Updated 23 October 2026 · 2 min read · By Danny Law, the developer of WLTB
How to take progress photos you can actually compare
The scales can't show your shape changing. Progress photos can, if each one is taken the same way. Here's how to take them, and how to compare them in Weight Loss Tracking Buddy.
Some weeks the scales barely move while your clothes fit differently. Progress photos and a tape measure catch what the scales miss, but only if every photo is taken the same way, so the only thing that changes between them is you.
Set up once, then repeat
- The same spot. A plain wall, with nothing behind you that moves between photos.
- The same light. Daylight from the same window at the same time of day, or the same lamp. Light from above flatters; light from in front shows things as they are.
- The same distance and height. Mark where the phone stands, or use a shelf or tripod with the timer, at about chest height, so the lens isn't tilted up or down.
- The same clothes. Fitted ones, or the same swimwear, so the outline is clear.
- The same poses. Front, side and back, standing naturally, arms a little away from your body.
- The same time. First thing in the morning, before you eat, as with your weigh-ins.
How often
Every two to four weeks is plenty. Day to day the changes are too small to see, and comparing too often is more likely to disappoint than encourage.
Measure as well
A tape measure is the photos' partner. Measure your waist at the same point each time (around your belly button is easy to repeat), with the tape snug but not tight, after breathing out. Hips, chest, arms and thighs add to the picture.
Comparing them in Weight Loss Tracking Buddy
Weight Loss Tracking Buddy keeps your photos and measurements beside your weigh-ins. Photos and measurements are part of WLTB Pro.
- Add a photo from the Overview's + menu, or in Logs, under Photos. Take it with the camera or pick one from your library, and choose its pose: front, side or back. The app reads the date the photo was taken, and starts on the pose you used last time.
- See before and after. In Photos, open Before and After to put your first photo of a pose beside your latest, with the time between them and how much your weight changed.
- Log your measurements from the same + menu: waist, hips, chest, neck, upper arm, thigh, calf and body fat, in inches or centimetres. Each gets its own chart in Charts, and Logs shows how far each has moved since your first measurement.
Photos are saved without their location or camera details, on your devices and in your own iCloud account, which we can't see.
See more of progress photos and measurements.
