Fitness Influencer Shows Off Cellulite To Expose Fake Bikini Photos

This is the inspiring moment a fitness influencer rocked her cellulite to disprove the millions of fake bikini photos that lurk on the Internet.

Dubai-based health and fitness journalist, Danae Mercer, has almost 1 million followers on Instagram alone – and she’s not afraid to show off her real body.

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How do influencers get GREAT BOOTIE PHOTOS? But also – SOCIAL MEDIA is NOT REAL. Seriously. It’s not. Look how much my bumbum transforms just by how I’m standing. PLUS I’m in SHADOW, which hides my cellulite and stretchmarks. And I’m filming on a LOW RES FRONT CAM, which does the same. Here’s how I did it. THE BIKINI: You usually see this pose in TRAVEL SNAPS, with a tanned beach bum framed against a blue sky. Sometimes there’s a guy’s hand reaching up. HOW: Bikini high for longer leg lines; step my feet apart; pop my hips back; arms overhead so waist looks longer; and bam take photo. It looks crazy from the side though 😂❤️. THE WORKOUT WEAR: Bonus points for light coloured leggings and/or bum rusching, which adds to this. HOW: Face away from camera, legs in a line. Rotate over one shoulder. Squeeze back bum cheek. Arch hips back. Squeeze core. Arms overhead for long waist. Bam! Take photo. So there you go. Look, if you want to run around taking all the bumbum photos and rocking all the angles, go for it. But more importantly, remember this: SOCIAL MEDIA is not REAL. It’s POSED. FILTERED. PERFECTED. Especially with aesthetic photos. So don’t compare yourself. Don’t be hard on yourself. You’re doing great – no bootie pose required x . Also top is @womensbestwear @womensbest.me . #instagramvsreality #socialmediavsreality #fitspo #bodyconfidence #selflove #posing

A post shared by Danae Mercer (@danaemercer) on Jun 15, 2020 at 7:17am PDT

The former editor-in-chief of Women’s Health Middle East believes that no matter what you’ve got, you better flaunt it – and she’s spent years dedicated to women’s issues related to body image.

Mercer is often posing in her bikini, and it’ll be two images.

One of her posing, as so many influencers do, removing all curves and cellulite.

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BUMS often have CELLULITE. Thin bums do. Juicy bums do. Fitness bums do. And NONE of this is a PROBLEM. I get DMs daily from gals saying they feel like they need to FIX their cellulite. They see the dimples as something to be sweat and trained and dieted away. That maybe if they rub enough avocado-oil-coffee on their skin and do 20,000 squats then their tushies will become badonkadonks of steel. And while exercise can sometimes reduce the appearance of cellulite, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes those lil jiggles and wiggles are just part of what make us US. We rarely see it in FITSPO PHOTOS because it’s pretty easy to hide: throw on leggings, take photographs in shadows, stand in certain poses, and bam. Perfect peach without one fold in site. So today I just want to remind you: Your bum is great. Your body is great. And your motivation for exercise, for movement, should never stem from a place of punishment. Now get out there and rock all that your mama gave you. Cellulite, stretchmarks, dips and bits and all. x Kit @womensbest.me @womensbestwear . . #bodyconfident #selflove #bodyacceptance #cellulite #stretchmarks #normalizenormalbodies

A post shared by Danae Mercer (@danaemercer) on May 30, 2020 at 8:53am PDT

And the other photo will be a much more natural pose.

In one recent post, she specifically spoke about how lighting pays a huge role.

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Insta vs reality — or LETS talk LIGHTING. Because that’s the main difference in these photos. In one, my bum is deliberately angled into the shadows. The softer light hides my cellulite and smooths most of my stretchmarks. It’s flattering. In the other, I’m just casually squatting (lol) beside the mirror. My hips and thighs are in the sunlight. Lumps and bumps are on show. There are a few posing differences (core tight, hips popped back, squeeeezzzinnnggg), but mostly this pic is about LIGHT working its magic. When I worked in magazines, we shot at sunrise or sunset. On most sets, there were people holding SUN DIFFUSERS and REFLECTORS to help create the perfect FLATTERING balance of shadow and light. The same thing happens on SOCIAL MEDIA, just in a different form. Most insta-models know EXACTLY how to POSE and work their angles. And they know LIGHTING too. Like how SIDE LIGHT, diffused from a window, is the most flattering for abs but usually pretty harsh on the face. It’s why you’ll often see a phone covering the face. Or how SHADOWS can gently eliminate certain LUMPS and BUMPS. All that is fine with me, honestly. It’s art and photography, and there is no shame in wanting to look FIERCE. But I also want to remind you about how SO MUCH on here is FILTERED. POSED. PERFECTED. And how you shouldn’t EVER COMPARE YOURSELF to a STRANGER on the internet. Because cowgirl, you’re just seeing their snapshots taken in PERFECT LIGHT. Your reality is a whole lot more varied, diverse, and human than that. It’s more perfectly imperfect. Real. Raw. And that’s a wonderful thing indeed. You got this. x #instavsreality #womenirl #womenshealth #popsugarfitness #instagramvsreality #posingtips #cellulite #strengthmarks

A post shared by Danae Mercer (@danaemercer) on Jun 25, 2020 at 6:59am PDT

She wrote:

LETS talk LIGHTING. Because that’s the main difference in these photos,” she wrote, alongside two images.

In one, my bum is deliberately angled into the shadows. The softer light hides my cellulite and smooths most of my stretchmarks. It’s flattering.

In the other, I’m just casually squatting (lol) beside the mirror. My hips and thighs are in the sunlight. Lumps and bumps are on show.

Such an inspiration.