KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Photographer Megan Clute can't stop smiling as she holds the first copy of her book; 'Red Head Beauties' in the living room of her Knoxville home.
"Oh, it was just so fun," she said about the goal she set in 2019 to photograph 100 people with red hair in East Tennessee.
Shortly after Clute put out her call for redheads, the story spread across the country, and Clute received hundreds of messages.
"Text messages, phone calls, emails, all social media, my Gmail, everything," Clute recalled.
For geographical simplicity, Clute focused on people in her community of East Tennessee, and a few subjects from Kentucky and North Carolina who made the drive to her Knoxville home.
"I just couldn't say no," Clute said.
Clute's fascination with red hair began when she moved to Tennessee from the Philippines as a girl, but it never died down.
She hopes the book shows other people the beauty that she sees every time she notices someone with the fiery hair color.
"When they open this book, I hope they're like, 'Oh my goodness! That is me!' And just being proud of who they are, proud of their red hair and everything that comes with it," Clute said.
Clute said she recently received the sample copy of the book and is working on setting up a system for people to pre-order the book that means so much to her.