Tattoos, scars and other blemishes are the focus of one Toronto photographer who is giving people the opportunity to share their stories in an online gallery, Tales In Skin. 

Corey Watts-Jones — the artist helming the project — has always been interested in telling deeply personal stories through photography. After spending time over the pandemic marinating on his passion, he realized that what people bear on their skin tells the most genuine stories.

"The main focus for me is not to normalize differences,"says Watts-Jones. "I feel like 'normalize' is a word that I don't really like semantically, it cheapens what acceptance should be."

Tales In Skin is inspired by Watts-Jones's own experiences with having a new change to his own skin. 

After what he describes as a "stupid boring accident," Watts-Jones ended up with a new surgical scar going down his elbow.

He used this incident as a launchpad to celebrate other people who have experienced similar situations through his photography. 

"A big, big, big part of this — as I've discussed with anyone who has shown interest — is setting clear boundaries about what they're comfortable with and what their feelings are," says Watts-Jones. 

Ailee, a model for the project, smiles for the camera. Photo by Corey Watts-Jones. 

According to Watts-Jones, the response to the project has been overwhelmingly positive, with people new expressing interest to model for it at an increasing rate. 

"I never thought there were so many people who dealt with this, but that's what has seemed to have resonated out there," says Watts-Jones. 

Tales In Skin aims to help people celebrate themselves and be comfortable while doing it.

"I want to turn this into something that will just start conversations for people across the board," Watts-Jones puts it.

Watts-Jones is always adding to his growing online gallery, so check out Tales in Skin for the latest.