Slim Upper Body in Photos

Slimming the upper body in a photo means narrowing the neck, the shoulders and the arms together from their outer edges, so the whole top half looks lighter and more defined, without changing the face or the clothes. In this example, a woman photographed in profile with her arms crossed in a sunlit garden is unhappy with how wide her neck, shoulders and arms look from the side. The sun, the angle and the crossed-arm pose all add width, so the photo makes her look heavier than she feels.

What changed in this photo, and what stayed the same?

• Changed: the width of the neck at the back and the front, the near shoulder and upper arm, the far arm and the forearm, each narrowed by roughly a fifth.
• Kept: her face and expression, the hair and bun, the freckles and skin texture, the paisley dress and its pattern, and the garden behind her.

Why is the upper body wider in a photo than in real life?

A side view, a lens close to the body, a head tilted forward, strong sun on the shoulder and crossed arms that press the upper arm outward can all add width. The editor narrows each edge by a similar amount and lets the blurred background fill the gap, so the outline stays smooth and the skin texture is not smeared.

How far is natural?

• The jaw line and face are not touched, so the neck and the face still look like one person.
• Shadows and shading on the neck, shoulder and arm stay, because a limb with no shading looks pasted.
• Neck, shoulders and arms are slimmed by a similar amount, so the person looks balanced rather than edited in one spot.

What upper body slimming cannot do

• It does not remove a double chin. That is a different edit, shown under remove a double chin.
• It does not change the shape of the face or the jaw.
• Hair, a scarf or a collar covering the neck cannot be slimmed along with it.

What should you send?

The original full-size file with the neck, shoulders and arms clearly visible, and a note on how much slimmer you want: "a little" or "noticeably". Say what must stay as it is, such as the jaw line or the outfit.

For arms alone, see slim upper arms in photos. More under body retouching.

Private: recreated on our own images, not customer photos

The before/after shown here is recreated on images created or licensed for this site — never a real customer's photo. Your upload is seen only by the editor working on it, and the edit comes with free revisions within 14 days of delivery if anything needs adjusting.