This week, Madison Vaughan of Photos Magazine, a creative photography magazine based in Philadelphia, held a photoshoot for Pride month. The idea was originally pitched to her by Eve Catharine with the hope of celebrating some of the LGBTQ+ community through creative photography. The subjects of the shoot were gathered through mutual acquaintances. Thursday’s shoot took place at OPYA Studios in the South Side.
Vaughan is excited to work with people outside of her typical creative community collaborators. She likes working with people outside of the typical small creative community and looks forward to making each subject feel comfortable in front of the camera. She hopes to continue doing shoots like this in the future; not necessarily with this community but others that often do not take center stage in the media.
Often, Pride month focuses extensively on white, cisgender gays and lesbians. Through the photoshoot, Vaughan hopes to highlight the beauty of all parts of the LGBTQ+ community. She hopes that this event can show how strong the community is and the participants, despite meeting online, can form real bonds. This surely was the case as Becca Hobart, an attendee at the event explains “being in a room with queer creatives celebrating each other was a feeling I’ll never forget.”
Some of the participants recounted how they struggled with their identity whether it be self acceptance or acceptance from a more conservative community. Krysta Snyder, one of the participants, said that they felt a huge boost of confidence being at an event “where I was able to share an important part of my identity in an intimate way.”
Another session of the photoshoot is scheduled for today at the Color Park in the South Side. If you would like to participate in the shoot, please contact Maison Vaughan for details at madisonvaughan97@gmail.com.
