?These Photos Show Women Before, During, And After Orgasms

Having an orgasm is rarely quite so public.

Introducing the O Project, an initiative by Brazilian photographer Marcos Alberti and sexual wellbeing brand Smile Makers to dissolve the barriers surrounding female sexuality—specifically, female orgasms. After recruiting 22 women for the project, Alberti took four headshots of each of them before, during, and after they orgasmed. They masturbated using personal massagers, but everything below the waist was hidden from both the camera and the photographer.

“On the first meeting [with Smile Makers] I came up with this idea, to show female orgasms in a very real way,” Alberti said in an email to Men’s Health. “No photoshop, no makeup, no acting, no interference, just real life.”

The women he used in his project come from all ethnicities and nationalities, some from traditionally conservative countries like China and Singapore. Alberti says his hope is that women across the globe can freely talk about orgasming without feeling embarrassed.

“We are sending the message to women everywhere that this is not a shameful secret,” he said. “This is real, it is raw, and it is beautiful.”

Learn 14 mind-blowing facts that will completely change the way you think about orgasms:

It’s important to open up the discussion around the oft-elusive female orgasm. After all, studies show that women have significantly fewer orgasms than men. (Need help? Here are 10 tips to get closer to the big finish. You can try adding this Almost Naked Personal Lubricant into the mix.)