent’s initial reaction when she met a group of people with disabilities at a dance-a-thon in Boston, MA. Instead of giving into these fears, Bent decided to confront them.

Armed with her camera, Bent traveled to the United Cerebral Palsy location where her new acquaintances hung out in an attempt to capture their lives on film. When showing these photographs to others, though, she discovered that to her great dismay her stereotypes and fears were being portrayed in her photos. Then, Bent had a novel idea: she decided to give the cameras to Mary Jo, Tony, E.J., Chris, Cheryl, and the rest of the group to give them a chance to tell their own stories.

Adapting the Equipment
Shooting Beauty delves into the lives of the photographers in the years that follow as they take snapshots of their world. Bent worked meticulously to adapt camera equipment to fit the needs of her comrades, using whatever she could to allow that specific photographer to be able to take a picture. While some members of the group had use of their hands, others, like E.J., used his tongue to take pictures.

Moving Pictures
Bent also provided the photographers with video cameras. As she got more involved in the project, she started visiting the United Cerebral Palsy center more and more frequently. She helped everyone that wanted to take pictures to do so and fostered lifelong friendships in the meantime. Eventually, Bent ventured out on a quest to get the photographs exhibited. Despite being confronted with the question of “Who’s going to come see this?” Bent continued to persevere.

Living with a Disability: Gaining Perspective
This movie provides an incredible glimpse into the world of living with a disability. Photos and videos taken by the group are spliced with interviews of the participants and footage from Bent’s camera crew. The raw emotion portrayed on the film captivates the viewers and leaves them totally immersed in each photographer’s story. The footage is completely honest in its portrayal of Bent’s fears and curiosities of people with disabilities, and how she was able to overcome these fears to get to know and love everyone she met.

It was amazing to view the different photographs each person had taken and how it portrayed their world, from their own self identity to the prejudices of people on the street. One photographer, Tony, described how he will start conversations with people who are staring at him to dispel stereotypes about disabilities and get a conversation going.

“If I allow you to look at me, stare at me, glare at me, and do all of those things and come up with your own conclusion, boy you gonna be wrong about me.”

A notable narrative was Tom’s narrative, an extremely introverted man with severe scoliosis whose life was completely transformed by a camera. The greatest thing about this project was that it allowed the group an outlet to share their opinions with the world. It started a conversation about disability with others who might’ve just stared and walked by.

Shooting Beauty was created by Courtney Bent and George Kachadorian. It is currently touring film festivals around the country and receiving rave reviews.

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Check out Crispin Hellion Glover Makes Film Depicting Man with Cerebral Palsy to learn more about films documenting life with a disability.

Discover more independent films about disabilities in Ten Must-See Disability -Themed Documentaries.