This empowering model’s side-by-side reveals an important truth about beach body photos
Before-and-after transformation photos can be deceiving, often leaving viewers feeling like they’ll never achieve their fitness goals. But one body-positive model shared a side-by-side beach body photo of herself that shows just how much angles, lighting, and even clothing can affect the way your body looks on camera — and how a “transformation” can take mere moments.
Sara Puhto, better known as @saggysara on Instagram, shared two snaps of herself in a bikini top and shorts taken seconds apart on a recent trip to Singapore. She did so to prove a point about how unnerving those perfectly-posed bikini beach shots can be when you’re casually scrolling through IG.
“The photo on the left is what I look like relaxed and not posing, basically how I look 99% of the time in a bikini! And the one on the right is how I look in good lighting, flexed and posing,” she wrote.
"I wanted to share this because I know how it feels to go through Instagram and see photos of people looking amazing on the beach, which are usually planned and not candid, that's why they look so good. So don't get caught up on how they look and compare that to your everyday relaxed body."
Sound advice!
Puhto often shares side-by-side photos like this one to shatter different body illusions. The one below demonstrates how the body changes throughout the day, especially after a big meal.
And this one proves that the size of your clothing has nothing to do with your health or fitness.
We love Puhto’s simple-but-reassuring message and hope she continues to share photos from her self-love journey!
