30+ Posing Tips to Achieve That Flat Tummy and Slimmer Look in Photos

One way to show off your body with confidence, including if you’re trying to look slimmer, is to choose a posture that makes you look more like your goal.

The first thing we recommend for a simple shot is standing with your shoulders back. Not only does this help straighten your back and give you a more flattering image, but this pose also helps you look a little taller, which can help create a more slender-looking frame.

The position of your hips is just as much of a thing to consider as your shoulders. For instance, if you want to show off your hips, a cocked stance can be a great way to go.

If you want to look slim in your photos, you’ll want to actually position your hips so that your stance offers you a gap between your legs. With this simple positioning, you’ll notice how some of your favorite influencers make that thigh gap happen.

Another way to create a slender silhouette that has to do with your gait is how you’re standing from the waist down in general.

Stepping with one foot forward like you’re stepping towards the camera can help this a lot. Not only does it create an interesting picture because it gives the image a dynamic sense of movement, but it’ll also help you look a little slimmer than if you were standing completely straight.

We’ve covered the fact that if you want to look slimmer, there are some tricks that you can use that also make you look taller.

One tip that you’ve probably seen, especially in photos of dancers, is standing in a tiptoe position, although that’s far from the only application. You can also use this in tandem with the “stepping forward” pose to pull a few of these tricks together at once!

When you’re nervous in front of the camera, you might have the instinct to draw into yourself physically. However, the goal here is to show off your natural, unique beauty!

One part of drawing inward you’ll want to avoid is pulling your neck in. You want to make sure that you choose poses that elongate your neck in a flattering way to avoid things like the camera giving you a scrunched chin.

One thing that you might want to consider in your poses isn’t just how you position the central parts of your body but your limbs as well.

For instance, in some photos, your arms flat against your sides might work. If your aim is to create a more slender outline, try out a pose where your arms are posed slightly away from your body. This will help create a more slender profile.

No matter what you’re trying to accentuate on your body, you’ll want to shake up your poses sometimes! The tips we’ve used so far aren’t just for looking headlong into the camera.

One pose that can really help you highlight a more slender figure is to pose with one leg in front of the other. Remember, though, you’ll want to use this in tandem with our other tips so far. So, make sure you keep your shoulders back and neck straight!

When you work with a photographer, they’ll give you direction that not only includes your body but the camera as well. Specifically, we’re talking about how involved the camera is in your poses.

For instance, you might be asked to look directly at the camera for an intimate shot. One pose that can make you look a little slimmer and can create a rather dynamic photo is leaning away from the camera.

If you don’t do a lot of modeling or photography, one learning curve can be creating a series of unique photos that don’t look like the same picture again and again.

One way to shake things up is to try out different poses. Creating some angles by bending your body — while keeping your shoulders back. One thing that can show off your figure and create a bit of a curve is to arch your back a bit!

While a lot of photography that we see features standing models, taking a seat can create a great casual or intimate photo. Then again, some of the posing suggestions are a little different.

Of course, you have to consider how you’ll pose your legs in a seated position. We suggest avoiding keeping them curled under you and instead stretching them out a bit, and crossing them. This will make your legs look longer and more slender.

When you sit down, another part of the pose to consider is where your body is on the spot you are sitting. If you sit further back, it’s hard to keep that elongated posture we keep talking about.

Instead, slide forward a bit to sit on the edge of the seat. You’ll find it a lot easier to use tricks like keeping your back and neck straight as you pose. You can also add more dynamic poses to this position as you get comfortable to create a unique and striking silhouette!

If you aren’t posing in a chair, there are other places that you can sit to help you avoid the relaxed, slouched position that most people fall into when they sink into a comfy seat.

Since there’s no deep seat, just support, you can try posing against a wall, too. This can also help support you whether you’re sitting or standing if you want to try a pose that has a dramatically arched back.

We’ve talked a lot so far about how you can angle your body to contribute to the slender silhouette you’re aiming for. That’s why you see photographers moving around their models so much as they shoot.

The photographer can also help create a slimmer illusion by placing the camera correctly. A shot from above can be really flattering, and of course, it shakes things up if you have a lot of direct, head-on shots in your collection.

Odds are, you want a bit of balance to your photos. Most people today aim for a slender end-result and don’t want to hide every single curve on their body.

You can still show off some of your curves while you’re trying to look a little more slender. For instance, some people like to follow the advice of putting the majority of their weight on their back leg to create that beautiful ‘S’ curve.

We’ve already talked about how switching up your poses can keep your photos from looking like the same image, just with backgrounds and outfits swapped out.

Straight-on and completely to the side photos are great, but you’ll want to shake it up once in a while. Plus, if you stand at a 45-degree angle, you can avoid the detailed outline of a side shot and it’s slightly more slimming than standing straight on, facing the camera directly.

