this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2026
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My prevailing theory is it creates a hypotenuse that makes their hypotenuse-leg look longer and your brain generalizes tgat impression/illusion to the other obliquely (and therefore: skinny-er)?

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[โ€“] berdandy@lemmy.ca 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)

You're on the right idea, but it's got nothing to do with triangles, and more to do with lens tricks and musculature.

The weight-bearing leg is positioned furthest from the camera, allowing lens foreshortening to make the active muscles seem smaller to match the front leg. The front leg is extended without bearing weight to smooth out the muscle fibers, and in this case creates visually-interesting leading lines. Sometimes they're crossed in front too. Same effect, back leg bears the weight.

[โ€“] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

TOP ANSWER - Fascinating actually. Excellent take here :)

Where the heck did you learn all that?

[โ€“] berdandy@lemmy.ca 10 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

I used to do photography as a side gig, with an interest in fashion and portraiture. When I was dealing with new models or doing portraits for friends, I had to do a lot of posing with people who don't know how to position themselves for the camera.

Feminine bodies tend to look better on a 45 degree angle, making the entire frame look slimmer. Our stupid brains tend to only see the width in the image. Masculine bodies look more powerful facing the camera straight on, and with the lens higher than the subject, which makes an inverted triangle shape. Broad shoulders, skipped leg day, etc. For young guys, I'd generally get them to crouch, look up, and get up on a ladder, and then zoom in on their head & shoulders. Magic. Old guys can't crouch. Bad knees LOL

High camera can also work well for some women, but tends to emphasize chest size, which isn't always appropriate given what the portrait needs (ie, we doing a business headshot or a sexy dating profile?)

[โ€“] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

God i love this place

[โ€“] yardratianSoma@lemmy.ca 7 points 5 months ago

cause legs can be sexy? coupled with it being a somewhat dominant pose, I suppose?

[โ€“] Grail@multiverse.soulism.net 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

To make the pose less boring

[โ€“] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Nah they wanna look lankier/skinnier + everyones doing it!!

[โ€“] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Triangles are peak performance

[โ€“] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

'Saul about the Triangles, mannnn

[โ€“] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Its not a conspiracy man, I swear bro

takes a bong rip

Add the angles up on those subsquares, they ALWAYS add up to 180 degrees i.e. -> ฯ€. EXPLAIN THAT.

All triangles add up to a WHOLE PI even when they are slices of a pie themselves!?!!! Does nobody else see there is obviously something fishy going on?

[โ€“] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

Cant be Dunn

[โ€“] Klox@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Because one of their legs is longer.

[โ€“] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

They all do it tho basicaly? I feel like its a physical convention of being photographed as a woman like in Hollywood

[โ€“] BCsven@lemmy.ca 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Same reason if you photograph a bunch of weight lifters they are going to pose to hilight a thinner waist and bulky arm/chest or god leg development.

Its a single snapshot that can capture your best or worst look.

Women posing are going to accentuate a leg or heel, rather than standing straight on with two boring front views of identical feet. Trends happen too, remember the bent over butt out pose that was super popular in the early 2000s

[โ€“] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Do you agree with my hypotenuse/leg-lemgth theory?

[โ€“] BCsven@lemmy.ca 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

What's the theory? Pointed toe makes leg look longer?

[โ€“] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

The diagonal leg makes a hypotenuse which makes it seem longer and skinnier

[โ€“] BCsven@lemmy.ca 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Well as a mathy guy, only with a pointed toe, otherwise the hypotenuse would make their foot be short from the floor LOL

[โ€“] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

Its not about the distance to the floor so much as...something i cant quite put my finger on

[โ€“] HubertManne@piefed.social 3 points 5 months ago

I mean not exactly like that but I find it comfortable to put the weight on one leg when stopped remporarily like for a light and let one leg not be weight bearing and rest for a bit.

[โ€“] Ok_imagination@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I'm having trouble imagining what you're referring to. Have an example?

[โ€“] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

I added a not extreme example of it (not 45ยฐ but still diagonal)

[โ€“] HolidayGreed@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 months ago

To let out a fart