SEE THE PERSON. NOT JUST THE DIFFERENCE.
01 — THE STORY
Fashion photographer, author, and disability advocate Angelea Yoder is the founder of LET THEM STARE, a photography and storytelling initiative celebrating people with visible and invisible differences. Launched in 2024, she created the project to challenge perceptions of disability and confront ableism. Using authentic imagery and personal stories to foster understanding, her goal is to expand representation, and remind people that there is so much more to a person than what the world sees.
Angelea was born with VACTERL association, also known as VATER syndrome, a congenital condition involving differences across multiple body systems. She underwent 25 major surgeries throughout childhood and adolescence, including procedures to address a tethered spinal cord, severe scoliosis, anorectal malformation, neurogenic bladder/bowel, and more.
Today, Angelea uses her camera to challenge conventional ideas of beauty, ability, and belonging, transforming a lifetime of personal experience into a mission rooted in visibility, dignity, and connection.
PASSION MEETS PURPOSE.
02 — THE BEGINNNING
A one-of-a-kind children's photography book celebrating kids of all abilities.
Disability is often represented in children's books through illustrations or drawings. This book takes a different approach, showcasing authentic environmental portraits of real children in their own element, celebrating who they are beyond a diagnosis or a medical history.
From drawing and dancing to playing football and chasing dreams, each portrait highlights a child's interests, talents, and passions. Rather than focusing on what a child cannot do, the book invites readers to discover what makes each individual unique.
Growing up, Angelea often wondered whether there was anyone else in the world who shared her experiences. She created this book for the child who may be asking that same question today. Her hope is that opening its pages will offer a powerful reminder that there are others who understand, that differences do not diminish a person's potential, and that community can make all the difference.
Representation matters. Seeing real people with different bodies, experiences, and abilities helps expand perspectives, build connection, and remind young readers that their identities extend far beyond what makes them different.
LOOK AT ME, LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!
Look at Me, Look What I Can Do! is a one-of-a-kind children's book featuring real photographs of incredible kids with disabilities and differences doing what they love. Through authentic stories and empowering images, young readers are encouraged to celebrate who they are, embrace what makes others unique, and understand that disability never defines who you are.
Bringing Look at Me, Look What I Can Do!
to Your School or Organization
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Look at Me, Look What I Can Do! to your community?
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03 — A NEW WAY OF SEEING
LET THEM STARE is an editorial-style coffee-table book featuring more than 100 adults with visible and invisible differences. Through bold, elevated imagery, the project challenges traditional standards of beauty and pushes for more authentic representation in fashion campaigns, creative industries, and visual storytelling.
For Angelea, inclusion means more than simply adding diversity to an image. It means creating space for people who have historically been left out of the frame, allowing them to be seen as they are: powerful, expressive, and entirely themselves.
The book is both a celebration and a statement. Difference belongs in every room, every campaign, every runway, and every story.
“Your differences don't define you. There is so much more to who you are—your talents, your kindness, your dreams. We may have to do a little extra every day to thrive, and that's okay. Don't ever let that stop you from chasing what you're meant to do.”
