The systematic error for photomechanic methods caused by self-heating induced image expansion when using a digital camera was systematically studied, and a new physical model to explain the mechanism has been proposed and verified. The experimental results showed that the thermal expansion of the camera outer case and lens mount, instead of mechanical components within the camera, were the main reason for image expansion. The corresponding systematic error for both image analysis and fringe analysis based photomechanic methods were analyzed and measured, then error compensation techniques were proposed and verified.