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These Photographers Captured Beautiful Women Around The World (25 Winning AAP Magazine Pictures)
The oversight of women in the history of photography comes from a long tradition of undermining their status. They were acknowledged as models or assistants, not so much as talented artists.
Even the 'Kodak Girl' commercials confined women's use of a camera to a hobby as it was their duty to be the memory keepers of the family. They were not to experiment with photography as a tool of documentation or a space of self-expression.
The perception of women as a subject has also changed over time. Up until the 1960s and '70s, society saw women only as mothers and wives, confined to a very specific role.
Yet, since the dawn of time, they never ceased to transfigure - through their actions or words - our society. From the very beginning of photography, they never relented escaping from the societal norms to question and document the world.
This 23rd edition of AAP Magazine sought not only to acknowledge the strength, beauty, and resilience of women around the world, but also their artistic poetry and talent as demonstrated by the 19 women photographers selected.
The 25 artists chosen for this edition, regardless of gender, gave us - through their different approaches and techniques - a powerful tribute to women.
Selecting the winners was certainly not an easy task, but overall, we hope you will all enjoy this beautiful collection of amazing images of women.
Also, if you'd like to see the previous post featuring our 25 best street photos then think no further and click here.
More info: all-about-photo.com | Instagram
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
American Beauty From The Series 'Nod Of Recognition' By Jane Levine
Final score:
119points
Choosing the winner of AAP Magazine #23 Women was not an easy task, especially since there were so many incredible images with very different approaches to the theme. In the end, we chose the image Susanne by the Dutch photographer Susanne Middelberg because we felt that this beautiful portrait displayed the strength and yet fragility, beauty & kindness of women, in a single image.
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#2
Babushka From The Series 'Russian Fairy Tales' By Frank Herfort
Babushka Aleksandra, at the home of her daughter Elena at a village between Saint Petersburg and Moscow, near the city of Bologoye. Aleksandra warms up and wears the famous or typical Russian Valenki, felt boots.
Final score:
98points
Stephen Lyford 3 years ago
That cat makes this photo like 1000% more interesting, just by being an 'accessory' and not really having anything to do with the woman. It's just a great touch.
#3
Makiko Sugawa From The Series 'Maze Of Metamorphosis' By Silvia Alessi
Makiko Sugawa is an artist, an illustrator. Because of a cancer, she lost her left leg completely, well above the knee. And in fact, her prosthesis must be tied to her waist with a belt. She knows that clothes and fashion can have a big impact on how a woman feels about herself. So if a woman with a disability can be "stylish", other girls in the same condition can follow her example. This conviction led her to parade on the catwalks using Fumio Usui's splendid creations.
Final score:
94points
GUSANO GRANDE 3 years ago
Okay now this right here is just straight up awesome, idk what it is about it but I really like this one.
Throughout history, traditional gender roles have often defined and limited women's activities and rights but also opportunities as artists. We wanted for this new edition of AAP Magazine to put women in the spotlight, to showcase their importance in our society. We wanted women to share the challenges they often must face and their strengths.
#4
3rd Place Winner: Ranch Sage From The Series 'Natural Order' By Maura Allen
Final score:
82points
Joanna Werman 3 years ago
Oh I quite disagree with Nazda. She looks like a woman who has spent her time outdoors. Living, not resting.
Ellie Rosser 3 years ago
Agree. She doesn't look old, she looks powerful.
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Donna Hunter 3 years ago
She's a hard working women with nature as her best friend and lots of knowledge under that hat. A beautiful women inside and out. 💕
#5
Sophia With Roses From The Series 'Ode To Beauty' By Pat Rose
Studio portrait with natural light.
Final score:
76points
Dorothy Parker 3 years ago
I want to know who these women are and where they're from. Sophia has mystery.
As in every AAP magazine contest that we organize, we are always finding difficulty selecting the winners as there are many incredible submissions to go through. Our goal is to remain unbiased and select the images that truly stand out regarding the theme. This contest was no different.
Since our competitions are hosted online, the pandemic didn’t affect the said contest. Each theme speaks to certain photographers, which is why it is important for us to find interesting themes that many can find pleasure partaking in, while making sure we cover a large spectrum of what photography entails to give everyone an opportunity to share their uniqueness with us. Our current competition, All About Photo Awards 2022, on the other hand, is open to anyone, so photographers are welcome to submit any kind of images, surrounding any theme.
