Čedna (pronounced Ched-na) Todorović (Business Administration Management '15) is on a mission to help ordinary women view themselves with love, compassion, and self-acceptance. Marrying her longtime passion for photography with her need to inspire and be inspired by others, Todorović has created the Worthy Woman Portrait Series, showcasing portraits of 35 women over the age of 40.
Each portrait is the result of a highly collaborative and intensely creative process for both the sitter and the photographer that ultimately allows Todorović to connect with and challenge her subjects to view themselves with more love.
“More than anything, I want these women to see themselves through kinder eyes,” she says. “As women, we are often too hard on ourselves. I want the women I photograph to see that they are enough, and they've always been enough.”
Todorović knows first-hand the struggles of feeling insufficient. After working in oil and gas and the energy utilities sector for 20 years while moonlighting for 12 years as a weekend wedding photographer, a series of events led her family doctor to place Todorović on disability leave in 2019. The downtime was rare for this lifelong high achiever, but she says she used it to embark on a “self-discovery journey,” examining what she wanted in life and how she could finally get over her long-held belief that she was not enough.
After a year and a half of working on herself — and as she entered her 40s — Todorović realized if she had felt this way for so long, many other women must, too. She vowed to change that through her art.
In late November 2022, she opened Čedna Portrait Stories, focusing full time on corporate headshots, branding photography, children's and family photography, and portraiture including the Worthy Woman Portrait Series.
Todorović held a one-day exhibition of the portraits on March 9 — the day after International Women’s Day — at Calgary's Venue 308, along with a silent auction benefiting the Women on Wings Society, a non-profit helping women and families leaving domestic abuse situations.
She’s now accepting applications for her 2025 Worthy Woman Portrait Series, inviting more women in front of her camera to help communicate that “beauty is everywhere, and women over 40 have something to say.”
LINK'S PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE
Inspired by a Victorian parlour game and found throughout popular culture, the Proust Questionnaire is a series of questions intended to provide a deeper, more intimate glimpse into a person's character. Following the exhibition of her Worthy Woman Portrait Series, Čedna Todorović reflects on trust, treasured possessions and pursuing a new career in her 40s.
Given the power, what holiday would you create?
Self-Acknowledgement Day.
What is your greatest fear?
Living a life devoid of meaningful memories and experiences, and having nothing worthy of mention to look back upon in life.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
Walking away from a predictable, structured, secure, 20-year corporate career to pursue my passion of photography in my 40s.
What is your most treasured possession?
Old photographs from my childhood.
What are the words you try to live by?
Trust the timing of your life. Trust that things that are meant for you will find you.
What is your favourite pastime?
Naps, meals with friends, and snuggle time with my kids.
Occupation you would have chosen for yourself (other than photographer)?
Civil rights activist.
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SAIT is located on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of Treaty 7 which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Îyârhe Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney.
We are situated in an area the Blackfoot tribes traditionally called Moh’kinsstis, where the Bow River meets the Elbow River. We now call it the city of Calgary, which is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta.