Body of Work: Interview with Photographer Liora K

Bullying is showing up on social media in the form of “fat shaming,” a term used to describe biases against individuals whose body weight is considered ‘above the norm.’ It’s a disturbing trend smacking of unfair hierarchy regarding what is considered beautiful, acceptable and cool. Enough of the shame game. Agreed?

Image courtesy of Vecteezy

This past May, blogger Jes Baker of The Militant Baker unleashed a backlash of “ads” in response to Abercrombie & Fitch’s CEO’s anti-fat comments. Five days after the aforementioned “ads” ran, A&F’s U.S. sales plummeted by 17% as reported in The Huffington Post. In homage to one of the most visible anti-bullying messages in recent months, we interviewed Liora K, Jes’s collaborator and the photographer behind this now-iconic and groundbreaking campaign.

Liora K.
Photo credit: Impulse Nine Media http://impulsenine.com/

U.S: What inspired you to direct and shoot the “A&F” photo session with Jes Baker?

L.K.: Jes and I collaborate frequently on projects and portraits, and I’m always excited when she approaches me about a new idea that we can develop together.  When the comments made by Mike Jeffries resurfaced, she thought that photographing her as a non-typical “uncool” body in a shoot styled like an A&F advertisement would be a great way to respond, and I agreed!  We are both passionate about showing real and un-photoshopped bodies by putting them into a fashion spotlight as a way to empower our friends in our local and online communities.  We discussed a variety of different ways to style the shoot, and decided on keeping it simple and clean in a studio setting so that we would have privacy to take some of the more risqué shots.  We put on some upbeat music, started with a few warm up shots, and laughed and played our way through the rest of the shoot.

Jes Baker of The Militant Baker
Photo credit: Liora K Photography

U.S.: How can photographers impact positive social change?

L.K.: All artists have the power to drive positive social change across the board, but I think that portrait and fashion photographers have a very specific role to play in expanding the types of people who are represented in our every day media. I think that by choosing subjects who have body shapes of all kinds, a broad range of skin colors and ethnic backgrounds, as well as a diversity of sexual and gender orientations, photographers can seek to normalize what is currently under represented and in some cases ostracized.

“All artists have the power to drive positive social change across the board….”
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U.S.: Do you have suggestions for aspiring photographers who wish to enact positive social change?

L.K.: My advice would be to learn your passions, and then open yourself up to sharing them through your artwork. Translating your activism to artwork can be a challenge, as can placing it out in the world to see, but debate and conversation are what drives social change. Be brave and go for it!

Photo credit: Liora K Photography

“…debate and conversation are what drives social change. Be brave and go for it!”
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U.S.: What other examples of your work do you feel speak to advancing positive social change?

L.K.: I have been working on a series of Feminist Photographs for a little over a year, which seek to create discussions around social and reproductive justice for women and men.  It’s been an incredible experience, and each shoot is a little bit different, and I learn so much from each participant.

Photo credit: Liora K Photography

U.S.: What can we expect to see next from Liora K. Photography?

L.K.: Whatever next sits in front of my lens, whether it be activism, fashion, beauty, or the randomness that sometimes pops into my head!

 

More about Liora K: Her adventures in photography began when she became obsessed with learning how to manipulate her first point and shoot so that she could avoid using the flash. Ever. Today, she still loves using ambient light in her photo shoots. She learns about people, places, and objects through her lens.

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Virtue of Small: What Might CEO Piglet Say?

“To my mind the old masters are not art; their value is in their scarcity.” ~ Thomas Edison
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Image courtesy of HubSpot

Do you milk re-purpose bygone posts written when there was time to create content for your website? Cobbler with no shoes sighs. Bloggers, companies, marketers, PR experts, social media strategists and finger-on-the pulse peeps often conclude content wears the crown: dishing up data, insights and generally good information propels us to sharable status on social media platforms, provides important resources for current and would-be clients and keeps us in the industry A List.

Agreed. And Ruh Ro. What if you buy into aforementioned perks yet find it difficult to churn out blog brilliance on the regs due to Smallness?

Imagine Mr. Edison duking it out with Gates.* “Hooray!” I exclaim as the former wields a powerful upper cut. But my eyes drop as I sniff out smarminess.

Comeback kid retorts “But the broad opportunities for most companies involve supplying information or entertainment. No company is too small to participate.” Thanks for bringing attention to this Bill Gates snippet Craig Bailey.

Small. And harumph.

Wait! Consider The Te of Piglet. In a land of Big Everything, why not capitalize on the Virtue of Small. Potential includes:

  • Precision
  • Expertise
  • Tailored attention
  • Depth
In a land of Big Everything, why not capitalize on the Virtue of Small.
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Being Small allows the luxury of capitalizing on extreme pin-pointedness, far reach into a client’s objectives, experimenting under-the-radar and tremendous opportunity for growth. All this and more applies to delivering business results as well as adventures in blogging.

Image courtesy of All Free Vectors

“You haven’t the time!” exclaimed Rabbit rushing to his next appointment.
“You’re barely noticeable anyway.” said Owl on his lunch break.
“I know! Isn’t it great?” cheered Piglet.

As always, your comments are king. Please feel free to share.

*I’d pay money to watch that fight. Not very Zen, I know.

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