Best Tips to Look Amazing in Photos If You're Plus-Sized

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Easy ways to look (and feel) your best in pictures

Co-authored by Paul Julch, MA and Bertha Isabel Crombet, PhD

Last Updated: August 21, 2025 Fact Checked

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Best Poses

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Taking a Flattering Selfie

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Looking & Feeling Your Best

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Expert Q&A

Being overweight doesn't mean you can't look totally amazing in photos, even if it feels that way sometimes. It's all about camera angles and the right poses! In this article, we'll be sharing key strategies for how to look and feel your best for selfies, group pics, and more. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know, with expert tips from image consultants, stylists, and professional photographers.

Finding Flattering Angles When You're Overweight

According to personal wardrobe stylist Paul Julch, MA, avoid facing the camera head-on. Instead, turn into a 3/4 pose, angling both your shoulders and hips to create a more visually narrow look. When sitting down, sit up straight to minimize a belly bulge. Wear dark colors to camouflage the areas you are less comfortable showing.

Section 1 of 3:

Best Poses for Plus-Sized Women

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1
Turn your body three-quarters away from the camera. Don't stand facing directly at the camera—turn so your hips and shoulders are angled slightly away, instead. Stand with your back straight, shoulders down, and chest out. Finally, flex your stomach to bring in your waist. Julch says to “turn into a three-quarter pose, both your shoulders and your hips, because that visually narrows you so you won't look wider than you are.” ^{[1]
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Expert Source

Paul Julch, MA
Personal Wardrobe Stylist & Speaker

Expert Interview}
- Standing at an angle will make you look narrower in the photo.
- Don’t stand flat-footed. Instead, balance your weight on the ball of your feet. ^{[2]
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- If you're going for a more feminine stance, cross your feet while you stand. This will slim your hips and can also make a photo more interesting. ^{[3]
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- Try stretching one leg forward while the other leg bends slightly. Place your weight on that front leg, and that will create a V-shape that makes you look slimmer. Placing your hands on your hips can also help accentuate your waistline.
Meet the wikiHow Experts

Paul Julch, MA is a Personal Wardrobe Stylist and Speaker, with over 25 years in the fashion industry.

Katie Quinn is an Image Consultant and Personal Wardrobe Stylist with over 11 years of image consulting experience.

Crystal Bear is a Professional Photographer, specializing in weddings and portraits for women.
2
Push your elbows back to make your arms appear slimmer. Keep your arms away from your body to make them look slimmer. For a feminine pose, put the hand closest to the camera on your hip and point your elbow behind you. This will elongate your arm and help it look toned. You could also put a hand in their pocket, holding the arm away from their body. Next, hide your other arm behind your body or gently rest it on a chest-high surface. ^{[4]
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- If you have to face the camera directly and want your waist to look smaller, put both of your hands on your hips.
- Hold purses or bags slightly away from your body or over a self-conscious area.
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Accentuate your jaw by tilting your head up. A well-defined jaw will make you look slimmer in photographs. Bring your head towards the camera by tilting your head up slightly and extending your neck. However, don’t simply point your chin at the camera as this looks unnatural. Angle your head slightly as you pose by tilting it to the left or right. ^{[5]
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- Remember to keep your back straight while you pose. Otherwise, you may look like a turtle with your head stretched out.
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Focus on having great posture. Julch notes that clients of his have major concerns when posing for a photo sitting down, fearing that to be their worst angle. However, Julch offers a quick and simple fix: “You want to make sure you're sitting straight with your shoulders up.” He explains that posture is key to looking slim in photos. He continues, “If you're slightly slumped down, then you're just going to look like you have a big stomach even if you don't have one.” ^{[6]
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Expert Source

Paul Julch, MA
Personal Wardrobe Stylist & Speaker

Expert Interview}
- When posing for a photo, make sure that nothing on you is perfectly horizontal. Tilt your head so that your eyes aren't perfectly horizontal to the ground, your shoulders should be canted, etc.
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Lean into your photo partner for couple pics. Turn your body away from the camera towards your picture partner. Balance your weight on your back foot and drop your hips, relaxing your front leg. Put the other hand around or on your partner’s shoulder. If you want to look extra slim, stand slightly behind your partner. Remember, never flatten your arm against your body. ^{[7]
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- Put the hand closest to the camera on their lowered hip and push their elbows back, or put a hand in their pocket and push the elbow out.
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Never be the closest person to the camera in group pics. This will make you appear larger than anyone else in the photo. Next, either put your hands on your hips or around the shoulders of your picture partners. If you can choose who you stand between, choose people with similar body types to your own. This will reduce the contrast between body types in photos. ^{[8]
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- If you’re especially self-conscious about your arms, simply put them around your picture partners’ waists. They won’t be seen in the picture at all. ^{[9]
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- If you want to, you can cross your legs, one in front of the other to appear slimmer.

