Angles for a Softer Jawline

Forward, Not Down

The move photographers actually mean is: push your forehead slightly toward the camera while keeping your chin roughly level. It feels ridiculous - like a tortoise - and it works.

What it does is stretch the skin between chin and neck, which is the area that softens in photos, without tilting your face out of the light. You keep your eyes lit and lose the under-chin slack.

Do it in small amounts. Two centimetres of forward movement is usually plenty, and it should feel like lengthening rather than leaning.

Turn Roughly 30 Degrees

A face square to the camera presents its full width and its jaw as a symmetrical curve. Turned about 30 degrees, the jaw reads as a line - which is what people mean by definition.

Combine the turn with the forward push and you get most of the effect people are chasing. This also puts you into loop lighting, which is the most broadly flattering pattern, as covered in the four lighting patterns.

Camera Height Matters More Than Your Chin

A camera slightly above eye level is flattering for almost everyone: it lengthens the neck, slims the jaw and opens the eyes. Below eye level does the opposite.

In a self photo studio the camera height is often adjustable, or the stool is. If you can only change one thing, raise the camera an inch or two above your eyeline rather than dropping your chin. It achieves the same goal without the shadow cost.

If the camera is fixed low and you cannot change it, sit rather than stand - it changes the relative height for free.

Three Things That Backfire

Chin down past about 10 degrees. Shadows the eyes and shortens the face.

Chin up. Presents the underside of the jaw and the nostrils. It can work for a deliberately powerful look, rarely otherwise.

Clenching. A tensed jaw looks tense, not defined. Let your teeth part very slightly - it also relaxes the mouth, which helps expression, as in expression range.

The Lighting Contribution

Angle only goes so far; light does the rest. A shadow falling just under the jaw separates it from the neck and reads as definition. That is a side effect of a main light placed above and to one side - the same setup covered in shadow under the chin, where the same shadow becomes a problem if it lands too heavily.

Flat frontal light, including ring lights, deliberately removes shadows - which is kind to skin texture and unkind to jawlines. If a studio has multiple rooms, the one with directional lighting will do more for you here.

Frequently asked questions