When the idea for the Just As I Am (JAIA) project came to Rodney Braun, he was unsure of the response he would receive – asking complete strangers to make peace with their naked bodies in front of a camera is a daunting feat.

“To be very honest, I wasn’t sure who would end up being involved and what kind of a connection could be built in the short time we had,” said Braun. “I was thinking more so of the impact that it would have on the gallery viewer.”

“I have found, however, that I have built a huge bond with those that have participated in JAIA. I feel a real sense of love and community with them.”

JAIA features people of all shapes and sizes posing in front of the camera. Most are nude, but some remain partially covered. The photos are tasteful, flattering and well-lit, in muted and sepia tones.

The idea for Just As I Am came around two years ago when Braun, a photographer by trade, received a call from one of his best friends, a teacher at a Christian school in British Columbia.

Braun’s friend said he took his Grades 10 through 12 classes to the local art gallery where, after viewing the watercolours, they entered into another gallery only to be greeted by a rather raunchy cartoon; this was the introduction to the nudes gallery.

After walking through that gallery, a few students made comments that hit this teacher in a profound way. A girl had asked why there was nobody in the gallery that looked like her; was it because her body type was not beautiful?

Another girl stated that she didn’t feel any better as a human from being this gallery; why did the bodies that she saw not inspire her?

A third student asked why there were no Christians doing beautiful nudes as an art and using real, “normal” people.

With this story in the back of his mind, Braun continued with his work at Eve Studios. However, he was struck again and again by how many clients with poor body images came through his studio. Finally, he decided he was sick of people coming in and feeling as though they were not art, and Just As I Am was born.

“I want them also to feel beautiful and that they don’t need to change to be valued,” he said.

As a participant in Braun’s project, I myself found a new respect for my body despite not fitting the media’s qualifications of a “classic beauty.”

The women and men who were photographed can probably relate to the feeling of absolute wonder as, for the first time, we saw our bodies as we had never been able to see them before – as amazing, unique sculptures.

“For the viewers, I want them to see that there is beauty in all shapes and sizes and more than anything, I want them to look past the image to who the person is. I think that if we as a society can learn to look past appearances and try to see who others are on the inside that we would really change the world.”

Within the year, Braun’s Just As I Am project will have a gallery, though for now the photographs can be viewed at www.justasiam.ca. A book will hopefully follow shortly.

Braun would like anyone who is interested to come out for 10-minute sessions on June 19 to 23. Contact information for Rodney Braun is on the Just As I Am website.

The biggest thing Braun wanted people to take away from this project was for the participants to feel valued and honoured. Mission accomplished, and then some.

Published in Volume 63, Number 28 of The Uniter (June 18, 2009)