Today, many companies brag about their new products that promise a healthier lifestyle or weight loss. In reality, these companies are not promoting health at all. Instead, they are focused on making money from curious customers. This photograph captures an unhealthy meal. Weight loss pills, a protein powder meal replacement, and a strange blue liquid are all served on plates to look edible and enjoyable. These items are marketed as healthy, but they are detrimental to society and an individual's health and self-confidence.

Makeup is something that many people use every day for various purposes. However, closer examination reveals these products are full of harmful ingredients, such as parabens, cadmium, formaldehyde, and lead. This photograph highlights the potential consequences of using these ingredients in our daily lives. It shows a red lipstick, broken and smeared on a model's mouth and teeth, illustrating that even a product like lipstick, something used externally, can still cause harm internally. This photograph serves as a warning of the lies and harms that may lurk in something as innocent as red lipstick.

In many East Asian countries, beauty standards are very high. People are expected to have pale skin, big-doe eyes, and lots of makeup to hide any "imperfections." This photograph shows a model wearing a pale foundation in an effort to conform to these beauty standards, even though it does not match her natural skin tone. In her attempt to adhere to rigid beauty standards, she is hiding her true beauty, a feeling many people can relate to. Though her face may meet the current standards of beauty, she struggles with her insecurities, as seen through her meek pose and faded smile. This photograph is a reminder that one's true beauty is far greater than trying to fit a cultural standard.

This image highlights the beauty of religion, with a warm light covering Mother Mary's statue in the middle of New York City. Amidst the bustle of the streets, I found a quiet area and looked up to see a woman peering down at me. Her solemness spoke to me as a message of finding the time in your day to be mindful of yourself and your surroundings. No matter where you are or what you believe in, you can take the time out of your day to become conscious of your actions instead of going through the motions. Do everything with intention and meaning.

During my trip to New York City, I was walking around the city looking for things to photograph when I came across this man selling flowers on the side of the road. Despite the obvious language barrier, he was engaged in conversation with a woman who was buying flowers from him, and it was apparent she was a long-time customer. Afterward, I asked if I could take a picture to remember this moment of community connection. Looking back at it now, I remember realizing that taking "good" pictures isn't about shooting extravagant monuments or events but rather capturing simple things that create joy and happiness. Memories.

It seems like violence is wreaking havoc everywhere. There are too many stories of gun violence every day in the news. I used a toy gun to show the innocence that is lost every time a gun is fired in a school, mixed with fake blood to signify the true extent of the lack of protection we provide children. These two elements combined show how kids are stripped of their childhood due to gun violence and how we must make a change to stop these murders.

This image shows the plastic surgery process prevalent in modern culture. The model's elegant outfit is overshadowed by the marks and tape on her face. They represent the normalized culture of always wanting more—whether that be changes to your natural beauty or more youthfulness for your aging body. The purpose of this photograph is to convey that outer beauty is not a reflection of inner beauty, which can't be achieved through artificial means.

Abortion has been a prevalent issue in politics and society for a long time. Recently, these debates have sparked controversial changes to laws regarding women's bodies. In this photograph, I used a withdrawn pose with a model holding a hanger, a tool used in extreme cases to perform illegal, at-home abortions. In order to represent the model's internal thoughts, a filter was applied to the image to cast a dark shadow of fear.

In this image, a mannequin eats an apple with a plastic fork and plate. Ironically, these three items will create an obscene amount of microplastics. Microplastics have been found in our bodies and can cause cancer, DNA damage, and various diseases. This image was created to show how we mindlessly put these dangerous ingredients into our bodies.

In this image, two mannequin heads float in a sea of plastic waste. This places a significance on the daily use of items that most people do not know contains harmful toxins and creates microplastics.

This image was photographed to emphasize our daily consumption of microplastics. We ingest microplastics from items we use every day, such as ziploc bags, water bottles, and plastic utensils. With our ever-increasing utilization of plastic, we are hurting our bodies and essentially filling ourselves with plastic.

Among all fruits and vegetables, apples contain the most microplastics. Most people are unaware of this fact, further revealing how uneducated the public is about the food they eat and its detrimental effects.

This photograph contains three mannequin heads with apples to highlight the daily consumption of microplastics.