Woman proudly shows off cellulite in unedited bikini photo without ‘perfect lighting’ and the difference is astounding
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.
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."
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."
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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