Your body photos are a visual way for you to honestly assess whether your diets working or not, this is why taking them properly is critical to your success!
If you take them properly and use my other Free Online Diet Plan Tracking Tools you can practically guarantee success as you’ll know when to change something and when to leave things as they are.
Even better, you’ll have your very own before and after diet photos to wow people with and a proud reminder of how far you’ve come. It really makes the early morning workouts and clean eating worth it!
To ensure you get the most from this tracking tool it’s important you know how to take better body photos and how to keep them consistent. If something changes between photos (other than your body of course!) it can mislead you.
Red shorts in the first picture and then black shorts which are “slimming” in the second?
Different lighting between pictures, different camera settings or even a different camera; all these things can have an impact on the pictures you take.
The trick is to keep things the same as much as possible.
The Mirror vs. The Camera
They say the camera never lies, other people say the camera adds 10 pounds. I say the camera never lies but the mirror does.
Sure, the mirror is a good indication of how you’re looking at that precise moment but unfortunately psychologically we don’t always see what’s actually starting back at us.
Sorry ladies, but the female sex is the ultimate culprit when it comes to this. My girlfriend, Lucie is a prime example.
She has a great body and the flattest stomach you’ve ever seen but she still looks in the mirror and says things like “I look like such a fat bloater” and isn’t happy with how she looks.
Even when she’s dieting and the scale is coming down she complains about the reflection in the mirror.
Guys tend to have the other problem; we look in the mirror and see a chiselled Adonis starting back at us despite the reality being a far softer, more rotund carcass.
This is commonly known as body dysmorphia.
Either way, the point is that even though the mirror shows us how we look, sometimes the mind takes over and clouds our judgement.
If you can’t see what’s actually starting back at you then you can’t know how you’re doing.
The solution is to take pictures of yourself every week or two and then compare them side-by-side. This is a great way to see visible changes that otherwise you’d not recognise and it’s extremely motivating.
At the end of your diet you can be one of those people who post their before-and-after body photos online and soaks up the admiration of your peers!
Capturing Your Own Before-and-After Transformation
For the best before and after shots or a week-by-week progress shot you need to again keep things constant and remove all variables.
This will allow anyone looking at your photos to focus on your body composition changes and not be distracted by a different background or clothes etc.
Here’s how to capture your transformation so your body photos let your hard work shine:
- Decide where your pictures will be taken and take every picture there – Preferably somewhere with natural light and a neutral background
- Decide what you’ll wear – Plain black shorts or boxer shorts are best for men, plain black underwear or gym clothes for women
- Use the same camera and the same settings – Different cameras take pictures differently so its best to use the same camera and keep the settings the same (you may wish to record the settings if you use your camera regularly)
- Get someone to take pictures for you – Self taken pictures using a camera or your smart phone (if quality is good enough) are OK but you can only really take pictures of the front of your body. I’ve almost tied myself in knots in the past trying to get a picture of my back whilst holding a camera over my shoulder! Find someone who’ll take the pictures for you like a partner or parent. If you live alone then consider a tripod for your camera and use your cameras timed countdown so you can get yourself in position before the picture is taken.
- Keep poses consistent – Decide early on what images you’ll take. Full body from the front and back or just upper body? Hands at your sides or flexed biceps like Arnold? Tensed muscles or relaxed? Whatever you decide keep it consistent so the pictures show the changes in your body not your posing!
- Decide How Often You’ll Take Pictures – Every week will be too much but once a month will probably be just right. It’s long enough to see changes when comparing pictures which will help motivate you to keep going.
Use the tips above and you’ll be able to take better body photos so once your diet is done you’ll be able to look back with pride at everything you’ve achieved!
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