By Rigel Jackson—
MUNCIE, Ind.—Photographing 40 women, 40 years of age and over, is not a new idea in the portrait photography world. However, I wanted to do MY version of it in a way that is meaningful to me and congruent with who I am, and what I believe— that all women are valuable and beautiful, strong and resilient, with so much potential for good and incredible power to change their world.
Empowered Portraits was the result.
Tina Black as photographed by Rigel Jackson.
My intention is to empower women to be who they are, right now. I want women to celebrate themselves and how far they’ve come. I want to say, “It’s okay to be you. You are more beautiful than you think!” As women, we all have an intrinsic desire to feel beautiful, but society has distorted the meaning of beauty and honestly, it’s impossible to achieve. So, why live in impossibility and waste more time feeling less than?
The Empowered Portraits Project is an experience that has the potential to change the way women see themselves. It’s an opportunity for women to experience ultimate self-care— to be present with themselves and literally face themselves. For women in this age group, daring to have your portrait taken is an act of courage and self-love. It’s a way to tell yourself you matter, you are valued, by you! It’s a vulnerable experience for sure, but it can empower you to move forward having seen your value and beauty. All of my clients have also said the experience is FUN.
»»» The video above contains photos of the following women: Liz VanHooser, Amy Sargent, Christiana Mann, Tina Black, Elaine Gillis, Krista Sides and Lisa Buckner.
The women I have photographed so far are women with rich life experiences. They are mothers, grandmothers, teachers, mentors, business owners, solopreneurs, experts in their fields and most importantly they are kind, resilient and powerful women, who, for the first time in a long time (some since their high school senior pictures or their wedding portraits) get to see the reflection of who they have become.
In every single one of these women, I have seen a renewed confidence, a renewed desire to continue to empower themselves and others. Society will have us believe that what we have (or haven’t) accomplished in life is now behind us! We need to see more women doing amazing things and living full lives in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond! Our daughters need to see what’s possible. We women in our 40s still have a long life ahead of us—too long to spend worrying if we’re pretty enough, skinny enough, or just not good enough.
What a great privilege it has been to connect with inspiring women in our community, and create portraits that boost their confidence right now, but also portraits that will become priceless parts of their legacy one day.
Editor’s note: Originally from Sonora Mexico, Rigel ( pronounced Ree-hell) has been a member of the Muncie Community for 16 years. She is the mother of five children and operates out of her large and well-equipped home studio. Rigel is married to Ryan Jackson who manages a local commercial roofing company. Rigel got started in photography after having her first baby. She had pictures of her baby from Ball Hospital, Olan Mills and JCPenny, but eventually wanted to take her own pictures of her kids. So she told her husband she wanted a camera and off they went to Best Buy. Her first camera was a Nikon D90 DSLR. She has upgraded a number of times and her latest camera is a Nikon Z series mirrorless. She loves her Nikon cameras and fortunately sold all of her Canon cameras! Rigel says she loves learning new things and is always learning, learning, learning.
