Tgus Photographer Aims To Change The Way Society Perceives Fat People

Photographer Shoog McDaniel wants society to view fat people in a different—and unedited—light, but some factors, like Instagram’s nude policy, stand in the photographer’s way.

Shoog McDaniel
© @shooglet
Shoog McDaniel

Most of us are well aware that artists, magazines, and Instagram influencers photoshop and adjust pictures, no matter the size of the subject. Shoog McDaniel refuses to photoshop or edit their overweight subjects.

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The photographer wants their viewers to appreciate fatness! Shoog says, “I really despise seeing fat folks photographed in a way to make them smaller, airbrushing to get rid of the rolls, and that kind of stuff. I work actively against that and like to highlight everything that people try to get rid of in photos of fat people.”

They primarily shoot nude people who rock sizes 4x, 5x or higher. Shoog claims that they prefer to feature fat people “who are least likely to be in the media these days” in their photographs.

However, Instagram doesn’t agree with some of Shoog’s photos. Shoog discusses Instagram’s discriminating algorithm, “The most messed up thing is that the algorithm – and Instagram has stated this publicly – searches for posts that have a certain percentage of skin showing to be considered nude.” Basically, Instagram is more likely to remove photos of fat people even if that person only flashes their stomach. How crazy is that?

Shoog McDaniel describes themself as “a southern, queer, non-binary, fat photographer and artist living in Tallahassee, Florida.” The creative artist claims that they have been taking pictures since high school! Want to learn more about Shoog and their groundbreaking artwork? Tune into our video!

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