Mihaela Noroc is a world-famous 33-year old photojournalist from Bucharest, Romania who has spent the last six years travelling the world for her photo project, “The Atlas of Beauty.” Noroc, whose profile will come up on a google search, has been featured on The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Oprah, Forbes, and BBC. Noroc’s mission is to photograph women around the world to create one unified message. That message is that despite having different cultures, all women share something special that Noroc captures in stunning portraits. Noroc’s leading principle that heads up her project is that there is beauty everywhere, no matter the difference in language or tradition.
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| Taken in Myanmar's biggest buddhist temple in Yangon. Photo Credit Mihaela Noroc. https://theatlasofbeauty.com |
Noroc centers her project around portraits that not only portray women, but include meaningful elements that vary throughout her portfolio. Many times her subjects are shown doing tasks specific to their culture, or in front of a background in an area that is significant to her subject’s life.
Noroc’s portfolio can be viewed on her website here: https://theatlasof
Noroc’s portraits detail women who are pursuing their passions and dreams, women who are enduring through hardships, and women whose strength tells a story both in Noroc’s interviews with them and on their faces.
There is not only beauty in Noroc’s portraits, and that’s what makes them so dynamic.
Noroc portraits pain and scars, as well. Noroc’s mission gives voice to pain and those whose voice has been smothered by mundane duties and political turmoil.
Noroc has been to Turkey, Afghanistan, Muldova, Peru, Myanmar, Latvia, Ethiopia, the Amazon rainforest, Cuba, China, Japan, Colombia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Ecuador, Nepal, India, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Cairo, Tajikstan, South Africa, Greece, and the list just goes on and on. Noroc said she has visited to date over 50 countries. Even more impressive is her way of seeking out those who aren’t used to a spotlight and would normally never stand in front of a camera.
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| A Woman named Yuka changed paths after enrolling in a Geisha school in Kyoto. After realizing her love of freedom, Yuka combined her learned skills with the art of coffee making. Photo taken by Mihaela Noroc. https://theatlasofbeauty.com |
Noroc’s work is especially important because it doesn’t follow the traditional cookie-cutter “beautiful women” type of photography. It captures beauty in non-traditional standards, non-american standards. It captures beauty across the age and race spectrum. Her work is key in a time when women around the world are fighting to prove themselves independent, with capabilities far above just being appealing to the eye. Noroc accomplishes her mission in that every woman she photographs, no matter their direction in life, has a passion they are following. In her first photo-essay book, Noroc has photographed a total of 500 unique women with a story in their eyes and on the page.
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| Taken on the banks of the Hooghly river in Kolkata, India of a woman named Sandra, who was taking part in a Hindu Ceremony. Photo taken by Mihaela Noroc. https://theatlasofbeauty.com |
Noroc’s “Atlas of Beauty” became very popular worldwide. Since starting her project in 2013, it has spread across social media, becoming the third most viral Tumblr blog in 2015. Later, in 2016, Noroc went live to discuss the Atlas with Oprah, as well as on CNN. Her portraits can be found all over facebook and instagram. She is continuing her project, publishing new portraits multiple times a month. You can find her most recent portraits on her facebook page:
Something we can learn from Noroc is how her spontaneity pays off. Her most beautiful portraits are the ones that aren’t set up after talking with her subjects. Her best photos that tell the most vivid stories are the ones taken during the day-to-day lives of her subjects, often with other people in the background. Noroc’s pictures tell us that the most communicative photos aren’t the ones that are set up, the ones that she waited to take until other people were out of the frame, or the ones that showed her subject’s best angle. Noroc shows a very important theme in her photos that all of us should aspire to: truth.
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| Bomberas (Firewomen) in Mexico City. Photo taken by Mihaela Noroc. See more stunning work at https://theatlasofbeauty.com |
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