Throughout history, queer individuals were put into labels and were diagnosed as "mad" by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). This was seen as problematic to the queer community because there was and still is nothing wrong with being queer. Queer individuals have fought their whole lives to be seen as regular people and not something that is taboo or to be ashamed of. In 1973 after years of fighting, being gay or lesbian was finally taken off of the mental disorder diagnosis list and queer individuals were able to be seen medically as regular people. Out of The Shadows wants to showcase queer youth and bring them to the forefront to highlight how their sense of self-image has shifted as well as how society's standards for queer people have also shifted. Each set of images is arranged in an order to show growth within each person. The subjects slowly go from being closed off and uncomfortable to being more open with themselves and showing off their queerness either to themselves in their homes through more self-confidence or out in public on the street showing off their relationships.