How to Take Progress Photos to Track Weight Loss

You know what they say: A picture’s worth a thousand words. With before-and-after weight loss pictures, make that ten thousand words.

When you’re trying to lose weight, it can be hard to notice the difference just by looking in the mirror, and the scale isn’t always an accurate measure of your progress.

That’s where progress photos come in. They can show changes over time, which can help keep you motivated on your weight loss journey.

Learn how to take progress photos the right way, plus other ways to track your weight loss alongside pictures.

First of all, you don’t need to take progress photos to reach your fitness goals. If you don’t find them motivating, or if they have a negative impact on your body image, you can lose weight and track your progress in other ways (we’ll cover some of these shortly).

But, if you want to take progress pictures, here’s why they can be a useful tool for weight loss success.

Seeing Progress Is Motivating

Healthy weight loss is a slow, gradual process. It’s easy to lose motivation along the way, especially if you’re not seeing progress on the scale or in the mirror. 

Comparing photos of yourself now to photos from the start of your journey can show you just how far you’ve come and how all your lifestyle changes are paying off. This might be the motivation you need to stick with it.

The Scale Isn’t the Best Way to Track Progress

A scale measures your overall body weight without any indication of body fat. The number may go up or stay the same from week to week if you have more water weight one day or gain muscle mass over time. Photos can show progress that the scale can’t.

The Mirror Isn’t Always Your Best Friend

Just like the scale, the mirror doesn’t tell the full story, either. You may not accurately remember what you looked like months ago when you started your weight loss journey.

And the angles you see in the mirror might not reflect (literally) the progress you’ve made.

One more thing: You don’t have to post your before-and-after weight loss pictures on social media if you don’t want to (although if you do, go for it!). While support from others can be encouraging, keeping photos for yourself can still be a powerful weight loss tool.

There’s no wrong way to take progress photos, but there are ways you can make them more helpful.

To show progress as accurately and as usefully as possible, keep these tips in mind for how to do before-and-after pictures:

• Take photos of your whole body

• Stand in front of a plain background

• Ask someone to take your photo or use a timer

• Wear the same outfit in all photos

• Stand in a neutral position

• Take photos from the front, back, and sides

• Take photos in the same room and lighting

• Take each photo at the same time of day

• Space out your photos by two weeks or a month

• Look for signs of progress and fat loss

• Don’t worry if progress isn’t linear

Keep scrolling for more details and guidance for each pointer on how to take progress photos.

1. Take Photos of Your Whole Body 

Make sure you’re taking a photo of your full body — avoid focusing on one body part or cropping yourself out of the frame anywhere.

Take photos at a straight angle, too, rather than pointing up or down.

2. Stand in Front of a Plain Background 

Busy backgrounds can distract from the progress you’re trying to capture.

Take your photos in front of a plain, neutral wall and minimize any clutter in the shot (time to put away that load of laundry).

3. Ask Someone to Take Your Photo or Use a Timer

Mirror selfies twist you into awkward positions that don’t show your body properly. Your arm reaching to take the pic can get in the way, too.

Ask a trusted friend or family member to take your photo. You can also set your phone to selfie mode and use a tripod, or prop it up on a table and use a timer.

4. Wear the Same Outfit in All Photos

When choosing your outfit, go for clothes that show your shape. That means no baggy hoodies or sweatpants. Ideally, you’d want a bare midsection, arms, and legs so clothing doesn’t hide your progress.

You could wear a sports bra and shorts, form-fitting activewear, underwear, or a bathing suit — whatever you’re comfortable in.

Try to wear the same clothing in each photo — or at least very similar clothes — to avoid having different sizes, fits, and styles change how your body looks.

5. Stand in a Neutral Position

Now it’s time to strike a pose — except your pose should be as neutral as possible.

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with your arms by your sides. For side-on photos, you can either have your arms by your sides or straight out in front of you to show your midsection and arms more easily.

Try not to flex, clench, slouch, twist, suck in your stomach, or do anything else that would change how you look or obscure the view of your body.

Keep your pose the same in each of your photos.

6. Take Photos From the Front, Back, and Sides

Take three photos:

• One from the front

• One from the back

• One from the side, with your arms out in front or at your sides

Weight loss progress happens all over your body, and you want to capture that!

7. Take Photos in the Same Room and Lighting 

Have you ever been in one of those changing rooms with good lighting that makes every piece of clothing look great on you? And then wondered why you look so tired in bright lighting back home?

Lighting can make a big difference in how you look. To keep your fitness progress shots as accurate as possible, aim for consistent lighting. Natural light is best, and try to avoid shadows casting over your body.

8. Take Each Photo at the Same Time of Day 

Taking your photos at the same time of day helps keep the lighting somewhat consistent, but that’s not all.

Bodies fluctuate throughout the day with bloating, food intake, and water retention. You may look different before versus after a meal, for instance.

