Disability Pride Month

A reintroduction during Disability Pride Month! For those who are new here. I’m Briana Raucci, a Connecticut-based film photographer, artist, and designer. I offer professional film photography services (35mm & 120 medium format, Polaroid, and 3D 35mm film), with a focus on engagements, elopements, and small weddings.

I also have cerebral palsy, epilepsy, ADHD, PMDD, endometriosis, POTS, and multiple other conditions that are difficult to deal with. I use my skills as an artist to convey the challenges of living with disabilities in a way that everyone can understand, regardless of their abilities. I’m endlessly inspired by love, both within our relationships and within ourselves, and I love getting to document it. ♡

During disability pride month, I think it’s important to acknowledge a few things:

First — I feel that disabled people are inherently hard workers because we have to be. We live in a system that's not designed for us to survive, let alone thrive or exceed. To make matters worse, as of late, there has been a larger issue of disability and minority erasure in the United States. It results in life feeling like the ultimate Sisyphean task – constantly pushing a boulder up the mountain, just for it to roll back down – all while having disabilities that make it inherently harder to move the boulder to begin with.

Furthermore, as a disabled person, you have to figure out how to work around your disabilities. Personally, I’ve learned I need to schedule things with my body, rather than trying to work against it. This helps me be a reliable worker, even when my body feels unreliable at times. I only take on a limited amount of photoshoots per year to ensure I can work to the best of my ability, and will actively choose not to take on work if it’s not physically feasible.

Disabled people are constantly bobbing and weaving challenges on a daily basis, but that's what makes us so resilient. The problem with resilience, though, and the idea that disabled people have to be resilient, is again because we don’t have the things we need, because of the system in which we live. We shouldn’t have to struggle just to get by when being in our bodies is already a struggle in itself.

Second, disabled people are entitled to have differences of opinion when it comes to disability pride. This month, I’ve reflected on this idea a lot. Pride is a weird thing to begin with, and while I wouldn’t consider myself proud to be disabled, I am very proud of the work I’ve accomplished despite my disabilities. I’m proud that I have become a confident business owner who embraces my disabilities and works with them, and the continued work I do taking care of my body and needs, advocating for disability awareness and justice, trying to educate people when I can, and having empathy for others who struggle.

I love working with people of all walks of life, and I’m happy to accommodate any accessibility needs you may have, so you feel comfortable and at ease with me. Creating an inclusive environment where people feel safe enough to be fully themselves is a crucial part of my work. I especially love working with other disabled people because there’s an unspoken understanding of pacing, figuring out if venues are accessible, and knowing that we move through the world a little differently. I always want that understanding reflected in the way I photograph.

I approach my work through the lens of an artist who studied photojournalism, and I combine my love for capturing candid moments with an artistic twist, creating images that feel both cinematic and genuine. Safety, joy, and visibility are extremely important to me, and I hope that comes through in my work. No matter who you are or where you’re from, you are explicitly welcome here with me. ♡

If you want photos that truly reflect the energy between you and your loved one, all while evoking feelings of passion, playfulness, and romance, I’d absolutely love to connect!

Fun facts: I’m obsessed with Star Wars, David Lynch, live music, comedy shows, tattoos, painting, art, and elopements. I love elopements so much that I had one myself — in Las Vegas, naturally — and documented it on film.

Visit my website; the link in bio for my recent galleries, my portfolio, Disability & Art Blog, and more! Thanks for reading, and I hope I get to work with you soon!