Photographing FAT people

the frustrated photographer

Today shoot a series of portraits for an accounting firm. Employee portraits that they will put on their website for biographies.  We shot 17 people.

We were ready to roll by 9am when the first subject to rolled up. It a fat woman in her mid 50s. Id guess  about 250lbs. My spirits sank. First thing in the morning and I'm shooting Heffer.

I do not dislike this person because they are Fat.

I dislike the situation because they are Fat.

The reason I'm in such a bad mood is that no matter what I do the photographs are going to look like crap. There is no way around it. Almost all fat people take bad photos. No amount of chin lifting, lighting or Photoshop is going to hide the fact that the person infront of the camera is fat.

I'm also angry about the situation because I want every subject people to be happy with their photographs...but like clockwork fat people are never happy with their portraits.

I understand and sympathize with my fat subjects. They look at my website and see slim people  and somehow assume because they are paying me a lot of money I will make them look slim as well.

Going back to the shoot... We begin. I ask for a smile. Nothing. A little smile? Nothing. My frustration mounts. Very rarely do fat people ever smile when getting thier photo taken. This makes the situation go from bad to worse. Which makes me unhappy because the photos are looking like shit... In turn the subject is unhappy because they already know the photos will look like crap...

Inevitably this situation is similar to when the Titanic was struck by the iceberg.... It's sinking and there's nothing that can be done about it.

Eventually when the painful portrait session ends both me and my fat subject are defeated. Crushed under the heel of unfortunate circumstances. As the subject leaves unhappy, my only hope is that the next subject is a slim person. Slim people always shoot well.

A TIP - If you are ever the person who's scheduling the photo shoot... make sure you schedule slim people first. Because your first shoot sets the tone for the day.  Think about it. Its human nature. The photographer will get jacked up shooting the slim pretty people first.  So when a fat person is scheduled in the mid day in its not that bad.

The photographer will have energy derived from the slim person and chances are high that we are going to push as hard as we can to get a great picture of the fat person. But make sure to end cap the fat person's session with another slim person. Because when the fat persons portraits bomb (they always do)... Our energy is picked right back up with a photogenic slim person.

To close out. There are those rare occasions that fat people actually photograph well. They are what I call "sexy fat" they have something about them that they simply rock out. Sexy fat can apply to a man or a woman. It's a confidence. A complete disregard about their weight. And it comes through in photographs. But like spotting shooting star its rare...  

This sounds harsh, but it's the truth.

PHOTO TIPS for FAT PEOPLE

Ok your fat. Its ok. You know how you look. You see yourself in the mirror every day. You probably aren't happy about it, But its picture day and there is not a thing you can do about it now. Here are some tips which will help you pull out something usable from your session.

1. DO NOT wear patterns or prints - Patterns draw attention to the fact your big, keep to solids.  

2. Choose Darks- Do not wear colors especially red. Choose darks. If your down own darks, go to a store, buy the cloths shoot in them, then return them.  

3. Subtle Jewelry- Big jewelry means your look big. Choose small jewelry.

4. Get Make Up - If the photographer does not provide make up services. Go to a place that does it and get it done that day. Or pool some money with your other colleagues and hire a makeup artist.... They can make a world of difference and good ones will boost your confidence that day!

5. Smile - For god sakes smile. Nothing worse than person who doesn't smile. But if you are a fat person who doesn't smile... it's the kiss of death...  Don't like your teeth? Fuck it. Smile big. What's the worst case scenario? You don't choose the smiley pics...

6. Accept Responsibility - Understand the photographer has skills but is not a magician. The fact that your fat makes the session an uphill battle before we even start. So if you come in unhappy, unprepared, dressed like a slob then our job is made that much more difficult. Neither of us will be happy with the results .

7. Think about this post - Look if you are fat and are reading this, you are probably pissed at me. But you probably also agree with everything I wrote. It's ok the truth hurts. Use that motivation to make healthy choices and live a more active life. Lose that weight. Look at hiring a personal trainer. If you don't have money Google a free home workout program. So go ahead get off my blog, get your ass out of your chair and make choices that will only improve your life.