A photographer has released a book featuring pictures he took of more than 100 naked woman in his local area – to try and improve their body image.
Snapper Jojo found 108 females willing to shed their clothes for his project.
He has now published all the images in his third book: Naked Truth: Plymouth Unveiled accompanied by the women’s thoughts on their own bodies.
Jojo, 52, who lives in Plymouth, Devon, said all the women involved are from his PL postcode area and came in all body styles and ages from 18-74.
He said: “I have been making naked portraits for 17 years, my first book came out in 2000.
“This latest one came about after a friend asked me in January last year to take pictures of her because she was happy with her body.
“The thought then occurred to me to revisit my first book called Plymouth Unveiled.
“But I wanted to improve on it so I invited all of the women to write about how they feel about their bodies and the more I did the more beautiful it seemed.
“The idea was to help and improve body confidence and nothing was photoshopped at all.
“I wanted to make something really beautiful; the vision was to celebrate women and most participants found it a positive and empowering experience.
“I also wanted both men and women who look at it to be more forgiving in both prejudice to it and also to themselves to understand that we all walk around in bodies we have issues with.”
Jojo said he found the willing participants through appeals in the media and several were recommended to him.
He added: “The only stipulation was they were over 18 and we had all ages and body styles. The oldest is now 74. It didn’t matter.
“When so many men and women are dissatisfied with what they look like, bombarded by manipulated images of unattainable perfection Photoshopped to resemble perfection, this book demands that people take a moment to reflect on the positive rather than accentuating the negative.
“The one thing I’ve learned in nearly two decades of making naked portraits is that almost everybody would change parts of their bodies if they could.
“But why not put some of that energy into loving who you are whatever you look like: try faking it until you make it.”
One of the models Abigail said: “I haven’t had the best relationship with my body over the years, but as I get older I have come to realise that I am who I am: no matter my size, someone will find me beautiful and I love myself most days, so what does it matter.”
