CHAI Photos
AHI, with support and funding from the Community Health Access Initiative of Washtenaw County (CHAI), created a set of inclusive youth-centered stock photos where authentic youth voices are featured.
Adolescents, who were the visionaries and co-leaders in the planning process, are featured in the photos with complete input and consent, and were encouraged to give feedback throughout the creative journey.
This project was designed to amplify youth voice and perspective and put the power in their hands to capture their unique identities and experiences in the health care system.
Who should use these images?
Providers, health care professionals, health educators, public health experts, and educators.
Where can these images be used?
Examples include, but are not limited to, clinical and medical settings, public health campaigns, health communications, and social media.
See additional guidelines below.
This photo series was driven by AHI’s values in efforts to transform the health care landscape to optimize adolescent and young adult health and well-being. Before utilizing these photos, we ask that you read through and commit to the guidelines listed below. For any questions about these guidelines, or how to properly use or credit these photos, contact us.
Our Values
- Collaboration – We recognize that these photos were created by and in collaboration with adolescents. We commit to utilizing these photos in a way that honors the identity, creativity, and energy adolescents put into this project.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – We commit to utilizing these photos in a respectful way – by honoring the diverse, expansive, and unique identities of adolescents.
- Expertise, Innovation, Responsiveness, and Quality – We will utilize these photos in ways that bring innovation, respond to emerging and critical issues, and use quality, evidence-based science to promote best practices in adolescent health and well-being.
Youth Identity
The photos captured in this collection feature youth of varying genders, sexual orientations, races, ethnicities, religions, socio-economic statuses, and abilities. The process of capturing these photos allowed the youth to claim identifiers unique to them.
What to Consider
Please consider the following when utilizing these stock photos in your work:
How to Identify the Individuals Depicted
- Note the identifiers (gender, sexual orientation, pronouns, race, ethnicity, etc.) associated with each picture when deciding how and where to use each photo.
- Some photos may not have been given clear identifiers, therefore it is important to use appropriate contextual decisions and not to attribute explicit identifiers to those that have none.
Contexts
- Think critically about what realistic representation of adolescents looks like in these photos and what they mean to your work. Stock photos in general tend to generalize and assimilate the identities of youth, which overlooks the authenticity and uniqueness that adolescents bring to the world. Respect the expressions, presentation, and identities of the people in each picture and make contextual decisions as true to life as possible.
- Consider how power and privilege play into the representation of certain identities featured in these photos. Are the contexts of use challenging bias, beliefs, and assumptions about assumed and explicit identities? Think critically about how your use of the photos can be implicated in either dismantling or perpetuating systems of power and privilege.
Where the Photos Can Be Used
- Per the terms of the Creative Commons license, you may not create derivative work from the images or use the images for commercial purposes. Beyond these basic license stipulations, any use of this resource depends on the user to make appropriate contextual decisions.
Photo Credits
- Suggested credit, “Youth In Health: Inclusive Stock Photography Collection. Adolescent Health Initiative. Heather Nash Photography. 2021”
AHI would like to sincerely thank the young folks who led this inclusive photography project: Evie, Catrina, Tiasia, Dakari, Amelia, Riss, Sky, Jeren, Samantha, Taylor, Juwan, Tavon, Kevon, and Kenyae. Thank you to Dr. Bernie Stoody, Jess Driver Williams, and Whitney Rose, MSW, for being the photo series’ featured providers. Thank you to the Washtenaw County Health Department for providing the space and site coordination for the photoshoot, and gratitude to Heather Nash at Heather Nash Photography. And finally, our utmost gratitude to Community Health Access Initiative of Washtenaw County (CHAI) for providing funding and support to make this project happen.