Section 2 of 3:

Taking a Flattering Selfie

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1
Take an overhead photo for a svelte look. Photos taken at this angle generally make their subjects look slimmer. Lift the camera so that it’s about a foot taller than eye level. Look at the camera and take a practice photo. Raise and lower the camera while taking practice photos to find your perfect angle. Professional photographer Crystal Bear says, “You want to make sure that the camera is above eye level most of the time and looking down,” to reduce the risk of a double chin creeping into your photo. ^{[10]
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Crystal Bear
Professional Photographer

Expert Interview}
- For a masculine look, push your chin out while taking photos from an overhead angle to make the jaw appear stronger. ^{[11]
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- Keep your chin down and turn your face slightly to the left or right. ^{[12]
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Choose a spot with great natural lighting. Find a spot that has light coming in from behind you. The light will filter around you and give you a soft glow. If you’re wearing dark clothing, pose against a light background for a slimming effect. If you’re wearing light clothing, pose against a slightly darker or lighter background. If the background is too dark, it will make you appear bulky. Bear advises, “You want to sit with your face facing the window and with the phone just slightly above eye level looking down at you because it makes your chin thinner.” ^{[13]
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Crystal Bear
Professional Photographer

Expert Interview}
- Bear explains that “you don't want to sit in front of a window and take a photograph because… when you sit in front of a bright light, it messes with the function of the camera.” ^{[14]
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- She adds that “you'll end up dark or with weird halo glow behind your head.” So, choose your lighting carefully! ^{[15]
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- Find natural sources of light. Avoid fluorescent lights at all costs. ^{[16]
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3
Figure out your best angles. As a good exercise, stand in front of a mirror and try positioning your head in lots of different angles. Try tilting your head forward, to each side, and practice smiling with teeth and without. You can even perfect your very own Blue Steel ! Try different combinations with your hair, makeup, and accessories. Taking this kind of comprehensive inventory of your facial range can help better inform your selfies. Knowing exactly what poses and expressions flatter you the most can completely change your selfie game! ^{[17]
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- A 45-degree angle from above is flattering for many people, but play around with angles in order to highlight your best features, like a sharp nose or large, expressive eyes.
- Looking at the camera head-on may not be the most flattering angle for everyone, so try moving your head to the side to show off your cheekbones and/or jawline.
4
Crop away anything that you don't like when you're editing. Once you’ve taken a selfie you like, crop anything unwanted out of the picture. For example, if you like the way your face looks but you feel like your arm looks bulky, crop your arm out. Similarly, if you took your selfie in a bathroom, make sure you crop out the toilet or any beauty product clutter on the sink. ^{[18]
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- Download a selfie app to help you crop photos more easily. These apps will also include filters that you can use on your selfies before you post them.
- If you run out of ideas for selfie locations, look at popular selfie posters on Instagram or Twitter for inspiration.

Section 3 of 3:

Looking & Feeling Your Best for Photos

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1
Wear clothes to flatter your body type. Wear fitted tops that flare around the hips to slim your waist. Similarly, wear shirts that cinch in just below your bust or wear a belt at your waist. If you’re wearing a jacket, button a few buttons in the middle. Avoid billowing clothing that will erase your hourglass shape. Image consultant Katie Quinn says that certain fabrics are more flattering than others: “Pieces done in a lightweight jersey that have soft lines and are easily layered [work best].” She adds that you should avoid “tight” clothing with a “strong waist.” She advises that you look for “elastic waists, tunics, and longer lightweight cardigans.” ^{[19]
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Katie Quinn
Image Consultant

