How To Look Thinner In Your Headshot

Almost everyone asks some version of this question, usually awkwardly. “I don’t photograph well.” “Can you make me look thinner?” “I just don’t want to look fat.” It’s one of the most common things I hear at the start of a session, and it’s almost always self-criticism that’s harsher than the situation requires.

Here’s the honest answer: the camera doesn’t actually add ten pounds. That’s a myth from the days of wide lenses and weird film. But bad posing absolutely adds the appearance of weight, and most of us have spent our entire lives unconsciously posing badly because nobody ever taught us otherwise. So if you’ve looked at photos of yourself and thought “wow, do I really look like that?” — the answer is usually no, you don’t. You look like that when you stand straight on, drop your chin, hunch your shoulders, and let your face go slack — which is exactly what most untrained people do when a camera comes out.

Here’s what works. Most of these are things I’ll direct you through during a session anyway, but it’s good to know in advance.

The angle of your body matters more than anything

Don’t stand square to the camera. Turn your shoulders 30–45 degrees away. Then turn your head back toward the lens. This single adjustment makes everyone — and I mean everyone — look slimmer. A square-on shoulder line reads as wider; an angled shoulder line reads as narrower. Same body, different photo.

The fashion photography term for this is “the gradient.” You’re presenting a gradient from one shoulder to the other, which the eye reads as movement and depth. A straight-on shoulder line reads as flat and wide.

Bring your jaw out and slightly down

Most people have a “second chin” not because they have one in reality but because the camera is below their face and they’re tucking their chin down to look at it. The fix is counterintuitive: bring your jawline forward and slightly down, like a turtle peeking out of its shell. This stretches the skin under the jaw and defines the jawline. It feels weird. It looks great.

Photographers call this “extending your face.” If your photographer doesn’t direct you to do this, you might want a different photographer.

Don’t smile with closed lips if you can help it

Closed-lip smiles often produce a “double chin” effect even on slim people, because the muscle activation is wrong. A real smile — one that engages the eyes — pulls the cheek muscles up and back, which lifts and defines the jawline. If you’re self-conscious about your teeth, a soft “almost-smile” with slightly parted lips works better than a tight closed-mouth smile.

Watch your shoulders

Hunched shoulders push the head forward and create a slumped silhouette that reads as heavier. Pulled-back shoulders open the chest, lengthen the neck, and produce a more confident line. Practice this in the mirror: roll your shoulders back and slightly down. It feels like a tiny adjustment. It’s a huge adjustment in photos.

Lean forward at the waist (a little)

Counterintuitive but real: leaning your upper body slightly forward toward the camera makes your face look larger relative to your body, which is actually what you want in a headshot. The face becomes the focal point. This works best when paired with bringing the jaw out — together, the two adjustments produce a confident, defined, engaged look.

Don’t lean far. An inch or two from the waist is plenty.

Wardrobe choices that help

A few quick wardrobe notes:

• Dark, solid colors are slimming. Patterned shirts and bright colors draw the eye to the body, which is the opposite of what you want.
• Open collars and V-necks elongate the neck and break up the visual block of fabric below the face. Closed crew necks produce a “head sitting on a pillar” effect that doesn’t help anyone.
• Fitted clothing reads as slimmer than baggy clothing. Tight clothing reads as heavier. Tailored is the goal.
• A jacket on top of a shirt produces vertical lines that slim the silhouette. This works for any gender.

I have a more detailed wardrobe guide here if you want to go deeper on this.

What I do during the session

A good portrait photographer is doing all of this for you in real time. I’m watching your shoulders, your chin, your jaw, your expression, the angle of your body, the gradient from one shoulder to the other. I’m directing tiny adjustments throughout the session — “chin a touch lower, shoulders back, eyes to me, soft smile” — and capturing the half-seconds when everything aligns. Most of the work is invisible to the client because if I’m doing it right, you don’t notice you’re being directed.

The other thing worth knowing: I will never tell you you look great when you don’t. If a particular angle isn’t flattering, I’ll change angles. If a particular expression is producing a problem, I’ll redirect. The result is photos that consistently look like the best version of you, not the average version of you.

What I won’t do

I won’t excessively retouch you to look like a different person. I’ll smooth skin, remove temporary blemishes, and clean up any tiny issues — the standard retouching everyone expects. I won’t slim your face digitally, change your bone structure, or make you look 20 pounds lighter. Those edits are easy to spot, they don’t survive any side-by-side comparison with the real you, and they undermine the entire point of having a photo that represents you. Better to use posing and lighting to produce a flattering real photo than to produce a deceptive edited one.

A note on self-criticism

After 20 years of doing this work, I can tell you that almost no one looks at their photos as kindly as their friends and family do. The features you’re self-conscious about are usually invisible to other people. The “ten pounds” you think the camera added is usually one or two — and the gap between how you look in good photos and bad photos is bigger than the gap between your actual current weight and your imagined ideal weight.

A flattering, professional headshot is achievable for almost everyone, at almost any size, at almost any age. It’s a question of light, angle, expression, and direction — not of the body underneath the clothes. Don’t put off the headshot until you “lose the weight first.” Just book the session. The photo will be better than you expect.

Book online or send me a message with any questions.