Hurf durf butter eater nudity
January 2, 2010 9:33 AM Subscribe
How should I photograph my soon-to-be-shrinking bod for best results in animated GIF? This is not a technical question but an aesthetic one.
So I'm doing a blog, because there is no doubt in my mind that this is it, this is my successful journey to permanent weight loss. Today I'm taking start pictures, Front, Side and Rear. I'll set them up in a template in Photoshop so each week I have a new image and I'll create an animated GIF over time so after a couple of months, you* will see the incredible shrinking woman. This, along with my experiences, graphic representation (little arty cartoons, motivational desktop images of fruit & vegetables and so on), my successes and set backs, and my incredible sense of humour will lead my blog (as yet unnamed) to be one of THE weight loss destinations of 2010 (and therefore the perfect vehicle to monetize via weight loss ads).
So here's the thing
1. Black strip across the gorey bits (like hiding an identity but a bit lower) or wear my ugly undergarments?**
2. Any other idea on presentation of the bod blog?
3. What to call it? The blog?
* When I say "you" I don't mean "you". I mean, like I'd be showing you all my wobbly bits? C'mon! Plus that'd be self-linking.
** On the pro side completely nude with black strips does mean honesty, and no difficulties matching underwear, but on the con side, unfortunately even less flattering because the girls without support are in a different place, if you know what i mean.
So I'm doing a blog, because there is no doubt in my mind that this is it, this is my successful journey to permanent weight loss. Today I'm taking start pictures, Front, Side and Rear. I'll set them up in a template in Photoshop so each week I have a new image and I'll create an animated GIF over time so after a couple of months, you* will see the incredible shrinking woman. This, along with my experiences, graphic representation (little arty cartoons, motivational desktop images of fruit & vegetables and so on), my successes and set backs, and my incredible sense of humour will lead my blog (as yet unnamed) to be one of THE weight loss destinations of 2010 (and therefore the perfect vehicle to monetize via weight loss ads).
So here's the thing
1. Black strip across the gorey bits (like hiding an identity but a bit lower) or wear my ugly undergarments?**
2. Any other idea on presentation of the bod blog?
3. What to call it? The blog?
* When I say "you" I don't mean "you". I mean, like I'd be showing you all my wobbly bits? C'mon! Plus that'd be self-linking.
** On the pro side completely nude with black strips does mean honesty, and no difficulties matching underwear, but on the con side, unfortunately even less flattering because the girls without support are in a different place, if you know what i mean.
Great idea! I think undergarments. Or -- do you have anything stretchy? That would hug your body? I'm thinking like the way bicycle shorts do. Like some kind of stretchy bottom and then something stretchy on top. That might create a line that would work well with the GIF.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 9:40 AM on January 2, 2010
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 9:40 AM on January 2, 2010
Bathing suit.
posted by orthogonality at 9:41 AM on January 2, 2010
posted by orthogonality at 9:41 AM on January 2, 2010
If you haven't seen this, it's a good example of the form. The wacky boxers are part of its charm, I think.
posted by restless_nomad at 9:43 AM on January 2, 2010
posted by restless_nomad at 9:43 AM on January 2, 2010
Pose in a form-fitting t-shirt with the name of your blog, for further publicity when your animated gif goes viral.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 9:47 AM on January 2, 2010
posted by SuperSquirrel at 9:47 AM on January 2, 2010
Or a shirt with the number of pounds lost so far written on it in masking tape or something.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 9:49 AM on January 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by SuperSquirrel at 9:49 AM on January 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
Go with a sports bra and stretchy shorts (not bike shorts, which usually have butt-padding).
posted by bobafet at 9:54 AM on January 2, 2010
posted by bobafet at 9:54 AM on January 2, 2010
I vote for sports bra with cycle shorts or boy shorts, like this.
posted by availablelight at 9:56 AM on January 2, 2010
posted by availablelight at 9:56 AM on January 2, 2010
This site provides and example where the person is fully clothed - I don't think the clothes get in the way of seeing the transformation. She also provides a tutorial on how she created the images. Scroll down below the video to see the individual images.
posted by orsonet at 10:04 AM on January 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by orsonet at 10:04 AM on January 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
I vote for sports bra with cycle shorts or boy shorts, like this.
This was my thought, too. Experiment with colors -- sometimes in grainy web photos, the details in black clothes get lost, for example. And when you are thinking about flattering, consider what will be flattering now, and what will be flattering when you lose all that weight.
And even if your day to day photos on your blog are of you wearing, say, a t-shirt and shorts, maybe you could also be taking alternative photos every day -- nude, clothed, etc -- that you could use later in montages or for illustrating particular things.
posted by Forktine at 10:20 AM on January 2, 2010
This was my thought, too. Experiment with colors -- sometimes in grainy web photos, the details in black clothes get lost, for example. And when you are thinking about flattering, consider what will be flattering now, and what will be flattering when you lose all that weight.
And even if your day to day photos on your blog are of you wearing, say, a t-shirt and shorts, maybe you could also be taking alternative photos every day -- nude, clothed, etc -- that you could use later in montages or for illustrating particular things.
posted by Forktine at 10:20 AM on January 2, 2010
I've lost 100lbs in the past year and I've taken all my progress pictures clothed (save for a pair of before pictures in my skivvies). I sort of wish I'd taken them in a black sports bra and bike shorts, but the clothing doesn't really stop you from seeing the loss. However, it would probably be more profound/interesting/visible/whatever if the clothes were all the same.
