Traditionally, men were the judges of a woman's beauty, or otherwise, and published photos reflected the male gaze.

But this extensive series of photographs of beauty expressed in female form across the world is by a woman photographer. Itself beautiful, it is part of the move by women from being objects to being objects.

Beauty is a term used very ofter over the course of one's life. Growing up you might find a different meaning attached to it, beauty of the mind and the soul. The people in this book are beautiful! I enjoyed flipping through the pages and I would definitely purchase it for a gift! Well done.

i reckon this book would be some of my favorite photographic projext EVER but on digital format it loses a lot of fascination. I couldn't admire at its fullest these different beauty concepts and that frustrated me so much. However i highly support this project and the photographs are so good!

This is a collection of STUNNING portraits along with the stories of over five hundred women from around the globe. Not only do you get to learn about different cultures, but you are also reminded of just how beautiful our world is. I would love to own a hard copy of this book because the Kindle version took my breath away.

*I received an advance reading copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.*

THE ATLAS OF BEAUTY: WOMEN OF THE WORLD IN 500 PORTRAITS by Mihaela Noroc is an amazing book which was several years in development. Noroc is a photographer whose work has become known through social media and her blog. She has traveled with a backpack and camera to over 50 countries to capture moving moments. After travelling to Ethiopia in 2013 and re-kindling her own interest in photographing women when she saw the variety (rural life in tribes, in conservative communities or in modern, urban settings) and beauty in that one country, Noroc expanded this project to cover more geographical distance as well as different ages and physical characteristics. She includes a brief story about many of the women who appear in her book and those are equally fascinating, particularly in light of the discrimination, social pressures and opportunities which Noroc encountered. She writes, "We shouldn’t build walls between us, based on gender, ethnicity, color, sexual orientation, or religion, but find paths that connect us ... I hope this book will be one of those paths."

THE ATLAS OF BEAUTY made me think of Robin Bowman’s It's Complicated or Portrait Revolution by Julia L. Kay, two other works which celebrate diversity and to which our students are often directed.

A gorgeous collection of photographs of women from all over the world, showing that beauty has no standard or formula, and that beauty exists in all nations, and in every ethnicity, skin tone, hair color, eye color, etc. Definitely a beautiful collection on beauty.

An excellent collection of the multitudes of beauty from around this great world. Enjoyable and gives you pause to think - we're all in this together.

Mihaela Noroc has travelled the world taking pictures of women. 500 of those pictures made it into her book The Atlas of Beauty: Women of the World in 500 Portraits. She captures the faces of everyday women in their "native environment" whether on a city street or place of employment. The wide variety and diversity of the women she captures is striking. Many of her subjects fall into categories that are traditionally thought of as beautiful: young, slender, smooth skin, etc. But the range of ages, skin color, hair style, and fashion is quite broad. For every dancer, model, or media figure, there is a picture of a refugee, an elderly woman, or a child.

Noroc's mission is to find and affirm the beauty in each woman. She writes that some women did not want to have their pictures taken because they are not beautiful enough. Noroc brings out their personality and features with her work, inevitably capturing their beautiful side.

While some of the women pictured look like me in terms of nationality, race or class, most did not. She traversed Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America, photographing women on every continent. Most of these women don't look like me, but picturing them here is a reminder that each of them is my neighbor, each is a part of my family, each is my sister. I can always use a reminder that there is beauty in everyone, and that everyone is connected in the human family.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

This book comes from the author's online photography project, a glorious collection showing portraits of 500 women from more than 50 countries, with captions that help share their personal stories. Although this is my first photography book review, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of the women's pictures and reading the captions telling about their lives. I love the diversity and strength and hope for the future shown on all of its pages. Check it out if you get a chance. It expresses how beauty comes in every age, shape, and shade. I was given an ARC by NetGalley, and the publisher for review.

It is a book that changes completely the way in which you look at travel and women photography in general. An unique visual journey through cultures and personalities, where what really matters is the way to use your eyes. A recommended read to anyone looking to different perceptions and travel stories on the road less traveled.

Beauty is diverse 💕

I would have loved to have more info of every photo (some of them don't even have a text) because I want to know more about all these women, but it is an amazing collection of pictures, and I love that it reflects diversity in terms of race, ability, and sexual orientation.

I love photography and this book peaked my interest because not only it's a photography book but the subject matter of women beauty from around the world.
In the US, beauty is defined mostly by the outer appearance but in many other society/culture that is not how beauty is defined.

Mihaela Noroc travelled around the world taking pictures of women from different culture to show the beauty that exists beyond the outward appearance. The pictures are stunning as well as the stories behind them.

I really like this book.