Expert Interview}
- For men, shirt sleeves should come to your wrists, and your pants should stop at the top of your heel.
- Don’t wear oversized, baggy, or wrinkled clothing, and avoid complicated patterns.
- Choose darker shades over lighter shades. Darker shades are generally more slimming in photographs.
- Wear similar shades of clothing on your top and bottom. ^{[20]
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Wear darker colors to hide problem areas. When you're dressing for your photos, use darker clothing to camouflage any areas of your body that you're not as comfortable with. However, if there's anything that you like showing off, use lighter colors to draw attention to it. Julch says, “If you have anything about your body that you're not as comfortable with, that's where I would wear the darker color.” ^{[21]
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Paul Julch, MA
Personal Wardrobe Stylist & Speaker

Expert Interview} ^{[22]
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- Julch offers an example: “Let's say your top half is bigger than your lower half. If you want to camouflage your top half, wear a dark-colored shirt and wear a light-colored bottom. That visually balances your proportions.” ^{[23]
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  Paul Julch, MA
  Personal Wardrobe Stylist & Speaker
  
  Expert Interview}
3
Groom, style, and accessorize to look your best. Take time to style your hair to perfection. If you have longer hair, curl it to give it volume and slim your face. If you have shorter hair, style it with volume on top for a similar effect. Next, apply your favorite makeup. Not only will you look good in photos, you’ll also get a huge confidence boost. Comb their hair neatly and trim their facial hair. Make sure your face is clean as well. ^{[24]
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- If you have a masculine haircut and you’re not sure how to style it, go to your local barbershop. They’ll give you a trim and teach you how to style your hair.
- Watch makeup tutorials online to perfect your look.
- Reader Poll: We asked 376 wikiHow readers if they think hair is an important part of looking presentable, and 93% said yes . [Take Poll]
4
Smile. A genuine smile looks beautiful in pictures. However, some people have trouble finding a genuine smile while waiting to be photographed. If so, laugh quietly and squint your eyes slightly. This will help your smile look genuine even when it isn’t. ^{[25]
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- Think of a happy memory while smiling. This will help your smile reach your eyes.
- Practice your smile in the mirror to see what you’ll look like in pictures.

Expert Q&A

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Question

How do you take good pictures when you're overweight?

Paul Julch, MA
Personal Stylist
Paul Julch is a Personal Wardrobe Stylist, Speaker, and the founder of Urbanite | Suburbanite, a wardrobe styling business in the San Francisco Bay Area. With over 25 years in the fashion industry, Paul works with clients to make getting dressed easier, less time consuming, and more enjoyable. Paul has years of experience in retail visual merchandising - styling windows, displays, and floor sets for Banana Republic, Gap, and Express. He also has experience styling fashion photo shoots and corporate videos. Paul holds a BS Degree in Management from State University of New York at Binghamton, an MA in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University. He also studied Interior Design at the University of California, Berkeley.

Paul Julch, MA

Personal Stylist

Expert Answer

One universally flattering pose is to stand in a three-quarter pose where your hips and shoulders are turned slightly away from the camera. Also, if you're sitting, be sure you're sitting straight with your shoulders up. If you're slumped, you'll look like you have a big stomach even if you don't.

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Question

I am 13 and almost 200 pounds, how do I look better while trying to lose this weight?

Community Answer

Just keep your hair and skin looking healthy, and know your good angles. Keep working towards your goal, and be patient. Nobody loses weight overnight.

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I'm 12, a little overweight, and I like to take selfies. What can I do to take better selfies?

Community Answer

Being a little overweight doesn't make you any less beautiful, just less magazine-beautiful. But if you want to experiment with making yourself look thinner, try taking a selfie from a little above, that will emphasize your jaw line and make you look more angular. You can also play around with dramatic light and shadow by photographing yourself in a room with only one light coming from the side.

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Expert Source

Paul Julch, MA
Personal Wardrobe Stylist & Speaker

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Crystal Bear
Professional Photographer

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Katie Quinn
Image Consultant

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Best Tips to Look Amazing in Photos If You're Plus-Sized

Finding Flattering Angles When You're Overweight

Steps

Best Poses for Plus-Sized Women

Taking a Flattering Selfie

Looking & Feeling Your Best for Photos

Expert Q&A

Video

Tips

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