This blog post explores how you can look taller in pictures using poses, angles, tools from popular photography apps, and more.
Creating the impression of extra height between subjects can be a challenge, whether shooting individual or group photos.
I’ve broken down a variety of essential poses to try, along with a few handy tips to make the most of your photography editing software.
6 Poses and Tricks to Look Taller in Pictures
Appearing taller in photographs is something many people struggle to achieve, but fortunately, there are several solutions to consider.
Let’s begin with a few ways to adjust your poses to help you look taller, and how your clothing can also get great results.
1. Stand straight when posing for a picture
The first and most obvious step to appearing taller is to improve your posture, ensuring you stand straight for the photograph.
Many people slouch without being aware of it, so consciously lifting your shoulders will add a few inches to your overall height.
A straight-backed pose can then be combined with one or more of the following poses and tricks to further improve your presentation.
2. Wear heels to increase your height
Credit: Vladimir Yelizarov
Women who struggle to appear taller in photos can work around the problem by putting on a pair of high-heeled shoes.
Wearing heels can easily bring you up to the same height as other people in group photos particularly when shooting from the waist up.
High heels can be uncomfortable to wear for long periods, so make sure you have a second pair of shoes to switch to after the shoot.
3. Put on high-waisted clothing
Credit: Fellipe Ditadi
While high heels add height to the subject, other solutions revolve around your choice of clothing.
You can start by improving your wardrobe and incorporating high-waisted jeans to give the impression of longer legs.
Oversized clothes such as a maxi dress might be comfortable, but they can enhance the appearance of shortness, so these should be avoided for photos.
4. Add accessories to the upper body
Credit: Benjamin R
If you’re a man who struggles to appear taller in photographs, there are some options worth considering to enhance the impression of height.
While women tend to focus on lower-body clothing to achieve results, men should consider adding accessories to their upper body area.
Lapel pins and pocket squares bring interest to this area, while the use of hats and sunglasses can draw attention to facial features.
Wearing monochromatic colors is another effective way men can avoid breaking the body line and lengthen their silhouettes.
5. Stand on stairs or use a raised ledge
Credit: Biran Wangenheim
When choosing a location for your photo shoot, it’s important to pay attention to environmental features and how the subject can use them.
Smaller subjects can take advantage of ledges, steps, and other raised structures, standing on these to help them look taller.
How Much Do You REALLY Know About Photography?! 🤔
Test your photography knowledge with this quick quiz!
See how much you really know about photography…
This is particularly useful in group photos to help even out the head heights of the subjects.
This method can also be combined with other poses and angles to reduce height differences and make the subject look taller.
6. Shoot the photo with seated subjects
Credit: Nathan Dumlao
If the height difference between two or more subjects is profound, shooting visually pleasing group photos can be a real problem.
The best solution is to shoot them from a seated position since this will result in less exaggerated differences.
Indeed, if the taller person lowers themselves into their seat, the two subjects can appear to be the same height as one another.
Other Tips for Looking Taller in Pictures (While Taking the Photo)
Adjusting the subject’s poses and altering their clothing to make them look taller are super easy ways to address the problem.
These can then be combined with photography tricks that further enhance the subject’s size through judicious choice of camera lenses and angles.
Shoot the subject from an upward angle
Credit: Ilya Yakover
Portrait photography typically uses an eye-level approach to composition, but this angle doesn’t always make you look taller.
Instead, consider shooting your subjects from an upward angle, retaining their gaze directly into the camera’s lens.
By doing so, the upward angle appears less pronounced in the finished photo, without sacrificing the subject’s confidence.
Switch to a wide-angle lens
Credit: Behrouz Sasani
In addition to shooting your subjects using an upward angle, switching to a wide-angle lens can also make them look taller.
By positioning the camera close up to the person, their ideal proportions can be kept in the frame and accentuated by their surroundings.
This requires keeping the subject’s arms, legs, and head on the same focal plane while shooting at eye level.
How to Look Taller in Pictures Using an Editing Program
While choosing the best poses and camera angles can make the subject look taller, sometimes a little post-processing work is also required.
The simplest and most popular method to achieve great results with basic photo editing software is to use the crop tool.
Use the Crop tool to reframe the subject
Credit: Megan Ruth
One of the main reasons a subject looks small in a picture is the presence of unnecessary space above and below them.
To minimize this negative space, you can use photo editing software to crop the image and bring the subject to the fore.
Use the crop tool to bring the bottom of the frame up to the subject’s feet, repeating the process to remove the space over their head.
You can also use the crop tool to remove objects and other environmental details from the surrounding area of the subject.
