Most new parents love taking photographs of their baby, but one mum has taken it a step further and started snapping her daughter dressed as some of the world’s most iconic female figures.
Jenelle Wexler from Chicago has dressed four-month-old Liberty Jaine as a range of characters including Fridha Kahlo, Malala Yousafzai and Coco Chanel.
The 36-year-old makes the outfits in her spare bedroom sewing studio from a mixture of recycled dresses, jackets and scarves.
The mother-of-two, who also has a two-year-old son River Holden, first came up with the idea to shoot her daughter as the famous women because she thought Liberty had a physical resemblance to the Mexican artist Kahlo.
“The shots came out wonderfully, and it was soon after that I thought about other women in history that have contributed to the betterment of women and people as a whole,” she said. “I feel it is important to try and keep the types of traits these women portrayed.”
Now she has shot more than 30 different characters using her iPhone, she has established a routine for shooting.
“Once I decide which woman I would like Liberty to portray, I then research the person, create a blurb that describes some of the historic accomplishments this female has attained,” she said.
“I go through photos of the individual and brainstorm to create costume and background design that best reflects this female.”
On the day of the shoot she starts at around five o’clock in the morning, when her husband is leaving for work. She likes to keep shooting to around 20 minutes maximum - taking approximately 50 shots of each outfit.
“I usually dress her first thing in the morning as she is in good spirits and happy to participate,” says Wexler. “I try to catch natural light coming from our south facing windows.”
And Wexler is in no rush to stop taking the photographs. Instead she wants to use them to continue to teach her children about women’s contributions in the world. “They need to be held up as the standard for future generations to aspire to be like,” she says.
“Not only does it get my husband involved by getting Liberty to smile, it also is peaking River’s interest. He is always asking me who is Liberty going to be next?”
She adds: “It’s times like these we need more of the types of women in the world. I just want to shine a light with Liberty’s help on people we should truly respect in our society.
“I am proud to say Liberty is surrounded by strong independent hardworking women, I can only hope she aspires to be one herself.”
Jenelle also dresses up her son River Holden Wexler, along with Liberty Jaine and they both go by the name of the “Influential Duos”.