The phrase "the future is female" shines back in the bright eyes on these pages that mirror the strength of our humanity if we take the time to pause and listen. The challenges women face all over the world are as universal as they are unique but what binds us together is our ability to really see each other beyond our differences. This is a powerful and memorable book and a true piece of art.

A very enjoyable book, definitely made me look at what things I take for granted when there’s people around the world who seems so happy but appear to have so little, or worse, live in dangerous environments. But that was only one part of the book, the main thing the author wanted to capture (as she set out in the foreword) was people in their real lives showing them when they are behaving naturally and authentically, and admire the beauty that comes from this. I feel she achieved this and adequately demonstrated the seemingly endless diversity that is in the world.
Each photograph looks amazing, the subjects stand out from the background which is slightly out of focus but still captures the atmosphere and flow of the environment, almost like time was stopped but the women were allowed to move and pose for one photograph. There was always something of interest in each picture, whether it was the clothing, the environment, the scenery, the person’s background, and I especially liked when the descriptions had dialogue in them, as often they were humourous, but they added personality to the subjects, and made a picture become a story.
**constructive criticism section** I would have preferred if the photographs were grouped by some unifying factor, like the country or by occupation or both. Because in the foreword the author states she was flabbergasted when she went to Ethiopia and saw so much contrasting cultural diversity in one country and this inspired her to take up photography again; she had me emotionally invested this moment but didn’t give a specific example of such a moment through her work, the diversity was globalised not localised to one country say. I just felt a more systematic layout could have added another layer to the work, the photos are already labelled by geography so it is obviously an important factor to the author, so why not group them this way too. And I was annoyed at the collage images because they didn’t have the same labeling by country, or so I thought until I reached the end of the book where a list was hidden.

But overall I'd give it a 4 outta 5!!! Which is very good by my standards.

Gorgeous photography - essentially a "Humans of New York" entirely devoted to the world's women - but the accompanying text is often superficial or superfluous. Would have been better either more simply (just a name and place) or with a more focused commentary.

A beautiful book of photos if women from all around the world. Each woman is a unique wonderful being, a goddess in her own right from every walk of life. Inspirational and photography is absolutely gorgeous.

Sometimes I feel extremely blessed when I get to read a book before its release date and today is one of those amazing days. The Atlas of Beauty is the ultimate book for every photography buff, not just because it's filled with gorgeous photos, but mostly because of the enthralling stories it entails.

The concept is simple but not an easy task for the photographer, I'm sure; real women in their native environment projecting their natural beauty and sharing their unique, inspiring stories with the world.

Mihaela Noroc succeeds in conveying the message she needs to in every photo and captivating the reader's mind in a very organic and wholesome way. I had been blown away by the sheer beauty of this book and I recommend it to everyone without a single doubt.

Women of any color, size and origin are presented respectfully in a book that celebrates womanhood, diversity and acceptance. I found some of the stories heartbreaking and others very sweet but the undertone was too powerful not to hear it loud and clear: Hope, strength and unity.
Yes, I fell in love with this gem and proudly so!


THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BOOK

- 50 Countries,
- 500 Photos,
- From London to Brazil... From Greece to India...
- In the making since 2013
- I want to congratulate the photographer for her work and for putting herself through a variety of difficulties and calamities in order to gather this incredible photo collection from around the world.

ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

The Atlas of Beauty

Women of the World in 500 portraits.

What a stunningly beauty book. I loved the concept of this book, Mihaela Noroc travelled the world taking pictures of women she came across along the way. The only thing I was disappointed with was that the format didn't really work with the kindle...the text was mixed up and not always near to the photo it corresponded with.

However, it didn't take away from the visual spectacular that is The Atlas of Beauty. I'd love to see more in this style, absolutely jaw dropping. Five stars and more!

THE ATLAS OF BEAUTY by Mihaela Noroc will make you look at every woman you see differently. In this book full of gorgeous photography, Noroc captures women as they rise above adversity, follow their dreams, embrace their surroundings, and live out loud. It does not sugar coat the hardships but also celebrates the uniqueness of individuals and communities. I appreciated seeing all the culture in her photography and enjoyed reading the captions which show where the photo was taken and a small story behind it where applicable. I felt that the color combinations were so inspiring in the photos and appreciated how each wrinkle or tattoo or scar came across as beautiful. I also liked how Noroc grouped her photographs - showing how similar people can be who are all so different. I felt like my horizons were broadened after reading this book and will purchase it when it is released. For those that followed the beginning of this project on Facebook or for those that appreciate photography or all those that think that each person has their own beauty in the world, this book is for you.

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a lovely book, the photo are fabulous and the little bit of information on some of the women are thought provoking , after all we are all pretty much alike under the skin and no matter where we live, but it takes a book like this to point it out to us. This would make a lovely book to dip into at leisure, as time will fly by, just looking the photos and the lives and places. Very good