The elephant in the studio

Excerpt from blog post written by Teri Hofford- Body image guru

You can’t have a conversation about human photography without having a conversation about body image. YET, so many of us try to avoid the BIG elephant in the studio because we are afraid of offending others OR because we are so deeply conditioned to not even notice we are doing it. So, today we are going to talk about “IT”. Yes. We are going to talk about

FAT

Fat and the ability to be photographed have somehow become mutually exclusive - as if one has something to do with the other.

And sometimes it’s not even ACTUAL fat, but rather the possibility of appearing fat that clashes with the ability to be photographed.

So, in this post I am going to address the common fears, concerns, and mindsets that contribute to this from the subjects’ perspective and then I am going to flip it and talk to this from the photographers’ perspective - because the fear of fat, existing as fat, looking fat, becoming fat, etc. affects LITERALLY everyone.

Have you ever said/thought the following before getting your photo taken?

“I need to lose X lbs before I do a photoshoot.”

“I need to cover up my….”

“I hope my arms don’t look flabby!”

“I hope they use ‘flattering’ angles…”

*COVERS UP TUM*

If so, chances are you are dancing with the BIG elephant in the studio.

So, as a professional photographer let me assure you: -Whether you lose weight or not -Whether you cover up your bits or not" -Whether your arms look ‘flabby’ or not -Whether the angles are ‘flattering’ or not -Whether your tum is covered or not

YOU. ARE. WORTHY. OF. BEING. PHOTOGRAPHED.