Beauty Pageant

I must confess, I am a huge fan of Toddlers and Tiaras and watch it religiously every Wednesday night. It's so addicting because it's so wrong on so many levels. I, like many fans of the show, am much more interested the parents and how they channel their insecurities into their poor children. Nothing about these pageants is geared towards finding beauty in a child. All the make-up, fake teeth(flippers) spray on tans, pivots and cheeky fake smiles just mask the real beauty of childhood. I could go on but you know the deal.
I was assigned to shoot the Miss Teen La Mesa and Santee Pageant over the weekend and was excited to take it on so I could get some snaps of this strange culture. It turned out to be quite different than the glitz pageants on the show. Each contestant was judged on things like their GPA's, speaking abilities, poise and whatever else caught the judges eyes. Seemed much more about their accomplishments and smarts than material, physical things.