Ever wanted to try modeling? Now’s your chance!
The Office of Disability Rights is collaborating with photographer Lawrence Roffee to help develop the disability series library of high-quality photographs of people with disabilities at work. The first round of photographs will be based in an office and conference room setting. If you are interested in participating in this series please contact Julia.wolhandler@dc.gov or (202) 727-2890. The photo shoot will take place in August 2019.
To view Lawrence Roffee’s latest disability series, check out his website portfolio at https://www.lawrenceroffeephotography.com/disabilityseries.
Purpose
The goal of this project is to create an original library of high-quality photographs of people with disabilities at work and at leisure for promotional use. The photographs will be disability culture savvy and will visually portray positive images.
Rational
As a photographer, a person with a disability and a retired executive of disability-focused agencies, Lawrence Roffee has found that many of the pictures of people with disabilities that are in use on websites and promotional literature are not only patronizing but stereotyping. Many do not portray people with disabilities as independent, competent and confident individuals. Many are simply snapshots. The images that are available from stock image sites are not much better; they are patronizing and stereotyping. Many do not feature actual models with disabilities. Mr. Roffee believes the disability community deserves better.
Approach
The project will seek to photograph people with disabilities (including hidden and non-apparent) who, as a group, reflect racial, ethnic, gender and disability. The intent is to show individuality, independence, self-confidence and other positive attributes. The photographs would generally be completely posed as either studio type images or environmental portraits. The images would show people with disabilities successfully and independently participating in all aspects of life.
Models will have to agree to and sign a model release form to allow specified uses of the photographs of them.
