WE all know how much certain angles and poses can affect how you look in your social media selfies – but have you ever stopped to consider your lighting?
One woman who knows a little something about this is Danae Mercer – an American journalist and influencer who has proven how easy it is to make your body appear dramatically different online.
Insta vs reality — or LETS talk LIGHTING. Because that’s the main difference in these photos.In one, my bum is deliberately angled into the shadows. The softer light hides my cellulite and smooths most of my stretchmarks. It’s flattering. In the other, I’m just casually squatting (lol) beside the mirror. My hips and thighs are in the sunlight. Lumps and bumps are on show. There are a few posing differences (core tight, hips popped back, squeeeezzzinnnggg), but mostly this pic is about LIGHT working its magic. When I worked in magazines, we shot at sunrise or sunset. On most sets, there were people holding SUN DIFFUSERS and REFLECTORS to help create the perfect FLATTERING balance of shadow and light. The same thing happens on SOCIAL MEDIA, just in a different form. Most insta-models know EXACTLY how to POSE and work their angles.And they know LIGHTING too. Like how SIDE LIGHT, diffused from a window, is the most flattering for abs but usually pretty harsh on the face.It’s why you’ll often see a phone covering the face. Or how SHADOWS can gently eliminate certain LUMPS and BUMPS. All that is fine with me, honestly. It’s art and photography, and there is no shame in wanting to look FIERCE. But I also want to remind you about how SO MUCH on here is FILTERED. POSED. PERFECTED. And how you shouldn’t EVER COMPARE YOURSELF to a STRANGER on the internet. Because cowgirl, you’re just seeing their snapshots taken in PERFECT LIGHT. Your reality is a whole lot more varied, diverse, and human than that. It’s more perfectly imperfect. Real. Raw.And that’s a wonderful thing indeed. You got this.x #instavsreality #womenirl #womenshealth #popsugarfitness #instagramvsreality #posingtips #cellulite #strengthmarks
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The social media star has gained 722,000 followers on Instagram thanks to her posts educating users about the ways people can make themselves appear skinnier online – such as "popping their hips back" to create the illusion of a thigh gap.
Most recently, Danae has highlighted how much "perfect lighting" can affect a photo – as she posted two bikini selfies taken within a few minutes of each other.
In the first photo, Danae has "deliberately angled" her bum so it's in the shadows while the soft lighting completely hides her "cellulite and smooths most of her stretchmarks".
And in the other, Danae wrote: "I’m just casually squatting (lol) beside the mirror. My hips and thighs are in the sunlight. Lumps and bumps are on show."
Girl, stop trying to make everyone happy – you’re not guacamole. A popular body positive influencer was shamed recently for wanting to lose weight. Another has been shamed for gaining it. And both openly, authentically stood by their decisions.It got me thinking: what would WE DO different if we were less afraid of BEING different.Not just with our health, our wellness goals, but with our hopes, our dreams, our LIVES?It’s easy to want to MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY. To fit in. To softly and gently bend and fold with whatever voices shout the loudest or sting the sharpest. Whether that’s a parent or a loved one or a stranger on a screen.Only in trying to PLEASE EVERYONE, we become no one.We fade.We lose ourselves.Trust me, I’ve been there.So here’s the lesson I’ve learned the hard way, and am still constantly, endlessly relearning: We will NEVER make everyone happy.We won’t. It’s impossible.Humans are complex. Our opinions are vast and varied and strong.And that’s ok.That’s WONDERFUL.What matters is that we each EXPLORE what sits INSIDE US. That we remain open to growth. To development. To being called in and learning. And that we honour, we ALWAYS honour, the truth which curls quietly inside of us.Whether it’s about how the goals we set FOR OUR BODIES or the plans we have FOR OUR LIVES.Even if it makes us different.Even when it shows how we all truly ARE different.I know it’s scary, but we can do this.You can do this.Be yourself, babygirl.No guacamole required.Influencers mentioned: @learningtobefearless @stephanie_buttermore#selflove #feminist #inspoquote #selfacceptance #normalizenormalbodies
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She also admitted that she "popped her hips back", kept her core tight and "squeeeeeeeeezed" her bum to achieve the results in the first photo – despite her attempts to make it look effortless.
"But mostly this pic is about LIGHT working its magic," Danae wrote. "Most insta-models know EXACTLY how to POSE and work their angles. And they know LIGHTING too."
Listing all the easy ways influencers work their best angles, she continued: "Like how SIDE LIGHT, diffused from a window, is the most flattering for abs but usually pretty harsh on the face.
"It’s why you’ll often see a phone covering the face. Or how SHADOWS can gently eliminate certain LUMPS and BUMPS."
ME / ALSO ME – Because POSING is fun but sitting COMFORTABLY is even better. Now let’s talk DIET CULTURE myths. For years, I thought if I GOT RID of my CELLULITE, I would be happy. It has always been my hang up.So I cut calories.I dropped dress sizes.I shrank. And I waited for that joy, for that feeling of confidence. It didn’t come. Not even at my smallest.None of these things made me feel BETTER about MYSELF. And now, now, years later, I am softer. Squishier. No longer starving. I weigh more.But my heart is lighter. Because here’s the thing I learned the hard way, The thing that diet ads never tell you: BODY IMAGE starts on the inside. It does. Being comfortable with your cellulite? Your stretchmarks?Your bits that wiggle and jiggle and fold here or crease there?All that requires mental work.Internal heavy lifting. Where day by day, month by month, you remind yourself how INCREDIBLE you are.And how your WORTH, your VALUE as a HUMAN, doesn’t CHANGE even when your body does.Nor does anyone else’s.So today, fight against the urge to measure WHO YOU ARE as a HUMAN against whatever is or isn’t happening with your body.Extend the same kindness to other women around you. And allow yourself the softness of a bit of self love.Because you ARE wonderful. You ARE incredible. You ARE WORTHY. Posed or relaxed, sandy or sweaty or sleepy or in any state. You’re loved.x PHOTOS @chiclebelle @gabrielleph#bodyacceptance #selflove #womenirl #cellulite #stretchmarks #normalizenormalbodies #instagramvsreality
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Although Danae said "there's no shame in wanting to look fierce", the influencer – who lives in the United Arab Emirates – urged her followers to take everything they see on Instagram with a pinch of salt.
"You shouldn’t EVER COMPARE YOURSELF to a STRANGER on the internet," she said. "Because cowgirl, you’re just seeing their snapshots taken in PERFECT LIGHT. Your reality is a whole lot more varied, diverse, and human than that."
Danae's heartfelt post has racked up over 345,000 "likes" on Instagram and fans praised her honesty.
One replied: "Incredible! It‘s eye opening! Thank you for helping women not feel self conscious anymore, I have many girl friends they don’t even want to wear shorts in summer and they torture themselves wearing long trousers, just because they are self-conscious about a bit of cellulite."
"You have no idea how much these posts have helped my self-esteem. Everyone always used to tell me not to compare myself to influencers on Instagram but it was difficult for me to realize that there’s more to it than just taking a picture," another added. "There is lighting, angles, filters and so much more. Your posts are real and they reflect the reality of it all. It’s finally dawning on me that it’s okay and natural to have stretch marks and all the good stuff."
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