#6
Hands On Chest From The Series 'Growing Old' By Marna Clarke
Final score:
73points
Jean Peterson 3 years ago
To be human, to love the beauty of your own body. The amazing pain and joy it is capable of. The growth and healing, nurturing, life bringing. The body that's every inch is known to someone else who has taken pleasure and solace in it and who loves it more than their own.
#7
1st Place Winner: Susanne From The Series Daylight By Susanne Middelberg
Dancer, actress, photographer. In my portraits, I am looking for honesty and vulnerability. I believe that vulnerability makes us nicer human beings and that this makes the world a little more friendly and more understanding. People who show themselves vulnerable give the other the confidence that they themselves may be who they are. I am most fascinated when I can see opposite qualities of a person at the same moment.
Final score:
61points
For this magazine, we received more than 1400 images from 160 photographers all around the world, men and women alike, but mostly women. These numbers tend to fluctuate based on the theme we select. The theme of this edition was more appealing to women photographers.
There were so many incredible images submitted, but in the end, we chose not only the featured images that will be published in the winner’s gallery, but also a project, a story that will be published in full in the magazine. The 25 winners chosen for this edition have not only submitted one great shot, but several images that tell a story which makes sense as a whole. It is that overall quality that determined our choice of the winning photographers.
#8
June At Hasenheide From The Series 'German Youth' By Aaron Deppe
Final score:
61points
Jacob Nunez 3 years ago
Wow i think all of these woman are beautiful regardless of there race or age
Anja Peggy 3 years ago
I lived right next to the Hasenheide…they look like us 30 years ago..trying to be cool,black clothing a must!..enjoying youth without knowing..what an flashback😁thank you Aaron
#9
2nd Place Winner: Arrangement In Green And Black #10 From The Series 'Arrangement In Green And Black,' Portrait Of The Photographer's Mother By Aline Smithson
This series had serendipitous beginnings. I found a print of Whistler’s painting, and it started me thinking about the genre of portraiture, the strong compositional relationships going on within Whistler’s painting, and the evocative nature of unassuming details. The series is printed in silver gelatin yet becomes richer with the treatment of hand painting. My patient 85-year-old mother posed in over 20 ensembles, but unfortunately passed away before seeing the finished series.
Final score:
57points
postboredom 3 years ago
This lady looks like she is a painting herself... May you rest in peace
Dorothy Parker 3 years ago
I love the composition which totally evokes that of Whistler's Mother.
#10
Lost In Thought From The Series 'About Women' By Andrea Torrei
Dire Dawa, Ethiopia 2019.
Final score:
54points
#11
Shima From The Series 'Neopictorialist ' By Francis Willey
Final score:
52points
#12
Sister Maria Grazia From The Series 'Habito' By Monica Testa
Final score:
50points
Jean Peterson 3 years ago
So many different stories about why these women became Sister's. It feels so lonely to me
#13
Julie T’s Feet From The Series 'Embrasure' By Julie Fowells
Julie Tolentino is a modern dancer/performance artist. These are her feet.
Final score:
49points
Nazda Pokmov 3 years ago
Dancer's feet are always beat up. Ballet is very hard on the feet but you would never know it from how much they still dance....
Florida, but without the beach 3 years ago
This picture surprised me simply because I would’ve thought those long toe nails would prevent her from being able to dance properly
Mazer 3 years ago
I want to hold those feet, put them in a nice herbal bath, massage them and treat them well because they have been the key to such a hard yet graceful existence
Michelle Carter 3 years ago
Ignorance shouldn't even comment. These feet have a thousand stories and many more songs... Gorgeous Photography💜
Julia Leatherbarrow 3 years ago
They need a good soak and a pedicure, she would appreciate that I think..
#14
Paris 2021 From The Series 'Women Are Still Beautiful' By Giuseppe Cardoni
Tribute to Gary Winogrand.
Final score:
48points
#15
Reindeer Moss, Cumberland Island From The Series 'Land Of The Yaupon Holly' By Anne Berry
Cumberland Island, 2019, from Land of the Yaupon Holly.
