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Photographers Turn Kids Into Life-Like Versions Of Their Wildest Dreams

Published February 22, 2021 at 4:06 AM CST

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Now let's meet two photographers who work with an exclusive and imaginative clientele. They're an Atlanta couple, Kahran and Regis Bethencourt.

KAHRAN BETHENCOURT: Kids are just - they offer unlimited creativity.

MARTIN: Their photos turn kids into real-life versions of their own wildest dreams.

K BETHENCOURT: We get so many amazing ideas. We just did one - she was celebrating her 15th birthday, and she said that she wanted to be a fairy tale lion.

MARTIN: The birthday girl was Jhene from Providence, Rhode Island.

JHENE: I just love lions, and one of my favorite movies is "Narnia." So he's a very kind lion, but he's also helpful, and he takes care of his people. So I wanted it to be fierce but also soft and kind.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Now, not all of the Bethencourts' clients are that clear about what they want to become.

K BETHENCOURT: We had a little boy who - his mom said, he's a Renaissance man. He likes sports, he likes gaming, he likes art. And so we did a shoot that showed all of his sides.

WHITCLIFF: I was very proud because it helped me see what my personality was like.

INSKEEP: That's 12-year-old Whitcliff from Smyrna, Ga. Kahran says bringing kids' imaginations to life is rewarding.

K BETHENCOURT: We really get to kind of be dream-makers and make these kids' dreams come true during the shoot. It's really fun.

MARTIN: And Regis says it's also affirming for the kids.

REGIS BETHENCOURT: My definition of Black excellence is being yourself unapologetically.

MARTIN: The portraits are collected in a book called "GLORY: Magical Visions Of Black Beauty."

K BETHENCOURT: We really wanted to shatter the conventional standards of beauty for Black kids. We highlight a variety of kids across the African diaspora. There are over a hundred photographs captured around the world. And in it, we bring to life past, present and future visions of Black culture.

INSKEEP: Photographers Kahran and Regis Bethencourt run CreativeSoul Photography in Atlanta.

(SOUNDBITE OF SINITUS TEMPO'S "A STROLE THROUGH SAIGON") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.