GRAND RAPIDS, Mich--- It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and there's one photographer who's hoping to keep that conversation going through love and equality.
Keeghan Taylor,19, first got the idea for her photography project, "I am Human," in early January. She told FOX 17 she's working to change people's perceptions, one camera click at a time.
"I really was just fed up with society’s opinions of things, pushing them onto people, all the bias, segregation and all of that," said Taylor.
Taylor's family helped her buy a camera, and the rest was history. She soon started sharing the stories of those who've been mistreated, misunderstood, and misrepresented by society.
She took to social media to help spread the word.
Steph Messer, Androgynous
"I really wanted everyone to realize we’re all human at the end of the day, despite our flaws or differences," Taylor said. "We’re all the same people underneath," she added.
Taylor has photographed tattoo artists, leukemia victims, psoriasis sufferers, even members of the transgender community.
Billy Meinke, Tattoo artist
Jay Morgan, 21, was one of Taylor's "I am Human" participants. His goal? "To spread awareness on transgenders and transitioning," he said, a process he began in January 2015 with testosterone shots. "I wasn’t sure if people were going to accept it. It’s really something I’ve been dreaming about since I was a kid."
Now, his dream is for everyone to accept him for who he is.
"I feel like there’s a lot of different things that divides us into categories," Morgan said. "It’s very important to respect other people whether or not you agree with what they’re doing."
And that's the dream Taylor is capturing through each photograph.
Jay Morgan, Transgender male
"I really enjoy the fact that I can meet all these new people and learn about their experiences and walk through life," Taylor said. "It’s really interesting to me and I like knowing I can make a difference with that."
Taylor hopes to enter her "I am Human" photography project into ArtPrizenext year.
She posts all of her photos and stories on her photography page. If you want to share your story with Keeghan Taylor, click here.
