What Is The Redhead Project?

A personal project created in February 2013 by New York–based advertising, editorial, and corporate photographer Keith Barraclough, The Redhead Project is an ongoing series of portraits of natural-born redheads selected through personal references, social media and an application process (click Photoshoot Concept Proposal to download. 

Each photoshoot is a collaborative process between photographer and subject, resulting in portraits that reflect the subject’s personality and style. Redheads bring their own clothes and props that exemplify their interests, styles, and personalities.  The project showcases Keith’s ability to authentically capture his subject's personalities, sometimes simply through a momentary emotion.


The Redhead Project photoshoots are scheduled around Keith's client work.  Applicants who submit complete, compelling photoshoot concept proposals may schedule photoshoots at our NYC studio within weeks of being confirmed.

Keith Barraclough is not a redhead, a fact most fans of the project find surprising. Portraits from one redheaded corporate executive’s photoshoot in 2013 planted the seed for an idea that has become Keith’s trademark portfolio series.


The project aims:


• to showcase Keith’s versatility, collaborative work style and ability to conceptualize, produce and execute photoshoots


• to create compelling, beautiful, spirited, and quirky personality portraits that resonate with the viewer. Redheads submit to us a written snapshot of their personalities and interests and a vision for how they could be represented in a photoshoot. Together with redheads we collaborate: we brainstorm ideas and plan out the looks of the photoshoots. It’s a unique opportunity—offered only to natural-born redheads—to model for and help produce a professional photo shoot. 

In exchange for their collaborative and creative efforts, redheads choose some images to keep and share on their own sites and social media.


• to foster publicity for Keith’s work through collaborations with local, independent businesses, entrepreneurs and services—especially when there’s an authentic connection to the redhead—in cities outside our home base, NYC. Help us build upon our successful collaborations with businesses, including stylists whose talent helped bring to life redheads’ visions for their portraits.
 
Redheads who facilitate possible collaborations influence where we travel with the project. We happily cross-promote collaborative businesses (hair/ makeup stylists, event spaces, studios, jewelry stores, specialty food stores, etc. ) on our social media and the shared publicity is win-win! 


Can Young Children Participate?

We will discuss with parents whether the project is a good fit for their minor children, particularly young children under age 5, too young to collaborate independently.

Collaboration includes selecting clothes and props and interacting with and taking direction from the photographer during the photo shoot.

With young children who are too young to speak or take direction from Keith, we’ll place a greater emphasis upon evoking personality through expressions and reactions, capturing kids being kids and showcasing Keith’s ability to work with kids.

Kids' shoots can last anywhere from 45 minutes to several hours for teens, depending upon the elaborateness of the photoshoot concepts.

Please contact us with additional questions about the suitability of the project for your young redhead!

The Redhead Project is on Social Media

It is important for all potential participants—including children—to be familiar with images from The Redhead Project to get a visual sense of what the project is about. Follow the project here (click icons):

          

Where Can Redheads Participate?

The project is based in Manhattan, New York City and we schedule photoshoots with redheads who’ve applied on an individual basis around Keith’s client schedule.  We have carefully resumed photoshoots during COVID, adhering to all recommended CDC safety protocols.

We would LOVE to bring the project to a city near you post-COVID! But we need your help.

Since we do not charge redheads a fee to participate — the project is conducted around Keith’s client schedule—we are likelier to travel to locations where:

• redheads have compelling ideas showcasing props, interests and creativity that we’ve never seen before
 there’s a likelihood of strong local publicity, interest, and media coverage, especially if we feature props or services of local, independent merchants and we can cross-promote on our respective social media 

• we have a growing social media following

• there’s an intriguing space in which to conduct the photo shoots and/or a meet-up event: a photo studio, a gallery, or a space within a local merchant / restaurant, etc. Suggest and we’ll investigate!

Redheads influence where we travel with the project vis a vis all of the above. Share your ideas with us. Refer your fellow local redheads to this site.

Click here to download The Redhead Project Photoshoot Concept Proposal

We have organized past photo shoots in the following continental U.S. cities/ regions. Where we’ll go is not limited to where we’ve been (this includes international destinations.)