Hair styling tips and how much loss is on my vertex

[gradstudent89]

Hello I am now almost 28. Have had an M shaped hairline since high school around 16/17 then as of 2 weeks ago my sister mentioned my thinning hair on my vertex. Was wondering if people had any hair styling recommendations like does a fade work? would appreciate any comments how i look with a really short haircut and if suits me. blurred out my eyes in the pic.

Also how advanced does my thinning on my vertex look in the longer hair picture and then comparitively with my 1 guard haircut? pictures are with flash. first 3 are with the recent haircut. some people with the shaved say they cant notice untio they look hard for it but was wondering if they are just being nice about it. The front hairline has maybe progressed 1 cm in 10 years. I'm 6'2