I spent a lot of time on the internet where I first learned about body and fat positive movements and the many inspiring people working on different aspects of these movements. But more often than not, I end up meeting someone in person—whether it's a blogger I've followed for years or a mainstream plus-size model—and we're both surprised at how different each other's looks are. In real life, our bodies tend to be a little bigger or smaller than they usually appear on Instagram.
Even without Photoshop involved (without subtle lighting editing), photos (including the ones we see in the fashion world) can be easily manipulated. Sometimes it's not even intentional. The camera lens you use, the way the light hits your chin, and the angles you tilt and twist your face and body all affect how someone looks in a photo.
Before I knew what Photoshop was (and before I discovered the not-often-taught concept of falling in love with your body), I blindly believed in the images I encountered in magazines. I believe that the models on these covers must be just as "perfect" in real life as they are in the photos: just as slim, with the same proportions, the same curves "in the right place," the same lack of obvious abdominal contours and neck fat. One might be. Years later, when I started taking photos of myself with the help of my partner slash photographer, I began to realize how easy it was to make yourself look thinner or fatter.
To show how easy it is to change the weight in an image without actual Photoshop, I took part in a few photo shoots. My partner and I have three lenses at our disposal: Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 SP (wide-angle zoom), Canon efs 18-55mm (stock Canon Rebel zoom), and Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II (fixed focal lens). We found that the first two shots shrunk my body significantly, while the latter shot was more reflective of real life. I also pulled out the iPhone 6's front-facing camera, since smartphones are likely where most Millennials take their selfies.
Other than using these different lenses (which I think is fair since most professional photographers I've seen and worked with use a variety of lenses) and reflectors, we didn't do anything other than adjust the angle of my face matter. Here's what happened.
sloping silhouette
People often think that photos taken from above make you look thinner, while photos taken from below make you look fatter. But there are actually many more subtleties involved in photo presentation - and I bet many of them are used in fashion photography and mainstream plus-size models. Real talk: Whenever I see plus-size models in person—the same models who are often criticized for being “not big enough”—their bodies tend to be fuller than many photos suggest.
Something as seemingly benign as the position of your tongue in your mouth can make your double chin more or less noticeable. Adjusting your face so that it's slightly to one side of you (like I've done in the photo on the right) will push your lovely mounds into full view while gently keeping your face in the air (see: left image) ) will elongate it. Same person, different perspective.
General introduction
I love all of my chins equally, but I know some people go into a panic once they have photos of more than one chin. As with all types of fat, we've been conditioned to believe that double chins, uneven bellies, and cellulite-filled thighs are on the list of "features to avoid at all costs."
In the "skinny" picture above, you'd barely know I have fat around my chin and neck. All it takes is stretching my neck out a little so that there's more distance between it and the rest of my face. In the photo on the right, I intentionally pushed the face inward toward the neck so that all the fat is more visible. I got inspiration from a game created by a group of girls in high school gym class. They also bury their faces in their necks to determine who has the most hidden fat. Whoever "looks least fat" wins the round. But all I could notice at the time was the fact that even though they were all incredibly thin, everyone had fat underneath.
Slightly more forward silhouette
In the photo on the left, my neck and second chin are slightly obscured by my coat, because sometimes all it takes to manipulate an image is to burrow yourself into a pile of fur. Additionally, I angled the face so that it was almost parallel to the camera while elongating the neck again to create the illusion of a jawline. This is actually shot from a low angle, but the effect doesn't automatically "fatten" it.
On the right, I'm rolling those shaky parts. When my jacket is open and my face is in almost full-frontal mode, you can see its many layers. Also, my head is tilted back instead of down, making what's going on under my chin more obvious.
front-mounted
There's a lot to be said for looking down at the camera, making your eyes appear further apart and your jaw more defined. For this "skinny" image, I opened my eyes wide, put my tongue on the roof of my mouth, elongated my neck, and moved my elongated neck further outward to create more distance between it and my chin.
As for the second photo, that's pretty much how I look to most passers-by who see me from a great distance. No fishing or tongue tricks. This is just a candid shot of a happy fat girl.
excited smile
Believe it or not, from the perspective of my face, there is almost no difference between the two shots, which is a testament to how different the two shots are. In my first few years as a blogger, I used the same lens that took the "thin" photos above. What the old me didn't know is that a large number of lenses shrink your face and body. They're not marketed as "make me slimmer" cameras or anything like that. But it did happen.
