How to pose to minimize belly

[testadmin]

I am having a bit of a problem, when I have pictures taken all you see is belly. Does anyone have any tips on ways to pose for photos to help make my belly look smaller. I have no pictures because nothing ever comes out right...help!!
Mahtab Hana

[testadmin]

Stand with your hips angled towards a corner then square your shoulders toward the camera. This will make your waist appear smaller. Also, suck in and lift your rib cage!

[testadmin]

ETA: here's a picture as an example. See how my hips are angled but my shoulder are squared toward the camera...

[testadmin]

Lift your ribcage, this elongates your torso and makes your belly look smaller. The angled look that Aazura described is great. Also remember to tighten your abs during fotoshoots. Don't forget to breath!

[testadmin]

I find that if you lift your arms to or over your head, it both lifts your ribcage and stretches your torso, creating a nice slimming effect. Like here:

[testadmin]

For photos, you have to overexagerrate your pose. It should be a little uncomfortable - if you don't feel like you are overarching with your upper back, overpointing your toes, and over-sucking in your gut, your posture will read sloppy in the photos.

Also, push your hips back behind your ribcage - this also elongates the torso and makes the hips appear smaller. It also gives a nice line to the muscles of the torso.

If you are posing with your back to the camera, ARCH IT - this is not the time for a neutral pelvis - this is the time to work it. Stick out your rear, and if you're facing away from the camera, look up!

[testadmin]

I am ITA with all of this. I did a 3 hour photo shoot a year ago, and at the end of it I was actually *sore* from holding unnatural positions for a good bit of time.

Both pics in my post (plus a buch more in the photo gallery on my website) were taken by Chicago photorgrapher Richard Nagle (http://www.nightowlphotography.us/).

[testadmin]

Photoshop.

[testadmin]

I like photoshop for evening out skin tone, erasing bruises, shadows, and the like, but I personally feel like drastic manipulation of bodies (taking inches off the waist - increasing bust size, etc.) is cheating, and can be considered misrepresenting oneself. If you take twenty pounds off in photoshop, anyone who hires you is going to wonder what happened when you show up drastically different from the way you advertise yourself. It's like the dancer who uses a twenty-year-old picture on all her promo material.

I knew a dancer who gave herself a virtual facelift in every picture. Not only was this really not necessary, the end result was often obviously photoshopped and looked distorted and wrong. I feel the same way about the images in Playboy. Some of them are so heavily photoshopped, I wonder why they bothered with a real model at all.

[testadmin]

I second this suggestion! My troupe had some photos taken a few weeks ago, and the photographer was constantly telling us, "It feels weird, but it looks great." She said that so many times, she should have a t-shirt made with that phrase on it. She was right; we got the photos back, and all those poses that felt so awkward came out looking awesome!

You could try some shots with a veil in front. If you've got the space and the photographer has a fast enough lens, maybe during a barrel turn the veil might cover just the right spots. (See example below ) Or you could lay with your stomach on the floor while doing a floorwork kinda pose.

[testadmin]

Have the photographer stand on a stepstool or a small step ladder and shoot downward at you.

For a week or two before your photo session, learn how to do the yoga technique known as "nauli" and practice it every day before your photo session. This strengthens the ability of your abs to suck it all in.

There are a lot of different things you can do with your veil to hide your midriff. See this page on my web site for ideas: http://www.shira.net/shirapix/gallery-shira-veil1.htm

Pose with your heels and backs of your legs pointing away from the camera, and twist your upper body to face toward the camera. It looks nice either with or without a veil. Like this:

[testadmin]

Oh yes, the photographer shooting from above can be very flattering. This is one of my favorite shots of me, for exactly that reason!

[testadmin]

Thanks Everyone, for your help!

[testadmin]

I like all the ideas. They were great. Some techniques I have done and some are new. Thanks.

[testadmin]

I suggest hunt thru some photogalleries for good poses- stand in a mirror and see how they look on you.

You can check out my photography photo gallery:
http://www.shakemyday.com/gallery/index.php

tamrahennatx, I agree overall- in that your photo should look like you. --

but secretly-- I do cheat more than just smoothing skin tone- shhhhhhhh- dont tell. I smooth out that bulge underneath the back bra strap- an extra skin role here and there, whiten teeth, hide the fact that a bra didnt quite get filled out. shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

but you are absolutely correct that it still needs to look like the person. If you stand in a flattering way- you can always show that the photo is really you. If you stand flat on- and then make yourself a tooth pick in photoshop- no one will believe it and then... ya just come off silly.

[testadmin]

Thank you for all your help!!!! Hopefully, I can apply all of this and get a few pictures I can be proud of :-)

[testadmin]

Amen to that, sistah!

[testadmin]

I thought the photographer shooting *up* was more flattering?

[testadmin]

To a *midget*, maybe.

[testadmin]

I never let my boyfriend take pictures because he doesn't want to get up. Pictures shot from couchlevel make you shorter and emphasizes your hips and belly. Especially the dreaded bulge, which is even worse from that angle.

[testadmin]

That is the case for portrait photography (think senior photos). For a head-and-shoulders type shot, having the camera level a few inches lower than the subject's face and angling it up at them can be quite flattering. But for full body shots, forget it!

[testadmin]

I do a lot of people photography and often shoot my subjects from a lower vantage point - it elongates the legs and makes the subject taller and more elegant (for guys, taller and more tough looking - think bouncers standing with legs apart and arms folded looking down at you). In fact I've got myself a stage now so they can stand on that so I don't have to grovel round on the floor too much!

But if your photographer goes for the lower angles, remember that when you look down to the camera chances are the neck area will wrinkle/sag or whatever, so keep your chin jutted out and up a little. One of those "it feels weird but looks great" poses.

I used to shoot full length from up high, but found that unless you go really high, like in the pic above with the swords balancing, the body just looks shortened and wider.

For head/shoulder portraits I use all kinds of angles. Totally depends on what the job/subject requires/suits. Got a long nose? I'll shoot slightly up at you.

But to minimize a belly, and I have to do a lot of that with my boudoir photography, it's a case of keeping the ribcage up and keeping the pelvic region/behind tucked. That will pull in the lower abs. The s often think this will flatten their behinds but it actually curves it out nicely as the glutes tense up. But remember to keep the shoulders relaxed. The hips facing diagonally with upper body to front is also a great pose, as already suggested in this thread (sorry can't remember everyone's names!). Keep your weight on the back hip, front toes pointed more towards the camera. Arms up somewhere to keep the ribcage up - hold a veil, finger cymbals, your hair, or even relax up and rest your hands elegantly on your hips. But keep your elbows back if you do this.

And of course, if all else fails, airbrush!

Sorry I went on so much!

Kathy

[rakgirl]

can we start to appreciate our bodies. there is nothing wrong with a little belly. it is womanly and good. jelly rules the world. embrace ur curves. especially in a dance like this where belly looks soo good moving, appreciate it. it's beautiful.

just a thought.

[aazura]

Found this on yahoo today and thought of this thread. Some good tips...

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/hughes/11322

[jmdruadh]

Try lifting your knee a little bit up and in. This is very similar to the one-foot-in-front pose, but instead of resting the full weight of your leg on the ball of your foot, you are holding it up and inward with your abs. This holds your abs in nicely, creates a good tuck position, and also creates a nice curve from the waist, over the hip, and down to the knee. (Looks especially fabulous in a mermaid skirt!)

And I highly recommend arms over your head. The "temple arms" pose is very pretty, and just SCREAMS bellydancer to potential customers.

And that yahoo article is great!