Do you allow your family and friends to take your photo at holiday events, or do you disappear faster than Elf on a Shelf? Here is how to avoid the dreaded fat photos!
Do you allow your family and friends to take your photo at holiday events, or do you disappear faster than Elf on a Shelf? Here is how to avoid the dreaded fat photos!As the mom of a teenage girl who is notoriously camera-shy, it can be really hard to get the perfect family photo. Yet, maybe the one person who is avoiding the camera is YOU.
Regardless of what size or weight you are, you may feel like you just don’t take a good photo. Or, maybe you have tucked away previous holiday photos because you can’t deal with how you look in them. They are the dreaded fat photos.
Either way, this blog is for you!
Your weight is not your worth.
Regardless of how photo-savvy you are, you may feel a certain way about how your body looks on camera. If it has been years since you stepped on a bathroom scale or looked at yourself in a full length mirror, it could be a very challenging prospect to step in front of a camera.
Yet, in this season of holiday memories, everyone probably wants to take your picture!
You may even want to take as many photos as you can, maybe because you are caroling with family members you haven’t seen for a while, are hanging out with old school friends, or simply want to document your kids’ special moments.
What’s even worse- You want to put it on social media, or have been tagged by a family member who lovingly displays your worst angle for all to see.
But if you don’t feel comfortable in your own skin or if you are the heaviest you’ve ever been, you may hesitate to have people take your photo. There are only so many fat photos you can pretend to love before hiding them in a closet or drawer. Or you might decide that you’re going to be the photographer and take everyone else’s photo, but keep yourself out of the mix.
(If you would like some instant and easy ways to pump up the photos you will participate in, check out Real Simple’s tips here on how to angle your body.)
Here is what it might boil down to- you are ashamed or embarrassed about your weight.
When I lived in Germany back in college, I was pretty heavy. I was certainly the heaviest person in my class, not to mention my entire hostel. This excluded me from shopping from clothes at popular European stores. It also excluded me from photographic evidence of my adventures there.
I almost never took a photo of ME in Europe. Oh, I took plenty of photos of the landscapes, the buildings, the churches, and many of my travel friends and events.
But, I very rarely put myself in the picture. I think I a single photograph of myself on a train platform en route to Venice. That was all.
I regret not putting myself in those photos, and this was even before the Facebook frenzy of photos we enjoy today. And I can’t even consciously say it was because I felt fat or uncomfortable. It was because I was trying to hide.
I forgot that I was a part of that moment.
I forgot that that was what made it beautiful. It was not just that I was looking at something wonderful but that it was me within that moment and I forgot to capture that.
The reason for the season
Let’s go back to the reason for the holiday season. After all, this whole time of year is designed to cherish the spirit of Jesus and giving to those less fortunate to us. This season is also meant to inspire family togetherness and memories.
Those things show up in photos, but not where you think they might. It doesn’t show up in camera angles, flattering profiles, or Pinterest-worthy decorations.
This spirit shows up in the light in your eyes, in the love that shines for your family and friends. That beauty will come through, regardless of how you feel about your body.
No matter what size you are, or how excited you feel during the holidays, you might struggle with feeling good in photos. Here are some common reasons why:
- Not Fitting
Clothes that you enjoy maybe aren’t fitting you anymore, or you don’t have a little black dress that doesn’t make you feel like an overstuffed sausage.
When you’re in a place where that beautiful dress that you’ve been saving up for special gatherings is no longer fitting you- that doesn’t inspire confidence in anyone!
Maybe you layer on scarves and jewelry in an attempt to accessorize your bigger body out of the frame.
You might default to your yoga pants and to big overflowing tee shirts and sweaters. Don’t forget the big hoodies and one-size-fits-all gear.
After all, you may as well feel comfortable.
- Cameras lie
It is commonly known that cameras add 10 pounds to our image. If you are already battling excess weight, this is rather depressing.
Apparently, photographers regularly are asked by their clients to make them look thin in photos. Here are some techniques that a photographer (or you) could use to reduce that extra 10 pounds look, from The Haute Girl.
Even beautiful models of all sizes may be overly critical of how they look in photos. Sometimes they feel that way even after the power of Photoshop and airbrushing.
Aside from angles, if you overindulged on Thanksgiving, and have always struggled with your weight, camera techniques still won’t make you feel amazing.
- Jealousy
She looks better than me! Have you ever felt this way?
While I don’t consider myself a particularly jealous person, it can be hard to look at my “fat photos” from years past. Mostly because my eye goes to someone in the photo who looks WAY BETTER than me.
For many years, just about everyone in the photo looked better than me.
When I say “looked better”, I mean thinner. They might have had a bad hair day, unflattering angle, or weird expression on their face, but they still didn’t take up 50% of the frame.
Like I did.
When you look at photos, do you tend to compare yourself to whoever else is in the frame? It’s human nature to do so, and to perhaps find fault with your own image.
By the way, it has taken me years to be more confident in my body. Here are some of my secrets to being confident with your body as seen on UpJourney.
Stop Hiding!
When you don’t show up with everything that you are, when you can’t find clothing that you feel flatters you, and when you choose to be the photographer instead of the subject, you are hiding away.
You don’t have to hide anymore.
Photos capture you in a moment in time. They can’t capture all of who you are.
But what if you look back five years from now at all of these beautiful photos of your family, your friends, your holiday gatherings and you’re not in a single one of them?
- You might regret refusing to take that photo next to a relative who has passed since then.
- You might sigh when you realize that your child is no longer small enough to fit on your lap (and doesn’t like photos taken, either!)
- You might feel that you are nothing but an observer in your own beautiful life.
Does it feel like you’re removing yourself from the picture both literally and figuratively?
I don’t want you to get to that place. I don’t want you to feel like you were never there like you’re not part of that story. You deserve to be in the forefront of that story because that is your story, and you are writing that story as you go along.
Why not be a part of the holiday season in every way you possibly can to the fullest extent that you can possibly show up? Your photos will show both the spirit of the season and your innate beauty.
If you allow yourself to be photographed again.
Let’s make this “the most wonderful time of year” for you.
If you feel hesitant or uncomfortable or shy about putting yourself in that photo, let’s talk about how you can feel blissful in your body this holiday season.
That’s what I specialize in, both as a health coach and former fat girl who avoided many photos in my past.
- You CAN fit into those clothes from last year that no longer fit you.
- You CAN feel great being the center of those holiday photos.
- You CAN have people commenting about how good you look this year.
Friends and family will see the difference in your confidence level and how you show up, once you decide to take action.
You can have that this holiday season, and I would love to support you. For the first time ever, I am offering 30 Days in December, a unique habit-formation program focusing on small daily wins towards a specific milestone of your choice.
This is NOT a weight loss program. Instead, we will focus on the hardest piece of the health pie- consistent, daily action.
Think of it as getting ready to “get ready”. While still taking action.
It can be difficult to decide which daily action to take, which is why I invite you to schedule a complimentary strategy session with me. We will walk through your dream body, some milestones that will get you there, and identify what milestone is best to start with.
THAT is what we will focus on throughout all of December, so you can start the New Year without a resolution. Instead, you will have a small win and 30 days of momentum. When most people are just getting started!
Or, you can jump right in to 30 Days in December using the Paypal button. We start on December 3, and registration closes on December 6.