How to Look Great in Photos

How much do you love having your photo taken?

The thought of it can perhaps send waves of terror through you. Some women avoid it all cost, hide behind a crowd or make any excuse to disappear momentarily.

But the current “Facebook” time we live in means that we catalogue and broadcast pretty much all our life’s events. Not only that, you might be at a stage of your life where your kids are getting married. Perhaps you are going on a wonderful holiday where you are enjoying the sites and snapping those shots you will look at all the time coming across your screensaver.

So its time to become a little photo savvy and make the camera love you! The good news is that there are definitely some skills you can master to bring out your natural beauty.

Tips How to Look Great in Photos

1. Elongate your neck, put your face/neck out a little and slightly turn down your chin for the best framing of your neck and avoid double chins. 

2. Look into the actual camera. On a traditional camera, it is straight forward to look into the lens but with the smartphone selfie trend it is a tiny lens you need to focus on to make the end result look warm and great as you will connect more with the person who looks at the photo. If you don’t focus on the lens it will appear as if you are looking at someone else than the camera. It will make the viewer think you are looking at the person next to them. A small effort like this will pay off.

3. If you usually have trouble with blinking as the photo gets taken, blink a few times before the photo and make an effort to open your eyes wide without looking too “deer-in-the-headlights” forced.

4. To look at your slimmest in photos it is important to never stand straight facing the camera. Turning your upper body slightly gives you a slimmer profile instantly. Having one foot on a slight angle will also make a big difference. 

5. Arms are usually the body part my clients are the least excited about. If you are one of them, there are some instant slimming tips for arms you really need to know about. Never hold your arms by your side as there is no definition of where your body starts and finishes. A bit of light shown through the arms by curving your elbow a little is very slimming. If you combine this with putting your hands in your waist and follow the following slimming hand tips you are on a winner. Don’t forget to twist your upper body a little!

6. Straighten your back, relax your shoulders and roll them back slightly. This makes you look taller, slimmer and more elegant.

7. If the photo is taking a while to get taken, don’t hold your “photo-ready” smile as when eventually the photo is taken it will look insincere and a bit awkward. Let your smile go, move your face muscles a little, hop around a bit and have a laugh with the camera person. Then when it is time for a shot you get into position fresh-faced.

8. When the person next to you has their hands on your shoulder or in your waist ask them to put their hands down behind your back out of sight or in front of their body. The photo will look silly with a single set of 5 fingertips appearing out of nowhere. It might feel all cuddly because you are getting a free hug but the effect is very un-photo worthy.

9. If all of you are wearing the same colour outfit like black or white make sure you have a bit of space between each other so the contours of the body are clear. Otherwise, mix the outfit colours up by moving people around.

10. A Selfie is best taken from above your head instead of face on or from below. Turn around with your phone on selfie mode until you see the most flattering lighting. If you want to be fancy with filters on your phone you can do this in the editing mode but just make sure it makes you look real. It is a great way to get rid of red eye’s as well.

11. The wrong proportion of clothes will absolutely show on photos. If your sleeves are too long you will look disorganised, if the top is too long and pulled over your bottom you will appear to have shorter legs and a larger bottom. If your top is pulling at the bust it will most definitely show up on photos.  A quick reference of correct fit:

Sleeves: to the base of your wrist

Slim Pants: to the top of your shoe

Straight or wider pants: 1cm below the point where the shoe meets the heel.

Top: Between the top of band and hipbone

12.  Not every pattern translates well to photos, that is why newsreaders usually wear block colours, non-fussy prints and medium to high contrasting colours, like black and white. My tip for you is if the photo is an important one like a wedding photo, anniversary, significant birthday etc, take a photo of yourself in the outfit on your phone and see how it translates. Are the shoes right, is the neckline working for you, is the colour working for you or does it need to be stronger, are you showing off your finest parts, is the knee length too high or too low, are the sleeves too long? Is the size right or does the outfit look too big? I often get clients in the change room to confess that they would have bought a bigger size and not even try the smaller size. Once they do, it often feels better, looks better and finishes in all the right spots If you are wearing a wrap, is the photo better with or without?

13. Check to see if your outfit is see-through. I once had a client who had bigger than average bust size. She was the mother of the bride and we found a gorgeous pale pink evening dress. When she tried it at home and took a practice photo the top half appeared to be see-through so she changed her bra and added a nice matching jacket. How devastating would she have been if she had taken all wedding photos to then learn that she was showing her bra? Photos pick up different things the eye does not see.

14. Talking about wraps for evening occasions; the slimmest way of wearing your wrap is to position the middle of the wrap at the middle part of your back at the base of the neck and let the wrap fall over your arms at the elbows, the flip the wrap sharply back under the arm so there is light and shade around the bust area. I highly recommend you walk with your arms slightly bent and elbows pointing to the side. 

15. Work out what underwear and what colour will work the best under your outfit. Do you need shapewear for that event and what works best so you can still have fun and more importantly breathe? Having a great bra will make a really big difference. If for the outfit you need a strapless bra make sure it fits you well and does not end up hanging around your waist after a few hours. Pear and Hourglass shape ladies will have more of a chance of this happen as opposed to Rectangle or Inverted Triangle. 

16. Batwing tops and dresses are really popular amongst evening wear for the more mature lady. Please be mindful that you push your arms into your side as you will look slimmer as opposed to having the batwing making you look extra wide.