Aim to capture your progress at the same time of day to avoid inaccuracies. You could, for example, take your progress pictures at 8 a.m. on the first Monday of every month.

9. Space Out Your Photos by Two Weeks or One Month

Once you’ve taken your “before” photo, take progress photos at regular intervals. This could be once every two weeks or once every month.

This gives you enough time between each photo to see progress — but not so little time that you notice all the daily fluctuations that naturally happen with your weight.

Set a reminder on your calendar so you don’t miss an update.

10. Look for Signs of Progress Beyond Fat Loss  

You might be tracking your weight loss progress by regularly stepping on a scale. But whether you’re not big on the scale or just want other benchmarks to look at, taking photos is a good opportunity to spot signs of weight loss beyond fat loss.

You could look for increased muscle definition, a straighter posture, or your clothes fitting differently, for instance. These changes can be just as motivating.

11. Don’t Worry If Progress Isn’t Linear 

So, you line up your progress pics, and they’re not telling a chronological story. Don’t panic. Many factors influence weight loss progress and how you look in photos.

For example, where you are in your menstrual cycle plays a role. Women report the highest amount of fluid retention on day one of their period and the lowest halfway through the follicular phase (the stage after your period but before ovulation).

If you’re taking progress photos every two weeks, you may look more bloated in photos closer to or during your period.

What you eat and drink — and how much you eat and drink — on picture days can also make you more or less bloated. Taking certain medications like antibiotics can have an effect as well.

And finally, be aware of weight loss plateaus. This is when your weight loss slows or stops altogether. It’s common and might be the reason you stop seeing changes in some of your photos. Check out our guide to overcoming a weight loss plateau for more insight.

Try to focus on the bigger picture — i.e., your overall weight loss progress, not just physical changes — and know that photos don’t tell the whole story, either. You may be improving your health and feeling better, even if that hasn’t translated to the camera yet.

There are other ways to track your weight loss progress, either alongside before-and-after photos or instead of them. Here are some of your options.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

Body mass index is a calculation of your weight in kilograms divided by your height in meters squared. You can skip the math and use our BMI calculator to crunch your own numbers.

BMI can tell you whether your weight is in a “healthy range” (medically speaking, a BMI of 18.5 to less than 25) for your height. You can note your BMI at the start of your weight loss journey and monitor it at regular intervals.

It’s not always accurate, though. For example, those with a lot of lean muscle may have a high BMI, even if they don’t have much body fat. BMI doesn’t capture the full story when it comes to health, and it doesn’t take into account your fitness or body fat distribution.

So those experiencing muscle gain on their fitness journeys might have slightly higher BMIs (or a BMI that’s just slower to go down week over week).

Waist Circumference or Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR)

You could keep track of body measurements like your waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio — that’s the circumference of your waist compared to the circumference of your hips.

Both of these metrics can indicate whether you have excess weight around your middle, which can increase the risk of conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

You can take both of these measurements yourself with a soft measuring tape.

Health Metrics and Body Composition 

You might have regular check-ups with a medical professional to monitor metrics like your blood pressure or cholesterol.

Or you may get your body fat percentage measured with calipers by a personal trainer at the gym, in a healthcare provider’s office, or with special tests like a DEXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) scan.

Seeing improvements in these metrics can show the real-world benefits of weight loss.

How You Feel and Perform 

Consider keeping a journal to check in on how you feel and perform at different points of your weight loss journey.

You could track your: 

• Energy levels

• Sleep

• Moods

• Aerobic fitness

• Strength in the gym

• Joint or back pain

Realizing that you’re sleeping better and can now jog for 20 minutes without stopping can be just as motivating as seeing visual changes in photos. These changes can also be a reminder of why you might be losing weight in the first place: to improve your health and quality of life.

And remember, however you track it, progress can be slow and steady, so don’t worry if you don’t see changes right away.

Weight loss pictures can be an excellent tool to track progress and stay motivated on your fitness journey.

Here’s the key advice on how to take before-and-after photos:

• Aim for consistency in your photos. Try to wear the same clothes, stand in the same lighting and position in front of a plain wall, have the same camera set-up, and take photos at the same time of day. This minimizes variables that can affect how you look in weight loss pictures.

• Don’t panic if you don’t see progress in each photo. Weight loss is a long game. You might not notice a difference every two weeks, and factors like what you’ve eaten or where you are in your menstrual cycle can make you look different from photo to photo.

• Focus on the bigger picture. As well as how you look, think about how you feel, what your body can do, and other health metrics. This helps you build a more holistic view of your health and see the benefits you’re gaining from weight loss.

One final thing: Celebrate those wins! Noticing a change in your body from weight loss is such a great feeling. Give yourself props for your hard work paying off, and keep it up.

If you’re looking for support in your weight loss journey, you can explore weight loss treatments tailored to your needs.