Double Chin!

[Kristy C]

OK, this is an *embarassing* but honest question for ANYONE who can help me....photographers, MUA's, or models who have had this problem and found a way to solve it.

My double chin is unbelievable in photos! Where does it come from :(?? I don't have one in real life, not even close....Even my husband trips out on it when we look at pics of me. Even he has said "I don't get it"

I posted this question on Model Mayhem in the forums, and didn't get good responses. Anything from people telling me I'm "just not photogenic" to recommending I lose weight. or take water pills which I doubt would help. Screw that....first off I am at one of the best points in my life ever as far as weight and being in shape. I could maybe lose 5 more "vanity" pounds but in no way am I overweight. I think this may be one of the thinnest times in my life. Plus, I know girls wayyy bigger than me who look great in photos and no double chin to be found. So I refuse to think it's a weight issue.

As far as not being photogenic, I refuse to believe that as well.

Any tips? How should I NOT pose? How should I pose? Makeup tricks, anyone? Anything?

It's gonna be the death of me unless I can stop it for good!

[Kita St. Cyr]

Push your chin up, be aware of your light and angles and make sure that your mouth is CLOSED unless you're smiling or pouting. I dunno about that tongue thing, I've heard it mentioned before but I've never seen it make much of a difference for me.

And yeah, we can be a little tough in the MM forums sometimes but most of the shoots I've booked have been because of my presence in those forums. They really can be a useful tool once you develop some thicker skin and get into the groove of the forum etiquette.

[Josie Raven]

Yeah, MM has forums. I read them sometimes to see if there is any useful advice (and yes, let's be honest, I do get amused by the bickering) but never post because people get torn apart in the threads. It's funny, there are catty MM members who call people like me "lurkers" because we only read the posts and never comment. I read that in a forum post, lol. There's no winning.


Miss Bea Rock said:

I knowwwwwww what you mean about the forgetting!!! By the time I batted my eyelashes just right I was forgetting to point my toes! It took me a few shoots before I was able to concentrate on everything at once. YOGA AND CARDIOSCULPT saved my soul in this regard because I can identify and isolate all my different large and small muscle groups in my body....making it a cinch to hold the overall pose and leaving me to concentrate on my faces!!

kristy...good luck and don't stress, you're fabulous and practice makes perfect. definitely mention to your photographers that it's a concern of yours so that you can work together to produce images to your liking.


and i never even knew MM had forums??? i guess i just have tunnel vision for finding photographers and booking shoots and was blind to the b******* puddles in my peripheral.

Seanna/Dixie Diamond {M} said:

Oh I get that too! People think modeling is probably easy but it's soooo not! You have to think about what EVERY part of your body looks like and every expression all at the same time while trying to look natural. I always forget to do the tongue to roof thing so I'm glad you all mentioned it, maybe it will sink into my memory better on my next shoot.

Oh yeah and screw participating in MM forums! I love MM itself, it's a great site but the forums are intense. Here are some things I relate participating in a MM forum to:

1. Walking into a bear cave covered in honey.
2. Monkeys throwing s*** at you.
3. Grabbing for orange juice and getting sour milk instead.
4. Trick or Treating and getting apples with razor blades.

I just come to PL when I need advice!

[Noni Valentine]

yup all about angles and lighting and keep ur head slighty down but not tooo much with ur neck elongated ! <3

[Delyssia LaBelle {Madam}]

well, i havnt seen your shots, but i have a hereditary double chinish thing . my jaw line is very feminine and small and i have a thick lower neck. i try to elongate my neck in a regal kind of way , and think it away, haaaa. try lifting your chin for shots, stretch out your neck and practice in the mirror and with a camera to see what your best angles are! good luck dear, your adorable no matter what.

[Kita St. Cyr]

People who read forums but don't post on them are called lurkers on ALL internet forums. That's the definition of lurker. It's not an insult.

