Stopping in over 150 countries in all corners of the world, Ommer carefully selected the families which best reflected each society s traditions and social conditions. Many of the portraits have appeared in exhibitions and magazines during the course of the project; now that the work is finished, Taschen brings it all to you in one volume. Ommer chose to photograph each family in the same way, against a white background and with identical lighting. All of the traditional elements of a documentary photograph are removed, leaving only the people themselves.