Personal project photographing people undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Fall 2008, downtown San Francisco – I was photographing a young executive for an editorial piece. At that time I’d been shooting for magazines for over ten years and the shoot was going well. “It’s a good thing we’re doing this today” she said, “I start chemo in a few weeks and I’ll lose all of my hair.” Her demeanor changed in an instant. Losing her hair was certainly the least of her concerns, and yet, while she was optimistic about the chemotherapy results, she was seemingly fixated on the hair loss.

Having never been faced with the challenges before her, I could only imagine what she was experiencing. As we continued to shoot that day, I offered to photograph her during the process, when she lost her hair. ”For you,” I said. I wanted to give her something – thinking that chronicling the experience might help her in some way, provide a record – something with which to remember her strength, and not the misery.

As I packed up to leave, I could tell she wasn’t going to accept my offer. So, early in 2011, when she called unexpectedly to ask if I would still consider photographing her, I was shocked and thrilled that she had remembered. “Absolutely,” I said. “I’ll be there tomorrow.”

The time that we spent together was a moving experience for both of us. The resulting photographs were powerful and she found the shoot to be an important part of her experience with cancer.

With this project, I am passionate about chronicling the fight – your fight – by creating a visually striking series of images. Equally important, I want to give people the gift of both the experience as well as the portrait.

So, why chemo?

What struck me while photographing the woman undergoing the bone marrow transplant, was that without hair and external accoutrements, what remained was pure expression – only her face. As a portrait photographer, I work hard to connect with a diverse range of people, emphasizing the caught moment in my work. However, the connection with someone exposed both emotionally and physically creates an amazing opportunity to really see into a person – truly a portrait of themselves, their face, their feelings, to experience the found power or humility in the face of cancer and to hopefully inspire others facing their own cancer diagnosis to locate an inner confidence, strength, fight and peace.



If you know someone who would be interested in being photographed for this project, please email katie@roberthouser.com. We will give files from the shoots to individuals for their personal use. Sessions take approximately 90 minutes and can take place either at the subject’s home or at our location in the SF East Bay. Read Less