Bride "complains" about looking fat in the images.

I recently took some shots at my friend's wedding. I've done two paid weddings before, and since this was such a low profile wedding (the wedding party consisted of 12 people), I thought it would be nice to give it my best attempt to at least leave them with a couple of good shots.

When processing, I wasn't at all unhappy with the result and sent him a preview of ~40 shots. My friend told me both him and his wife were quite surprised to how "big" she looked. From these tactical words from him to me, I can imagine she could be quite unhappy with them.
Especially considering she's not fat at all and even lost a bit more weight for the wedding.

To the point: I shot most of their wedding with a 5D + 24-105, 28 1.8 and 85 1.8.
Angles were mostly head on, or maybe slightly from above / below.
I know from experience that it can look better to shoot subjects with slightly rounder faces with a wider lens, and maybe a bit more angled from above, but when shooting duo portraits, there's not as much wiggleroom.

I've attached a two examples.
Do any of you have any recommendations for me on how to handle photographing people who display these features?
Or should they just accept that she looks rounder on camera?

PS. Both of these shots are still in preview stage, so don't judge me on the flare in #1 and the rough skin in #2 (if that even makes the cut), I'll be working on it

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I think its just the way she is smiling. I dont think she looks "fat" at all.

Maybe just get the liquify tool and edit a pic or two and see if they like it. If so and they want it on every image then charge them extra for editing.

I see both of your posted shots were at 85mm, so it's not like you were too close. Maybe you could have shot from a higher angle, or she could have been standing up straighter, but it's hard to judge when you don't know what the person looks like in real life. The only thing I can think of is to use something like Portrait Professional and shrink her face, but hope that she doesn't have before/after pics and say "hey what did you do to me?"

Without knowing how she really looks, I'd say the pictures are what they are.

There are other things you can do to slim someone while shooting. Shoot longer lenses and stay away from wider ones which can make your subject look large relative to the background. The 85 you used is a good choice.

Also, do NOT have them face directly towards the camera (which she is doing in both of these images) as it broadens the face. Better to have her head at ~45 degrees and look back to the camera with just her eyes which can slim her face.

Finally, the lighting on her is rather flat. If you're unfamiliar with the terms, look up short and broad lighting patterns; short lighting can also slim someone's appearance.

Beyond that, I don't do much. I personally don't liquify, but others do and they can do it quite successfully.

Thanks for the responses. I also noticed that the "straight into the camera" shots display the effect the most. I personally think she looks great in these shots, but it appears to be a combination of factors that can make her look wider than she is:
- when looking straight into the camera
- relatively tight sleeves on her dress
- hairstyle (loose hair usually covers the sides of her face)
- color contrast of a pale face against a warm background
- (perhaps) a type of pose / smile that might not be 100% natural to her

Below is one of the other shots that look more "like her". I'm not really planning to use liquify or anything. Moving pixels is not my thing. Replacing them or hiding some is, but moving... not so much
For the record, these pics were shot as a guest and as a favor to my best friend for the last 27 years. If I have to spend a few hours in photoshop to make his wife slightly happier about the shots, I don't really mind.

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TweakMDS wrote in post #13758588
Or should they just accept that she looks rounder on camera?

I know there are some things we can do to make someone look thinner but it's a bit unrealistic to expect these little tricks to come-off in every photo. If someone is large then it really is their responsibility, this has annoyed me on occasions when people ask me to make them look skinny!

Quite often it is a reality check for some people to see how they look especially after they've been told all day how beautiful they look.

You should feel no responsibility for this as I'm sure they know that you had not had much experience with photographing weddings.

She hasn't accepted her looks for some reason...
There are techniques to help make someone look slimmer, but the subject will be the subject regardless of what camera trickeries you use

^ I agree, I think she looks just the way she looks. I think that she just isn't satisfied with that, and a lot of people aren't. It's not like you've used any trickery to make her look 'wider' than she actually is (and why would you???). I think you've done what you could.

My analysis is that her hair style does nothing to make her face appear smaller. She's not bone skinny by any stretch and it just looks like she has a relatively larger and round face making her appear heavier than she actually is. In the last photo, she's also got a slightly flabby chin, so again, she's not bony skinny by any stretch. I agree about shooting her at an angle, and possibly from an angle that doesn't show the flabby chin. Otherwise, sure, liquify. I liquify myself in photos my wife takes of me.

Face square on and from low down will never be the most flattering angle for a heavier bride. If her head was turned slightly in those first two pics I think they would be a whole lot more flattering.

At certain times of the day you are stuck with what you can get (e.g. ceremony if your not allowed to move around and have to stay in one place) but for portraits and posed stuff theres stuff you can do to make brides look smaller.

This thread Jamie did ages ago has some good tips > https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=286827

One of the problems with weddings is that you cant control every aspect of all the shots. For bridal portraits you can use the techniques discussed above, controlling the angle she faces the camera, the angle the light hits her face and make her look good. But thats only part of the event. You cant pose them on the alter, you cant light them perfectly from every angle at the reception, so there will be some fodder for someone with body issues. Its not limited to heavier women either. I shot a very fit model once who complained about how fat she looked.

nicksan wrote in post #13759499
I liquify myself in photos my wife takes of me.

You must use the whole bottle.

Chet wrote in post #13759552
You must use the whole bottle.

Sometimes I use it too much and end up looking like that guy in Men in Black after he got his head blown off and it was growing back.

She isn't fat, but she has a pudgy face. Not much you can do about it, but you look like you were shooting up in the first one which isn't the best idea.

I never use liquefy. There are much better tool in Photoshop to slim.
She does have a round face. Like others have said shooting down would help and a long lens.