When you’re posing to look slimmer, you might be surprised to learn all the little tricks model use when they want to achieve this effect.

Even the position of your chin can change things. We’ve already talked about how you can elongate your neck to avoid the “double chin.” Try posing and making sure your chin is jutted out. This is also helps you look more confident in your photos!

As we said, there are a bunch of surprising little tips that you might not know about if you aren’t into modeling that are actually really easy to employ.

Bring your ears forward in order to avoid that pesky double chin that we all despise seeing in our pictures. It’s subtle, but it’s a quick trick to try in your next photoshoot.

Posing for images is only part of the equation. The environment that you pose in can change a lot and that includes lighting.

To make a model look more slender, most photographers opt for a lighting technique known as “short lighting.” In this technique, the use of shadows on the model can create an interesting photo and create a more slender figure in the final image.

There are a few reasons you’ll want to avoid bright, glaring lights as you work on a photo shoot with the goal of looking thinner.

We just covered how shadows can help you create a specific illusion, so you might wonder what’s so bad about direct lighting. Aside from shadows giving you the chance to play with shape, direct sunlight is more likely to make you squint, working against you and making it more difficult to pose comfortably.

The idea here is all about perception. Don’t think about posing for a minute, just photography. If a ball is two inches from the camera, it looks larger than it is. On the contrary, if you were to shoot the same ball from 50 feet away, it would look much smaller.

However, in neither image does the actual physical size of the ball change. If you want to look smaller, try taking a step back from the camera. It’s also a great way to show off your whole look!

We’ve looked at quite a few ways that you can use what you wear to help you pose effectively for a shot where you want to look slimmer. What your clothing is made of can go a long way as well.

For example, if you wear thick, bulkier clothing, it’s going to hide your figure more. A spring photoshoot in a lightweight dress or a more upscale photoshoot in a silk dress for a party comes across much better on camera for the effect we’re discussing here.

If you’re in a group shot where the group takes up the entirety of the frame, you could try sticking to the center of the photo, although the tips we’ve covered will help you on the edges, too.

This is on the camera — not any of the subjects. A camera with a wide-angle lens has distortion at the edges of the photo. It’s not dramatic – you might not notice it if you don’t know what to look for – but this distortion can slightly widen anything or anyone on the edge of the shot.

There are a few things about your wardrobe that you can choose that will help you create a slimmer look during a photography session. When it comes to wardrobe style, opt for something more fitted.

The goal we’re looking at here is accentuating your natural body shape, so it’s not going to help to hide it. You don’t have to wear something super revealing if you don’t want, but a more fitted tailoring style can help.

While we are trying to look slimmer with these effects, you still want photography of yourself to account for your natural beauty and comfort.

You might feel some discomfort during a photoshoot from an awkward pose, but it shouldn’t be from your clothes being too tight. As we said, you don’t want your clothes to be baggy, but downsizing too much won’t be flattering, and it’ll cause you more discomfort than the shot is worth. The key word here is “fitted” — not “small.”

Fitted clothes are great, but baggy clothes are coming back into style. Is there really no way to fit your baggy pants into a slimming photo?

Actually, there is! Instead of opting for a tighter outfit, try to blend the look you’re going for. So, if you want to show off your favorite fitted pants, try pairing them with a looser top.

This one is really up to you. No one is going to stop you from wearing any color you want, and personal preference definitely plays a role here.

If your aim is to create a slimmer silhouette, though, perhaps try color blocking. As you can see from this image, all you need is two contrasting colors to give yourself a slimmer shape.

Of course, you have plenty more options on slimming wardrobe choices than just an all-black look. Used correctly, stripes can be really helpful.

You may have already heard that if you’re trying to create a slimming look, you’ll want to avoid horizontal stripes. On the other hand, if you were to flip those so you had straight stripes on your clothing, it can make you look taller and slimmer.

Bulky belts aren’t as in style as they were in the early 2000s, but with that fashion coming back, there’s no reason not to update the old trend.

What’s so great about an ornamental belt anyway if you don’t need one? Well, while it might not hold anything in place, it does create a defining line at your waist that can give you more of an hourglass shape. Much like clothes, though, you want this to be fitted, not too tight for comfort.

If a belt isn’t your style or doesn’t go with your outfit, you might be wondering if there are any alternatives to the tip above.

There are! If you want to skip out on the belt, try something that’s flattering to your waist. Any sort of cinching is often a good idea here. A great choice is something like a dress with a flared skirt or a top that’s more fitted over your midsection.

At the end of the day, as practiced as even the biggest supermodels in the world are, you can’t see yourself as you pose unless there’s a mirror there. So, you need some help.

That’s why photographers are often a big part of the creative process — they do a lot more than just press a button on the camera! Share your vision of the shoot with your photographer, and they’ll likely be able to help guide you through the process and let you know what works from the camera’s point of view.