Here Come the Girls: Photography, Power & Perspective
- cindysasha
- Jun 28
- 2 min read
I was recently invited by Lisa Stepanovic OBE, founder of the social enterprise Social Ark, to lead a workshop as part of their brilliant programme Here Come the Girls. The initiative supports secondary school girls from high-need areas in London to develop confidence, leadership, and entrepreneurial thinking through creativity and mentorship.
Lisa asked me to lead an after-school session at Pendergast Vale School in Lewsiham, focusing on female leadership and empowerment and to share my journey as a photographer. I decided to combine that conversation with a hands-on photography workshop. Each of the 30 girls was given a single-use film camera and encouraged to photograph their communities, documenting what they love and what matters to them most. They were asked to look for beauty in the everyday, the moments that often go unseen and to reflect on how photography can be a tool for storytelling, memory and self-expression.
As part of the session, I shared my personal story: growing up as a South Asian woman and navigating a career in photography within a male-dominated industry. I spoke honestly about the challenges I’ve faced, from self-doubt to discrimination and how I’ve learned to hold space for myself as a creative woman of colour. We spoke about the power of self-worth, staying grounded in our values, and how to move through the world with confidence and self-respect.
The workshop wasn’t just about taking pictures. It was about perspective, how we see, how we are seen and how we choose to show up. We explored different photography styles and discussed the emotional language of images. The girls wrote letters to their future selves, imagining where they would be in 20 years, a powerful exercise that brought up dreams, fears and visions of the kind of women they hope to become.
What moved me most was the openness in the room. Each girl brought something powerful to the space, their honesty, humour, creativity and strength. Together, we created a space of sisterhood and trust, where vulnerability wasn’t met with judgement but with support.
We also did roleplay scenarios, helping the girls think through how to handle difficult or uncomfortable situations in real life from standing up for themselves to staying safe while speaking their truth. These moments sparked important conversations about resilience, self-respect and emotional intelligence.
By the end of the workshop, the atmosphere had shifted. The girls left feeling more confident, more connected to each other and more empowered to imagine bold futures. For me, it was a reminder of how transformative creative spaces can be, how storytelling and photography can become tools for healing, expression and self-belief.
I’m deeply grateful to Lisa and the team at Social Ark for the opportunity to be part of this journey and to the young women who showed up with such courage, curiosity and heart.
