Instagram may be full of before-and-after transformation photos, but that doesn’t mean they’re all accurate.
One CrossFit athlete shared the honest truth about before and afters when she posted two photos of her side by side from the CrossFit Games held earlier this summer in Madiscon, Wisconsin.
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In the photo on the left, Jennifer Smith is seen reclining in a chair with her stomach relaxed. In the photo on the right, which Smith says was taken 15 minutes after the photo on the left, Smith is flexing her abs and showing off her sculpted upper body.
“Ahhh the power of lighting, body posture, and a good smile,” Smith captioned her photo, adding the hashtag #15minuteslater.
The 5-time CrossFit Games athlete’s followers loved her take on how easy it is to manipulate angles and lighting during a transformation photo.
“Wow that’s crazy, Jen. But thanks for being so open,” wrote one commenter.
“I LOVE this! Thank you for being human,” wrote another.
To Smith’s credit, however, the Lexington, KY resident does seem to be in fantastic shape. Her Instagram profile is full of intense workouts like burpees, squats, pushups, barbell work, ring dips, handstand push-ups and sprints.
Smith isn’t the only fitness phenomenon telling it like it is; Australian personal trainer Sophie Allen shared a side-by-side image of her booty to show how lighting and posing comes into play.
In one photo, the 27-year-old squeezes her booty (revealing cellulite in the process), and in the other she tilted it (making it appear smooth and toned).
“I have cellulite too and it appears when I squeeze my butt and disappears with the simple act of slightly tilting my hips out!” Allen wrote.
She encouraged her Instagram followers to take a step back next time they see a posed fitness photo and remember all the factors that go into taking the “perfect” one.
“Don’t ever let instagram take away from your achievements, cause there’s a lot of editing, tilting, posing, angles, lighting and all the rest going on,” she wrote.
