A picture is worth a thousand words; this couldn’t be any more true in the fitness industry, as well. Hearing a person talking about their weight loss story can be motivational. But seeing their before and after photos can shift something inside you and genuinely inspire you to make better choices for your body, as well.

Why Is It Important to Have Your Pictures Taken By a Professional?

Let’s say you invested good months of your life in taking your body to the next level. This can mean losing bodyfat or gaining more muscle mass or anything in between. But, no matter the journey, your story is worth being presented most accurately.

If you don’t have experience taking professional photos, you might overlook a couple of essential details or not have the professional equipment and lighting to take the best photos. And it’s those details that might make your story less powerful.

On the other hand, professionals know exactly how to prepare you for the shooting to document your transformational journey the right way.

Here are a couple of mistakes that the team at Picture Perfect Photo has noticed over the years. These mistakes have the potential to turn your impressive story into “just another transformational journey”.

5 Beginner Mistakes That Can Make or Break Your Transformational Photos

1.      Wearing Clothes That Hide Your Shape

The best garments for this type of photography are bathing suits, as they reveal most of your body shape. However, if you don’t feel comfortable wearing something more revealingfor a photo shoot, the next best option is tight clothes. Wearing loose clothes will only hide your silhouette – and your results.

2.      Not Shooting from All Three Angles

Even if you wanted to improve only a specific area in your body – say, lose the belly fat – your entire body has been through a transformation. So don’t forget to shoot front, side, and back, even if you can barely see the changes. You might notice them precisely after this photoshoot.

3.      Overlooking the Lighting

Professional lighting willhighlight your defined areas and best bits, creating shadows in the right places. Lighting is essential in any type of photography, but especially in showing before/after pictures. If you have it available, make use of natural lighting as much as you can.

4.      Doing Selfies Instead of Eye-Level Photos

Selfies can work wonders for Instagram, but it’s impossible to capture the entire body and from an angle that shows precisely all the hard work you’ve done. So even if you choose to do the photos without the help of a professional, make sure you ask a friend to help you with your progress photos.