Photographer wants to battle ageism with photos of older Tasmanian women

Ms Perrie, who's lived in Launceston for 15 years, first started as a landscape photographer, before realising that she wanted to turn her camera from the beauty of nature to the beauty of people.

Her focus on photographing "40 women over 40" coincided with her own experience of getting older and wondering if others were experiencing a similar shift.

"I noticed that when I turned 39, I was freaked out by the idea of 40," she said.

The project was partly a way to overcome her own personal challenges around self confidence.

We have these anxieties around aging because when we reach middle age, you recognise that you are at the "halfway point" and you've "got to make it count", she said.

"Most people wonder 'What am I going to do with the time that I've got left?'

"You think that you don't have the energy or the good looks or as much to offer but what we're finding is [that] it's actually the opposite - like you've got so much more to give."

Her own project has coincided with global shifts to capture the beauty and wisdom of older faces.

"It's actually becoming a movement globally because more and more portrait photographers are bringing these age campaigns into their studios," she said.

"It's really to recognise that there is a demographic that's been forgotten and perhaps made to feel invisible."

With ageism, you often end up with the media focusing on the "young and pretty" but photographers like her are trying to shift that and show that "everyone should feel seen and heard and represented," she said.

When it came to having their portrait taken, the women were given a makeover and got to decide how they wanted to be represented.

Some women wanted to reconnect with their sensual side. Others wanted to capture their legacies as matriarchs. Some wanted to be seen as "girl bosses" who've had career changes.

The women also completed a questionnaire answering some of these questions:

What would you tell your younger self?

What's been your greatest challenges in life? How did you face it?

What are you most grateful for?

And when do you feel the most beautiful?

Ms Perrie now wants to transform the women's photographs and their responses into an exhibition and a magazine.

She's hoping to collaborate with other like minded people to bring the project to life for International Women's Day.

"My plan is for this to become an ongoing way we can shamelessly celebrate our lives, achievements and the wisdom that maturity brings without ageism," she said.

"It's ok for women of all ages to want to feel beautiful, there's no expiration date on true beauty."

To learn more, visit Angelica Perrie's 40 over 40 gallery.