Close
Connection
Girlhood
Digital Life
Sports
Style
Family
Adventure
Faces
Studio
Real People
Smiling young woman holding a cold Coca-Cola glass bottle close to her face against a clear blue sky.
Two women laughing and holding a checkered blanket outdoors on a sunny day.
Person in a black hoodie taking a selfie outdoors with a phone in a red and black case.
Smiling woman with curly hair in a ponytail, wearing hoop earrings and floral dress, standing indoors near a wooden door with sunlight shining in.
Side profile of a woman with long braided hair holding the ends against a stone wall background.
Four young women sitting and standing near a brick wall at night, illuminated by their phone and lighter lights.
Four women in swimsuits standing at the edge of the ocean with mountainous coastline in the background under a cloudy sky.
Woman in a black sports bra and ripped jeans raising her arms outdoors near rocky cliffs.
Close-up of a smiling person wearing a blue headset with a microphone.
Close-up of hands holding a wired PlayStation controller while sitting cross-legged on a bed.
Three girls riding a miniature black Land Rover toy car on a city street with a white delivery truck and buildings in the background.
Person lying on a bed with a striped pillow, wearing a pink sleep mask and a blue top, covered with a brown and white blanket.
Two women sitting on the floor applying makeup in front of a mirror, one with a hair roller clipped in her short blonde hair.
Person with a clay face mask taking a selfie in a mirror holding a camera, with hair tied up and earphones in.
Young woman with curly hair roller skating in a store aisle holding two packs of White Claw beverages up high, smiling with headphones around her neck.

Brit Phelan’s PhoTOGRAPHY reveals storytelling in its pure, unguarded form.

She looks for vulnerability in her work, creating stories that are both personal and universally understood. Her ongoing project, Be The Real, spotlights people living as their most authentic selves through portraiture and film. The series lives as a photo book and video archive at bethereal.com. It reflects Brit’s ability to create layered, grounded work designed to connect. Past collaborators include Apple, State Farm, Men's Wearhouse, and White Claw. 

Be The Real

Be The Real is an ongoing portrait series exploring how individuality can exist alongside community. Each subject is photographed as they are, without performance or polish, and paired with a short video accessible through a QR code inside the book. Together, the portraits and films create an intimate record of people who feel deeply rooted in themselves while being held by the communities around them.

At its core, Be The Real is about acceptance. The belief that we should not have to become someone else in order to be loved. This series is Brit Phelan’s way of finding and building a community that lives by that truth.

Purchase NowLearn More
Film + TV
Independent, Brit Phelan
brit@britphelan.com
Commercials
Good Times, Eric McCasline
eric@itsgoodtimes.com
Photography
Good Times, Corwin Carrol
corwin@itsgoodtimes.com
Creative Studio
Little Known, Hannah Schalles
hannah@littleknown.com
IMDbYouTubeVimeoLinkedInTikTokInstagram