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Positively the Heartland: Pride photography by Katera Brown

Posted at 11:35 AM, Jun 07, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-07 13:17:36-04

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — June is Pride Month and for this Positively the Heartland, we are highlighting one woman's goal of shining a light on the LGBTQIA+ community.

Katera Brown is mixing photography and community to help people feel confident in their own skin.

“When they finish their photoshoot, they are like, "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do this photoshoot and letting me share myself with you,'” Brown said.

Brown's goal is to share more images and stories of those in the community, hoping when someone sees her work — it will break down barriers that still exist today.

“To inspire them and I guess for the bigots to just open their mind and look at how other people live their lives,” Brown said.

For those in front of the camera, like Phantom Davis, it’s the goal of showing others that people who identify as LGBTQIA+ exist in Omaha and it’s safe to come out.

“It makes me feel like I can help younger people and even older people who are still closeted that they can be comfortable with themselves, especially being colored people,” Brown said. “It’s not very acceptable in our community and society to be deemed as whoever you want.”

A good photo is often the first time we share with the world our story and our identity, something Katera said is crucial all year round, but especially during Pride month.

“It’s how I express myself and it's how other people in the community express themselves. So I plan to continue to do conceptual photoshoots with the queer community,” Brown said.“It’s very liberating to see people get closure and show themselves to the world.”

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