Besides the gear being different, my head being pushed outward to achieve a thinner, wilder-eyed look, the fat photo is just a pretty honest representation of me being fat.
half smile
I'm sure models in fashion photography suck their cheeks more often than we think. This makes it incredibly difficult to smile, but many models never seem to smile in photos anyway.
Oh, now it all makes sense.
bright smile
This is what I released. The picture on the left is a perfect example of what happens when shooting from a height. It seems like the higher the camera is, the less noticeable the fat on the face is. So please don’t put too much faith in aerial photography.
Speaking of me with the fat grin, you know how I say people often think photos taken from above always make you look thinner? Sometimes it doesn't even matter how high or low the camera is relative to your face. Sometimes the key is how far you push your chin into your neck so that all the thick parts basically blend into one. Both photos were actually taken while my partner was standing on a ladder.
Profile selfie
Whenever I talk to true selfie enthusiasts, they usually attribute the main appeal of this version of the self-portrait to the ability to control the image. However, the benefit of having complete control over your image in camera is that it also makes it easier to control how slim or plus-sized you look. I'm not saying this is good or bad. Everyone has the right to choose how they behave. I'm just saying, selfies give us so many opportunities to show who we really are.
In the second picture, I simply turned my head and my face was more visible than in the frontal photo.
Off-center gaze selfie
Even though both poses were shot from a "horrible" low-angle pose that many people hate because of "ugh, double chins," one looks noticeably slimmer than the other. What are the main differences? How off-center my actual face is relative to the camera. In my experience, slightly more direct photos (like the right one) tend to give a more realistic representation of what people look like when you look them straight in the eye.
Selfie at an angle
I'll say it again: Sometimes, to give the illusion of a jawline, just hide your actual jawline. Sometimes, just tucking your face fat into your shoulders will show the world just how chunky you really are.
Close-up selfie
Logically, the closer you are to the camera, the less clear view of your body will be. When you see images of models' faces that look long and don't have any lovely lard, keep in mind that they probably do have lard. They are just not visible in the camera.
frontal selfie
In the picture on the left, I'm cold in my coat, so you can't see how fat my face is. Pouty lips can also make your cheeks look slimmer. Maybe there’s another reason why so many catwalk models pout…
The correct photo is of me smiling and not tilting my head as if I'm hoping to find something super glamorous on the ceiling of an office building.
So what exactly does this prove?
I will not be sharing these images and methods of losing weight and gaining weight so that people can read and continue to lose weight with their photos. My goal is exactly the opposite.
Personally, I never strive to make my photos look smaller because I believe the images we consume, and allow others to consume, should be as honest and realistic as possible. If this were true of mainstream media, fashion editorials, and advertising campaigns, I believe most of us would grow up with a broader understanding of the many ways in which we exist as individuals in the world.
The concept of "one ideal body type" may no longer matter, and more children will grow up recognizing that most people have some sort of unique pocket of fat on their bodies. Maybe we've even forgotten the idea of the "ideal plus-size body," where a woman is the perfect hourglass shape without any fat dangling outside of her breasts and hips. Most plus size women have visible fat, double chins, neck lumps, and wobbly bellies. Most women, regardless of size, have fat somewhere on their body.
I know it's almost impossible to determine whose images are manipulated and whose images aren't, but that's why I think it's so important to take everything we see online or in magazines with a grain of salt. Remember, "getting her perspective" is part of the modeling job. Remember, photographers can use any number of lenses. Remember, the internet is run by people, and people lie. Remember, you have the right to present yourself and your image however you want, but the more honest you are about your appearance, the easier it will be for you to relate to others who have a body similar to your own.
When it comes to plus-size images (or images that represent any kind of marginalized body type), I think it’s more important to be as authentic as possible. Obesity is one of the most stigmatized traits in contemporary culture. I don’t believe it can be destigmatized unless it’s normalized first. Normalize it? Well, we need to look at it. So please: try not to hide your chin.
Image: Marie Southard Ospina
