Preparing yourself for a photo shoot 2
Hello Portraitists,
Trust your day is going on fine? mine has been a bit busy, but I know I promised you peeps an article about how to be photogenic. So we’ll just kick off from where we stopped yesterday. If you missed yesterday’s article, you can read it here………….
To be photogenic, you need to 1st start from within, so we will move in steps
Your skin: Clarify your skin. The focus of most portraits is the face, so make sure that yours is in tip top condition. Modern cameras are able to capture the smallest of changes and textures of skin, which is both a blessing and a curse. Keep your skin clean and smooth by cleansing, toning, and moisturizing your skin daily. Drink lots and lots of water, eat lots of vegetables and vitamins to help your skin glow. If you have oily skin and enlarged pores, use products that will help you close up your pores. Oily skin can ruin a photo by reflecting too much light. Use oil blotting sheets or tissue paper to dab off excess oil on the T-zone of your face. If you have a dry skin, make sure you moisturize your skin with a non-greasy moisturizer.
Use an exfoliator on your face to slough off any dead skin cells which make your skin appear dull and lackluster in photos.
Your Smile: ???Show your emotions. It is easy to spot someone who is photogenic from someone who is posing; the former doesn’t have to fake their emotions. Although getting your photo taken can be nerve-wrecking, don’t let it get in the way of your true feelings. Don’t create the smile you think you need, use your regular smile. The same goes with the shape of your eyes and the curve of your cheeks. The more you allow your natural emotions to show on your face, the better your pictures will look.
Always smile with your teeth, because you would never laugh at a funny joke with your lips together. True smiles show off a toothy grin, not tightly pressed lips. Keep your face natural by allowing a real smile to peak through.
When you are showing emotions your entire face is affected. Although many people associate a look of happiness with just a smile, your eyebrows, eyes, cheeks, and forehead are all affected equally as much. Make sure that you are allowing freedom of movement in your entire face.
Pretend like you’re laughing. Often, this creates an effortlessly natural smile. Right before the camera flashes, pretend like you just saw something funny, or you were just told a joke!
Tip: Avoid saying “cheese” while looking at the camera. This can lead to forced-looking smiles.
Your pose: Adjust the angle of your face. The angle of your face is tied to the direction you are looking at the camera. Just as how you shouldn’t look at the camera straight on, you also should not tilt your head up when taking photos. This will make your face look larger and get a good shot up the inside of your nose.? Tilt your head slightly down and to the side for the most photogenic of looks.
Posing Your Body
Work your assets. Photogenic people have the magnificent ability of knowing what their assets are and the best way to work them.Do what you can to play up your best parts while turn those more negative aspects of your body away from the camera.
Turn away from the camera. Facing a camera straight on does the same thing to your body as it does to your face. Your body will become flattened in a photograph, so a shot from the front will show you from the widest angle and make you look extra round. Turn ¾ to show your body from an angle and create shadows and depth in your pose.
To slim your arms, put one on your hip and angle your elbow back and away from your body. Although you may feel silly doing it, there is a reason many celebrities adopt this pose – it is ultra flattering!
If you are sitting for the photo, turn so that the camera is at your side rather than directly in front of you. Bend your knees and stagger your legs slightly. If you choose to cross your legs, cross the leg closest to the camera over the top of the other.
Bend your joints. This means that your elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles should all be comfortably bent. If it can bend, bend it!
Finally, it is always better to do what’s comfortable. All the posing advice in the world can’t make you more photogenic if you aren’t comfortable with the changes. In the end, it is helpful to keep all the posing tricks in mind, but it is best to do whatever comes naturally to your body. Being photogenic means walking the thin line between acting incredibly natural like the camera is not there, and perfectly posing every inch of your body. The best way to reach this happy medium is simply to allow your body to fall naturally into its most comfortable positions.
So tomorrow we will look at grooming for a photo shoot. Be expectant!!!
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Thank you and see you tomorrow.
Swan Beauty Queen
