Questions For Photography Educators
While I was at The Portrait Master’s Conference I recognized that if I truly wanted to make a lasting difference in the photography industry, it was going to have to be by educating the educators. At the event, I was the only booth that featured plus size models and it was named The Body Positivity Bay. While I appreciated the bay and the models (and my girls KILLLLLLED IT), I felt a little sad that ours was the only bay with larger bodied models and this got me to thinking of a few things. #1 If I was the body positivity bay, it shouldn’t matter what size of bodies were in that bay - body positivity is not reserved for fat bodies only (that’s a whole other topic I will save for another day) #2 If folks are teaching lighting, the size of the subject shouldn’t really make a difference and yet no one had mid-size or higher body sizes and that needs to change. It felt like there was a specific distinction between models and Teri’s models. But aside from me choosing my ladies, there wasn’t - we were there to show folks how to pose, light, and get creative - specific body types are NOT required to do this and yet most educators opt for humans that fit the beauty standard. So, my hope is that in the next 2 years I will see a shift in the culture of photography FROM the educators. I can’t be the only one talking about inclusivity in regards to size - we need more folks on board for this change to happen. I have seen the shift in the boudoir industry, but now the portrait and wedding industry need the same shift.
If you are a photographer, here’s what you can do:
-Invest in education and request speakers at events that DO feature plus size bodies in their work AND their educational material
-Fill out surveys after conferences and events and ask for larger, more diverse bodies to be represented
-Attend shootouts/workshops by folks that feature plus size/fat bodies ALL the time, not just for the workshop/shootout
If you are a photography educator, here are some questions I want you to consider:
