This Magical Photo Series Of Black Girls Made My Week 1000% Better

Remember Creative Soul Photography's Black Princess Series from last year? Dang, was that amazing. Go click over if you missed it.

Kahran & Regis Bethencourt are the visionaries behind Creative Soul, and this month the Atlanta-based duo is back with more from their new series, "Afro Art." Seeking to "empower children of color to embrace their natural curls and the skin that they’re in," Kahran & Regis transform young girls into warriors, fae creatures, royalty, and more, and I dare you to pick less than half a dozen favorites:

Seriously, hold on to your hearts. This is gonna be gooood.

::swoon::

I love that they don't have the girls smile. You get hints of a softness or amusement here and there, but mostly there are just steady, powerful gazes.

Or this!

Yassss. I laughed in sheer delight over this one. I hope it sparks more conversations about why men are encouraged to sneer in photos, but not women. Let's see more of your battle faces, ladies.

Here's my favorite pop of colors:

Then there's this one, which makes me feel all glowy inside:

That lighting, that framing! The amateur photographer in me is so inspired right now.

The Afro Art series celebrates black hair in all its forms, including having none at all:

Just indescribably beautiful.

I bet you can feel this pose:

Give it another second. Take a breath with her. 

When I first scrolled these galleries I was grinning and ooohing and aahing, then one photo made me tear up out of nowhere. This one:

I love how joyful she looks. Blissful. At peace. Completely settled and proud and present in her own skin. I want that for every one of us, and I'm so grateful for this series and for Creative Soul Photography.

In fact, good news! There are SO MANY MORE photos! Go see the rest of the series on the Creative Soul website, and be sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram.


Better still, Creative Soul just released their very first children's book today, and it looks absolutely incredible:

You can find The Me I Choose To Be on Amazon or any of these other retailers.

This is the Bethencourt's second book; they released this collection of portraits last year:

Glory: Magical Visions Of Black Beauty

It has over 1,500 5-star ratings, and the very first review from a mom saying this book helped her 4-year-old daughter fall in love with her own hair filled me up. Either of these books would be an amazing gift for anyone, but especially for the kids in your life!