This will get rid of anything that might give away their small stature and result in more pleasing proportions.
3 Best Apps to Make You Look Taller in Photos
If cropping the image to bring the subject to the fore still doesn’t give you the results you need, it’s worth considering using a dedicated app.
There are a few great apps that feature dedicated tools for the job, so let’s dive into what they are and how they work.
1. PhotoDirector’s body reshape tools
PhotoDirector is a hugely popular photo editing application with lots of great tools for enhancing portrait photographs.
It comes with dedicated body reshaping tools that allow you to make someone look taller without distorting their overall proportions.
The software also comes with multi-person detection, so the process can be applied to individuals within a group photo.
Once you’ve selected the subject’s legs, you can apply the Lengthen tool to extend their length to the desired degree.
Alternatively, selecting the Body Reshape option and choosing the Height tool will allow for full-body extensions without affecting the background.
It’s easy to use for quick adjustments, with a simple slider interface to control the degree to which the subject is enhanced.
2. YouCam Perfect’s body tuner tools
The application YouCam Perfect uses a similar process to PhotoDirector to enhance the height of your subject.
Users can use the slider control to enhance the length of the legs and waist to make someone look taller in just a few seconds.
An additional tool to create a slimmer aesthetic can be combined with the extension tools to prevent the subject’s proportions from distorting.
3. Make Me Slim-Make Me Tall height adjustment tools
Another popular app that’s completely free to use is Make Me Slim-Make Me Tall, which includes several tools for height adjustments.
The same basic principle from the previous apps is applied here, with options to select the subject’s legs and upper torso before adjusting.
Make Me Slim-Make Me Tall also comes with a series of tools for body shaping, making it a versatile option worth considering.
How to Make Someone Look Taller in Photoshop
With many photographers using Adobe’s editing tools for their work, Photoshop is another popular option for making someone look taller.
Here’s a breakdown of how you can use Photoshop to increase the perception of the subject’s height using the body stretch technique.
1. Select the subject in the image
Load up the photo with the subject you wish to alter, then select the subject using the most appropriate Photoshop selection tool.
This can be easily accomplished using Photoshop’s dedicated Select Subject tool, or manually using the marquee or lasso tools.
2. Create a duplicate layer
Once you’ve selected your subject, create a duplicate layer in Photoshop. This way, the subject can be adjusted without compromising the background details.
This can be done by using the “Create new layer” icon in the Layers panel or using the Ctrl+J keyboard shortcut.
3. Adjust the subject with the Warp tool
Now that your subject has been separated from the background, you can introduce the body stretching effect.
To do this, use the lasso tool to select the area you wish to stretch, such as the subject’s legs or upper body.
Next, head to the Transform options and select the Warp tool, which will apply a grid over the selected area of your subject.
You can then stretch the selected area by dragging the corners of the grid to elongate the legs or upper torso.
You may need to change the Warp tool’s parameters from Normal mode to Distort or Perspective, depending on the camera angle.
Use the sliders to adjust these values until you’re happy the final results are in keeping with the overall perspective of the image.
You can check out our full tutorial on the Photoshop Warp Tool here.
FAQs on How to Look Taller in Pictures
How can I take photos to make the person seem taller using the surroundings?
One of the most effective ways to create the impression of a taller subject is to make the most of the surrounding environment.
I’ve touched on how using ledges and steps can help raise the subject, and you can further accentuate height by using the foreshortening effect.
To do this, switch to a wide-angle lens and position the camera close to the subject to make them appear larger in the frame.
This will also help to enhance the separation between the subject and background and allow them to dominate the image.
Is there an app to make yourself look taller in pictures?
Several popular photography apps can be used to add height to the subject and make them look taller.
I’ve covered how to do this with PhotoDirector and YouCam Perfect in more detail above, but other apps have similar tools.
The app Make Me Slim-Make Me Tall has similar features you can use from Google Play, while Body Tune is a great alternative for Apple users.
How can a guy look taller in group photos?
The positioning of multiple subjects within a group photograph can have a huge impact on how tall certain people appear.
By taking note of the height differences between the subjects, you can enhance the height of smaller people by positioning them at the front of the group.
Combining this with an upward angle will also help the people in the foreground look taller while minimizing the height difference between other subjects.
How can I look taller in pictures taken on iPhone?
Many of the basic tricks used in traditional photography to make people look taller can be applied to shooting subjects with an iPhone.
Choosing a low angle, encouraging women to wear heels, and selecting clothing that enhances height should all be considered.
iPhone users also have the option to purchase a standalone wide-angle lens adapter, which can be used to give the impression of more height.
Credit : Source Post