Even without the blog it's such a good idea to take pictures, seriously. When I look in the mirror I don't feel like I've changed that much. But when I look at the pictures? It's shocking.
posted by elsietheeel at 10:21 AM on January 2, 2010
Even without the blog it's such a good idea to take pictures, seriously. When I look in the mirror I don't feel like I've changed that much. But when I look at the pictures? It's shocking.
posted by elsietheeel at 10:21 AM on January 2, 2010
I was just about to paste the link and realized orsonet beat me to the punch. You do that think and it will be super badass.
posted by SassHat at 10:38 AM on January 2, 2010
posted by SassHat at 10:38 AM on January 2, 2010
You might want to consider taking pictures both clothed and in bra/shorts, because then you will be able to decide later which set you want to use (you might decide that one is much more flattering than the other). Obviously that will be much more hassle though.
posted by grouse at 10:44 AM on January 2, 2010
posted by grouse at 10:44 AM on January 2, 2010
i like what robyn of bitchypoo.com did, as seen here.
http://onefatbitchypoo.com/progress/
i think it's really amazing how the clothes didn't even fit at first and then became way too big.
good luck!
posted by thisisnotkatrina at 11:08 AM on January 2, 2010
http://onefatbitchypoo.com/progress/
i think it's really amazing how the clothes didn't even fit at first and then became way too big.
good luck!
posted by thisisnotkatrina at 11:08 AM on January 2, 2010
I'm not a big fan of before/after nude or underwear pics, from a "wow, impressive change" point of view. The astonishing thing to me, in friends that have lost a lot of weight, is how they look in their clothes, and what kinds of clothing make them look good.
I think it would be interesting to make a series (maybe monthly, or twice a month) where you get dressed up as hot as you can - really knock-em-out WOW look-at-that-chick. The change from muu-muus to lulu lemon over time is more illustrative, to me, than the more graphic nudie shots.
Or maybe do both. I'm with the stretchy shorts and sports bra rather than nude thing, though. The areas of big change are going to be sides, abs, arms, etc. anyway. No need to show off 'the girls' unless you really want to.
posted by ctmf at 11:45 AM on January 2, 2010
I think it would be interesting to make a series (maybe monthly, or twice a month) where you get dressed up as hot as you can - really knock-em-out WOW look-at-that-chick. The change from muu-muus to lulu lemon over time is more illustrative, to me, than the more graphic nudie shots.
Or maybe do both. I'm with the stretchy shorts and sports bra rather than nude thing, though. The areas of big change are going to be sides, abs, arms, etc. anyway. No need to show off 'the girls' unless you really want to.
posted by ctmf at 11:45 AM on January 2, 2010
I think that gym shorts and a tight t shirt or tank shirt would be best. Nobody (but pervs, I guess) really wants to look at people semi nude online when they are looking for weight loss tips.
posted by shownomercy at 1:03 PM on January 2, 2010
posted by shownomercy at 1:03 PM on January 2, 2010
I think it could be really interesting to take a daily photo in whatever you happen to be wearing that day (in the same pose and location, and perhaps the same time of day -- just make it part of your routine). That would make for a very cool high-temporal-resolution flipbook, and might (?) be unprecedented as far as weight loss tracking photos go.
It could also help if you get discouraged because it might do a better job of showing subtle but present body changes over, say, a period of a week or two.
You could do this in a sportsbra+shorts uniform for consistency, but that seems like a bit of a pain in the ass to do daily. Wearing your normal clothes could have an equally cool, albeit slightly different, effect, and doesn't seem discouragingly inconvenient.
Alternatively, you could snap the daily photo in whatever underwear you happen to be wearing that day. (Or naked for your own reference.) Still not too inconvenient if you add it to the part of your routine where you're in underwear or naked.
Actually, this reminds me of a combination of those daily-photo projects/blogs, and a backward version of "The Fat Project" from The Spark of the olden days, now archived at OKCupid, here. (You can see all of the pictures in sequence using picleecher: [possibly NSFW; folks are wearing just underwear] Nicole; Eric. No animated version, though.)
posted by sentient at 2:25 PM on January 2, 2010
It could also help if you get discouraged because it might do a better job of showing subtle but present body changes over, say, a period of a week or two.
You could do this in a sportsbra+shorts uniform for consistency, but that seems like a bit of a pain in the ass to do daily. Wearing your normal clothes could have an equally cool, albeit slightly different, effect, and doesn't seem discouragingly inconvenient.
Alternatively, you could snap the daily photo in whatever underwear you happen to be wearing that day. (Or naked for your own reference.) Still not too inconvenient if you add it to the part of your routine where you're in underwear or naked.
Actually, this reminds me of a combination of those daily-photo projects/blogs, and a backward version of "The Fat Project" from The Spark of the olden days, now archived at OKCupid, here. (You can see all of the pictures in sequence using picleecher: [possibly NSFW; folks are wearing just underwear] Nicole; Eric. No animated version, though.)
posted by sentient at 2:25 PM on January 2, 2010
I'm all for showing the actual body as opposed to clothed, but I'd go with a black string bikini instead of Naked...you can tie it as tightly as necessary to support your breasts for the photo, and it adjusts as you lose weight, so the focus is on the body and not what you're wearing. And if you really lose a ton of weight, you should be able to get a smaller black string bikini and carry on with the same look.
posted by lemonade at 7:56 PM on January 2, 2010
posted by lemonade at 7:56 PM on January 2, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Plus, really, do you want nude photos of yourself on the net? Even nude photos with the censor-bar on the delicate bits? I wouldn't, but then I'm a little prudish about nakedness (my own, at least).
posted by LOLAttorney2009 at 9:40 AM on January 2, 2010