Pimples, Body Hair & Stretch Marks: Meet The Photographer Shunning Instagram Beauty Standards

Instagram is usually the place where we post only our best selfies, filter out our blemishes, and present the ideal version of ourselves. However, Petra Collins isn’t having it. She may have snapped some of the top celebs in her career as a fashion photographer, but her personal Insta account is an ode to ‘real’ beauty.

The 22-year-old made her intention clear with this honest selfie, captioned: “unfollow me now if you can’t deal with pimples, hair, stretchmarks etc literally anything that isn’t airbrushed ✌️ cuz your negativity and ignorance isn’t welcome on this insta and there’s no room for more hate and shaming here – this is not just about me but about all the amazing girls/women/whatever I photograph that deserve to be celebrated and represented”

unfollow me now if you can’t deal with pimples, hair, stretchmarks etc literally anything that isn’t airbrushed ✌️ cuz your negativity and ignorance isn’t welcome on this insta and there’s no room for more hate and shaming here – this is not just about me but about all the amazing girls/women/whatever I photograph that deserve to be celebrated and represented ?

A photo posted by Petra Collins (@petrafcollins) on Oct 29, 2015 at 11:13am PDT

Petra shoots women in all their natural glory, posting photos showing the body hair, acne and stretchmarks that are usually edited out in post-production. Maybe a few people took her advice and hit the unfollow button, but most of her fans were thrilled with the candid post, liking it nearly 11,000 times.

?happy Sunday? @its_meandyou A photo posted by Petra Collins (@petrafcollins) on Nov 22, 2015 at 11:19am PST

In a nutshell, Petra is determined to change the public’s perception of beauty, an ambition she realised after Instagram deleted her account for posting a photo of her unshaven bikini line. She feels it was another instance of society trying to regulate women’s bodies.

????????

A photo posted by Petra Collins (@petrafcollins) on Sep 5, 2015 at 8:51am PDT

One of Petra’s mantras that we’ll totally be following in our own lives? “To all the young girls and women, do not let this discourage you, do not let anyone tell you what you should look like, tell you how to be, tell you that you do not own your body.”

We couldn’t agree more.

• Fashion
• Instagram
• Petra Collins
• photographer