Final score:
47points
#16
Ruby Red From The Series 'Selfhood' By Vicky Martin
Ruby Red is taken from the series Selfhood, The female characters in this series search for a sense of independent identity crafted through outward appearance and signalled through dress and posture, challenging the traditional assessment of character made via eye contact. Each image contains its own distinctive narrative, separate from the other photographs in the series, connected only through the motif of disguised eyes.
Final score:
46points
#17
Star From The Series 'The Devils' By Constance Jaeggi
Colette performs a Star during a training session at The Devils Horsemen.
Final score:
42points
Micah Smith 3 years ago
I think that if I tried to do that, there would be quite the crunching noise.
#18
Self Portrait 8 From The Series 'Without A Map' By Marsha Guggenheim
From my series, "Without a Map" How does one move through life with the scars of the past? When I was ten, my mother died unexpectedly from a heart attack. I couldn’t understand where she went or when she would return. Just as I began to comprehend this loss, my father died. I was without support from my family and community. I was lost.
Final score:
38points
#19
Black Goggles From The Series 'Domesticated Animals' By Prescott Lassman
Final score:
31points
#20
ISIS Mother From The Series 'Women Of Islamic State' By Lenka Klicperová
When the Kurdish troops liberated the capital of Caliphate Raqqa, I finally met them - women who in a special way frightened and fascinated the world. Women of Islamic State fighters, the wives of the most dangerous men on this planet. They crossed the front lines, some died also with their children. Some of them survived. They were detained in camp Ain Issa near Raqqa, Syria's. Surrounded by their enemies – Kurds.
Final score:
30points
Susie Elle 3 years ago (edited)
Sometimes I feel that no matter how you look at it, women and especially children are always the primary victim of wars. Countless of innocent men as well, of course, but somehow women and children are a special kind of victim because to them comes abuse, trafficking, rape, slavery and having no basic human rights at all. During war, women and children are still worth less than any (innocent) man. They become objects of use, free to be taken without any means of defending or saving themselves, because they had so very little to begin with.
Anya Ponsford 3 years ago
Hi, could i use your comment as a quote in a piece of art work I am doing for an exhibition about providing sanctuary for women and girls fleeing Iran, Iraq, Algeria and Eritrea?
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#21
Creative Growth From The Series 'Noisy Brain' By Sandra Klein
I consider this diptych a portrait of how I create my imagery. I begin with a spark of an idea and obsessively develop it.
Final score:
28points
#22
Metaphysical Body Landscapes By Anna Lazareva
Part 2: All being is something whole, indivisible. Earth, sky, plants, fruits, mountains, rivers, men, women, day, night- all merged together and flows into each other. This process is infinite and harmonious. Men came from the earth, live on earth, and will return to earth. And landscapes of the earth are seen in body curves.
Final score:
26points
#23
Passers-By From The Series 'At The Bus Stop' By Joan-Ramon Manchado
Toned cyanotype, 30 x 37 cm.
Final score:
26points
#24
Milla From The Series 'Women In The Flow' By Lisen Stibeck
Final score:
22points
#25
Green Dress From The Series 'Conversations With Myself' By Jo Ann Chaus
Final score:
17points
Ro Bird 3 years ago
These are such stunning photos. I would have liked to have seen at least a single woman who wasn't just slim though.
Mel Thomp 3 years ago
I actually noticed the opposite, while there weren't any " large" women, , #4, possibly #2, the curves in#7, #11 & #20 represented differentiation of size, and all added to the representation o af age, disability, religion, gender norm etc. Extremely well done depiction of beauty.
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voice of reason 3 years ago
I would like to add "are only thin people beautiful?" Where are the multitudes of real women in these pics. It makes me sad.
wowbagger 3 years ago
That's so sad that you can't see the beauty in these pictures. If you want to improve your aesthetic sensibility, you might try doing some mindfulness exercises.
Load More Replies... voice of reason 3 years ago
I would like to add "are only thin people beautiful?" Where are the multitudes of real women in these pics. It makes me sad.
wowbagger 3 years ago
That's so sad that you can't see the beauty in these pictures. If you want to improve your aesthetic sensibility, you might try doing some mindfulness exercises.
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