Josie Raven said:

Yeah, MM has forums. I read them sometimes to see if there is any useful advice (and yes, let's be honest, I do get amused by the bickering) but never post because people get torn apart in the threads. It's funny, there are catty MM members who call people like me "lurkers" because we only read the posts and never comment. I read that in a forum post, lol. There's no winning.


Miss Bea Rock said:

I knowwwwwww what you mean about the forgetting!!! By the time I batted my eyelashes just right I was forgetting to point my toes! It took me a few shoots before I was able to concentrate on everything at once. YOGA AND CARDIOSCULPT saved my soul in this regard because I can identify and isolate all my different large and small muscle groups in my body....making it a cinch to hold the overall pose and leaving me to concentrate on my faces!!

kristy...good luck and don't stress, you're fabulous and practice makes perfect. definitely mention to your photographers that it's a concern of yours so that you can work together to produce images to your liking.


and i never even knew MM had forums??? i guess i just have tunnel vision for finding photographers and booking shoots and was blind to the b******* puddles in my peripheral.

Seanna/Dixie Diamond {M} said:

Oh I get that too! People think modeling is probably easy but it's soooo not! You have to think about what EVERY part of your body looks like and every expression all at the same time while trying to look natural. I always forget to do the tongue to roof thing so I'm glad you all mentioned it, maybe it will sink into my memory better on my next shoot.

Oh yeah and screw participating in MM forums! I love MM itself, it's a great site but the forums are intense. Here are some things I relate participating in a MM forum to:

1. Walking into a bear cave covered in honey.
2. Monkeys throwing s*** at you.
3. Grabbing for orange juice and getting sour milk instead.
4. Trick or Treating and getting apples with razor blades.

I just come to PL when I need advice!

[Kristy C]

Well I tried some of the things here the other night while me and my girlfriends were snapping pics at a show.....still there it was. That was only our own digital cameras though, and the bar was dark.......so at this point I guess it has to be a lighting/camera issue. I guess I am just not one of those people who takes perfect pics all the time in any setting :( I guess I need a little more "work"
The other day though, a friend of mine sent me a pic of us someone took at VLV and it's great! No double chin for either of us (she has the problem too but not as bad as me) I guess I was posed just right and the lighting was perfect that particular time of day.

Every time I take a photo and it's not there, I am gonna note things like that, and try to recreate those poses and set up outdoor shoots for later in the day. As far as studio time goes, I dunno, we'll have to see. I have possible studio shoot coming up, it's gonna be black and white head shots so it'll be a good opportunity for me to nip this problem in the bud.

[Kim Bombshell]

OK...my friend Miss Conduct told me when she is being shot, she presses her tongue on the BACK of her throat and kind of swallows and that sucks the chin back.

[Alicia]

Tongue to the roof of your mouth works great for me. Also like everyone said, chin up. Just look in a mirror and swallow. you can see the pudge underneath go away for a sec while you swallow. you can kind of tell what you are doing when you swallow to hold the pudge in. Works splendid!

[Filmmonkey]

This is actually something I've dealt with a lot shooting video. It's a combination of lighting, model angles, and camera angles. If you think models are aware of this, you'd be surprised how many corporate reps and regular ol business women are acutely aware of it. I think on corporate shoots I've done with women on camera more of them than not have asked how her neck would look...
I've had some actresses tell me before shooting that they are worried about the chin thing, so I take extra care. Mainly, lot's of soft lighting, a lower camera angle, and I'm constantly working with them on their positioning.
Too much soft light though you lose the dimensional aspects of lighting, so it's definitely a team-work kind of thing.
As the others stated you can be aware of keep a long neck and don't be afraid to ask how the pics are looking.

[Paul Ferris {★}]

When someone is about to take a photo of you. Look right above the lens. Then you should move your face forward about an inch and then drop your chin down a bit. (not to drastic otherwise it's chin city.) This is a good way to reduce the double chin.