My Challenge

Love the Pudge is not only a blog. In two weeks time, there will be a full-out gallery exposing the first batch of individuals who have chosen to bare their insecurities to the lens of my camera. Seventeen shots will be printed and mounted for public viewing. The point of this, however, is to not only empower those photographed, but also those who observe.

I have recently finished my last photoshoot and am currently in the process of printing. Today, I went to the printing shop in the city where the employee spoke very little english. I printed a test shot that measured about the span of my outstretched arms. Something was off, but I couldn't put a finger on it. I spent a good half an hour staring at the print. Finally I concluded that the print was in fact wider...giving the photographed girl a bit more "pudge" than she actually has in real. I told the employee that he must print it again with different dimensions so that the image doesn't get skewed. He told me the pixels were fine. I told him it wasn't the pixels but the image itself--He didn't understand. Finally, after some back and forth choppy translations and frantic hand gestures, he proudly stated his revelation, "Oh! You don't want her to look fat?" I snapped. I immediately defended the girl in the photograph, explaining that she is not at all fat, and that is exactly why I don't want the picture to look wider than she really is-- and then I had a revelation-- he meant fat only in its synonymous meaning to wide. I decided to print the rest of the photos after stressing to him how important it is for the photographs to be as true to real life as possible--in my broken Hebrew. I hope they come out well.