Having committed to blogging twice a week, the challenge became what to blog about. In contemplating this dilemma it dawned on me to address some issues I come across regularly dealing with enquiries at the studio.
Does ones size matter – YES…. AND NO. From a photographic viewpoint NO, it only becomes an issue depending on how you view yourself. There is a lot of pressure to be slim or look ‘fit’, this is the by product of our being far too easily influenced by magazines, catalogues, peer pressure and the media.
In real life – size does not make one bit of difference to anyone having appeal, being beautiful or desirable – these perceptions are dependent on and influenced by how we see ourselves in the first place or how we want others to see us (and this should not matter at all unless you are a model or aspiring to be one).
If we feel desirable, beautiful or good about ourselves, are confident and comfortable in our own skin, then we project this and people see it in us, but if we don’t, we project a negative ‘vibe’ and people respond to that too.
Quite often I get someone stop by the studio wanting to book a shoot, who asks whether I can make them ‘look’ slimmer in the photo. Yes I can is the simple answer, to what extent, becomes the dilemma. As an experienced photographer, I know a few tricks of the trade I can deploy to make my subject appear slimmer in a photo than they are in real life.
My ultimate weapon in dealing with the above subject is to ensure the photo shoot is fun – lots of fun. People often feel good about themselves when they are having fun. But before I get ahead of myself, there are a few other things I make sure of first, such as telling my clients to only bring clothes they look and feel great in, this is very very important indeed – half the battle is won with this alone.
Other things include advising them on what to wear for best effect (down to the colour and styling of the clothes to bring) – black or dark coloured clothing is top on the list. Long sleeves or anything that covers arms and shoulders is next. Nothing very tight or overly figure hugging follows that (this helps avoid unsightly bulges).
The way I light the shoot is another method I use to make my sitter look slimmer, the background I shoot against, how I shoot and compose my shots in relation to that background is quite important too but by far the most important ingredient I employ in such shoots is the conversations I have with the person before the shoot.
I search out and find features that really sell my client and shoot to accentuate them, I also find out the features they feel the least confident about and find ways to minimise them in the shoot or eliminate them with Photoshop later on. Photoshop is the last item I consider in my list of things to deploy
Laslty, everyone likes to be flattered and told they look fantastic, I don’t say it as a trick – I say it because I believe it. So.. does size matter? Not to me. My job is to make you look beautiful and feel great about yourself (and I will do that) – whatever size you happen to be.
by John Okpala
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