An influencer has been praised after sharing a shocking look at the difference between posed, edited and natural pictures.
Danae Mercer Ricci has built up a following of 2.3 million followers on Instagram (@danaemercer), where she is an advocate for body positivity.
Danae, who welcomed her first child last month, recently shared an insight into how pictures can be digitally altered on social media – and the difference is unbelievable.
Posing in a blue workout outfit, she shows her body in its relaxed form, without posing.
Next, she shows a carefully posed picture which appears to have been taken moments later, where her legs are spread and her hand is on her head, appearing to draw in her stomach.
Finally, she shows an edited version of the posed picture with subtle tweaks including lightened hair, a smaller waist, smoother skin and brighter eyes, as well as a narrower face.
In the same outfit, she sits next to her bed and snaps a picture in the mirror, showing the natural shot next to a series of digitally altered ones.
She says: “Only one of these is real.”
In another post, she wears a casual tracksuit and smiles at the camera, unposed. Next to this, she places a posed shot and shows how her leg placement appears to completely change her body shape.
Later, Danae poses in a bra and shorts, showing how moving her legs and drawing in her stomach can give her a completely different shape.
Finally, she sits on the ground and lowers the waistband of her leggings and shows her stomach protruding.
The influencer is on a mission to showcase the reality behind carefully curated social media snaps and encourages her following to embrace their natural looks.
The popular post racked up over 75,000 likes.
Danae captioned it: “When I was healing from my eating disorder, my therapist recommended something that I still do today:
“Whenever I put lotion on, I should say kind things to my body. It felt silly then. It still feels a bit silly now. But it helps.
“Because the words we say to ourselves, they form pathways – like little roads in our mind. And over time, those roads become stronger, more concrete, easier to go down.
“When it comes to self love, we often have to create new routes, build new bridges. So we start small. We start with positive words.
“I’ve been doing this lately, quite deliberately. Because my body has changed so much. And it’s important to me that I treat it gently.
“So I hold my tummy and say ‘powerful’ and ‘strong’ and ‘home’. I touch my thighs and think ‘capable’ and ‘supportive’.
“I focus on self love. And today, maybe this little post will help remind you to focus on self love too. Even if it feels a bit silly, even if you’re not sure it works.
“Because over time, words become habits, and you, darling soul, deserve self kindness that feels natural.
“You deserve all the kind words in the world. Your body does too.”
The mum’s followers flooded the comments with praise.
One user said: “You look plastic in the edited one! Thank you for showing all of this and being vulnerable with us. It is incredible how our society is working to shape this as our future. I have a nine year old and to see how AI image is becoming what they want to look like is insane.”
“Thank you for showing a real post pregnancy body. It helps so much and you’re beautiful,” said another fan.
Another person added: “My insides just cried reading those words ‘strong’ and ‘capable’. Yes we are, and we need those reminders.”
“We have to give it to you though you sure do know how to pose,” joked another fan.
Someone else commented: “I think marketing company’s should see this stuff I’d much rather buy stuff with lots of models body types.”
One person said: “I do this! I also practice speaking kindly to myself when taking a bath —bit awkward but definitely helps.”
“Functionality over aesthetic any day. Our bodies are tools, not ornaments,” another fan agreed.
Someone else commented: “That is really inspiring, I for sure need to start doing this too! We give ourselves such a hard time sometimes but ultimately our bodies are amazing!!!! Thank you for sharing!”
“Such good advice. I used to think really negative things when I was working out… A girlfriend actually noticed and called me out on it. Ever since then I started saying positive things. At first, as you said, it sounded insincere or silly but now it feels more honest and empowering!” wrote one viewer.
Another user said: “Not silly at all. It’s empowering and liberating to be kind to our bodies in a world/society which feeds into us hating ourselves so much that we’ll pay for anything and do anything to carve/sculpt ourselves into the ‘acceptable’ versions…”
