Plastic Surgery Gone Awry

A few months ago, I got a call from Getty to photograph an incredibly sad story about two women who have suffered at the hands of a bad plastic surgeon for Marie Claire Magazine.

The subject matter was sensitive and hard to illustrate since everything has happened in the past, and I was most likely going to have to settle for portraits that captured some sort of mood. Luckily, one of the women mentioned to me that she had a doctor's appointment the following day (with a good doctor who's trying to fix up a botched tummy tuck that left her with a gaping hole in her stomach surrounded by dead tissue). The other woman, who spent 3 months in the hospital and was left with a horrible infection, a shriveled, black, deadened nipple and horribly malformed breasts said, coincidentally, that she did as well (same doctor, and as luck would have it, an hour before the other woman's appointment). So after making sure it was OK with them that I photograph them in the doctor's office, I called the doctor and got his approval as well.

I would have settled for the portraits, but was glad to have the chance to add a little reportage and some story-telling images to the shoot. Plus it was nice to surprise the editors by giving them more than what they asked for.