Question for photography educators: When you photograph plus size bodies are you expecting them to look the same as thin bodies? And when they don't do you think it's not as "flattering" or "good"? -------------------------- Our brains work on representation which means that if we are fed the same content featuring the same type of bodies in the same poses we are going to believe that that is "right" or "good". When we switch out the traditional model for a model with a larger body or even just a different body shape and put them in the same poses, it can make our brains VERY uncomfortable. When I was at the Graphi workshop this year, I posed for the class and I put myself in a standard concave high fashion pose - and the students laughed. It was because they hadn't seen bodies like mine in that pose and their brain relies solely on past experiences and representation to know what is right or good - therefore, my body looked "unflattering" in that same pose because there was a subconscious expectation that I should look the same as smaller bodies who do the same pose. As an educator, chances are you are well versed in posing/lighting/etc. But if you only teach using the same bodies, anytime you get different bodies in front of the camera you are going to think it's not as good and default to believing that there has to be different posing for plus size folks than folks in smaller bodies. And every time you use the traditional models in your education you are subconsciously reinforcing the concept of what is good and bad in terms of bodies that can be photographed. The more we see more diversity in the bodies we share, the more the upcoming photographers will be able to expand their belief and creativity about what is possible and who it's possible for. And isn't that what education should be about??