LOVING OUT LOUD

A photographic project about queer love, identity, belonging, and being seen.

 

My name is Grace Petovello. I’m a Calgary-based photographer and creative director, and I’m also learning what it means to let myself be seen as a queer person.

 

For years, I’ve photographed people falling in love, getting married, building families, and stepping in front of my camera feeling completely themselves.

 

Somewhere along the way, I realized I wasn’t always giving myself that same freedom.

 

Loving Out Loud is my way of changing that.

 

THE PROJECT

 

I’m creating a nationwide photographic project documenting 2SLGBTQIA+ people across Canada.

 

I want to photograph couples, friends, families, artists, individuals, and 2Spirit people. The people who have been together for decades and the people just beginning to figure themselves out. Chosen families. Friendships. Parents. Newlyweds. Artists. People who never want to get married. People who have finally found the courage to tell someone who they really are.

 

I want to photograph queer life as it actually exists.

 

Beautiful. Complicated. Joyful. Ordinary. Romantic. Playful. Soft. Bold.

 

Unapologetically visible.

 

I’m hoping to travel across Canada to create these photographs in some of the landscapes that make this country so incredible.

 

There is something incredibly powerful about seeing yourself represented.

 

Growing up, I didn’t have an endless collection of images showing queer people simply existing in beautiful places, surrounded by the people they love.

 

I saw plenty of photographs of love.

 

But I didn’t always see my version of it.

 

I think there are still so many queer kids growing up in places where they don’t see a future that looks like theirs.

 

I want to help create those images.

 

I want a young queer person somewhere in Canada to scroll past one of these photographs and think:

 

“Oh. Maybe there is a life for me here.”

 

AND THEN THERE’S ME

 

This project is deeply personal.

 

I’m queer.

 

I’m still learning what it feels like to say that publicly.

 

There are parts of myself that I’ve spent a long time keeping tucked away. Not because I don’t believe in being proud, but because being visible can be scary.

 

Loving Out Loud is me being brave for my younger self.

 

I’m still scared. But I think that’s part of why I need to do it.

 

I want to make the kind of images I wish I had grown up seeing. I want to create a body of work that feels honest about who I am and the communities I care about.

 

WHO I’M LOOKING FOR

 

I’m looking to connect with 2SLGBTQIA+ people across Canada who would like to be considered for the project.

 

You don’t need to be a model. You don’t need to know how to pose.

 

Just show up as yourself.

 

I’m also looking to connect with queer creatives across Canada, including:

Photo Assistants

Makeup Artists

Stylists

Set Designers / Prop Stylists

 

If you’re interested in creating something together, I’d love to hear from you.

 

THE PHOTOGRAPHS

 

My visual style sits somewhere between documentary photography and fashion editorial.

 

I want people laughing, holding each other, dancing, looking at each other, looking at the camera, and simply being with their people.

 

I want the photographs to feel like being allowed to take up space.

 

THE JOURNEY

 

I’m currently seeking funding to make this project possible.

 

If the project receives funding, I hope to travel across Canada and photograph several groups in each province and territory.

 

I also want to document the journey through short-form video and social media, sharing the road trips, locations, creative process, behind-the-scenes moments, and the people who become part of the work.

 

WANT TO BE PART OF IT?

I’m asking people to fill out a short form telling me a little about themselves, where they’re from, and what being part of this project might mean to them. (Link)

 

Submitting the form doesn’t guarantee you’ll be selected, and the project is currently pending funding. I’m using the responses to connect with potential participants, understand where interest exists across Canada, and help demonstrate the community behind the project.

 

If funding is secured, selected participants will be contacted with more information about the shoot, location, scheduling, compensation, and next steps.

 

If you’re not selected for this particular project, I’d love to stay connected.

 

I’m hoping Loving Out Loud becomes more than one photographic series. I want it to become an ongoing collection of queer stories, people, places, and moments across Canada.

 

There are so many of them. They deserve to be seen.

 

Loudly.

Softly.

Beautifully.

Authentically.

 

Out loud.