Dreading to be in front of the camera because you do not photograph well?

Whilst it is true that certain people look fab in every single picture, it is a myth that certain women are not photogenic. These misconceptions are often based on photos taken by family and friends in most dreadful situations. After years of experience in photographing women, I assure you that looking good in photos is mainly a question of knowing what to do and how.

Here are some actionable tricks Carlo and I want to share with you on how to look good in every photos, every single time. Guaranteed.

1. Stay nice and tall

Posture is extremely important. The way we carry ourselves communicate to others if we are sad, angry or relaxed. People can tell if we are confident or not just looking at how we stand, so it is important not to slouch. When we keep our backs straight without tensing the muscles, the shoulders, neck and chin will automatically stay in a more flattering position and you will actually feel better.
Another reason is the more you sit or stand straight, the taller and leaner you will look.

2. Put your weight on the back foot

There is a simple secret in photography: whatever is closer to the camera, looks bigger. If you put your weight away from the camera, you will look instantly slimmer.

3. Chin forward and down

This is a great trick that will help everybody. Unless you are one of those lucky things that have a very defined jaw line, the way the chin naturally sits pushed towards the neck. This creates a bulge between your chin and your neck – that is NOT a double chin! – that makes your face look heavier. By pushing the chin forward and down, your eyes will stand out more, if you happen to have a hint of a double chin it will disappear like magic and your neck will be elongated to give a sense of elegance and grace.

3. Relax your mouth (or smile)

Everyone shows tension in different ways but there are mainly 4 areas that most of people tense: mouth, shoulders, nostrils and hands. The most common is pressing the lips together and therefore clenching the jaw. Especially in a portrait, it is important that you are relaxed to allow your personality to shine through. A good trick is breathing through the lips so to allow a little gap between them or even better smiling so that they look naturally “relaxed”.

4. One shoulder up and one shoulder down

Static lines produce static results and what is interesting to the human eye in a photo is dynamism. By positioning the shoulders on a different level your body will create a geometric figure that will give a sense of direction to the photo making the eyes of the subject more interesting. In this way the side of your neck will be more exposed. Remember that if your neck disappears because your shoulders are up and tense, you will look shorter.

5. Practice in front of the mirror

When you know how to pose and how to look good in front of the camera, your confidence will boost and you will be irresistible. The way of doing it is looking at your face in the mirror and see what smile and angles look best for your features. The next step is to relax, be yourself and enjoy.

What if I do not like my arms?

This is a difficult area for women of any age or size because if the arms look heavy, the entire figure seems heavy as well. One trick is covering the upper part of the arms with a shawl whilst posing with your hands on your hips. By leaving the shoulders exposed the attention is drawn to the face first and secondly to the decolletage. It is a very elegant and feminine way to highlight our strengths minimising imperfections.

Why the only good photos I have are self-portraits?

One explanation is being aware of the camera. We know when we are going to click and often we are in front of the mirror where we can have control over our expression and over the delete button.
Another possibility is that we simply know our angles and when we press the shutter of the camera we do not feel the pressure of being photographed by an external eye.

The camera may be seen as a barrier but it is not an enemy and being relaxed is an essential part of looking good in camera. Try to imagine the eyes of the person in front of you instead of seeing a lens and that will help you be yourself again and ease the pressure of saying “cheese”.

Let us know how you find these tricks after having tried them by leaving a comment below.