After last weeks post on looking good in photos I had a wave of emails asking for my tips on looking thin.
Then, while we were in North Carolina Mandi voiced the same concerns.
I told her I was planning to do a post on all of my acquired knowledge and she offered her services as my model.
She has a gorgeous figure but was claiming her natural awkwardness in posing for photos would be an exceptional example of a “before”.
I’ve said it before (twice at least) but it’s important so, I’ll say it again:
Photos are a flattened version of a 3 dimensional object. They don’t always do you justice.
In the meantime, there are things you can do to make sure it’s you in the photo and you’re not getting photobombed by your evil twin.
For full body shots:
Do:
Wear heals
Wear dark colors
Use good posture
Pretend you’re a turtle and push your neck forward a bit, feels weird but totally works, promise!
Avoid:
Bold prints
Thin, clingy fabrics
Flattening your arms against your body or your legs together
I love taking head shots from above. It’s flattering and it shows off your eyes. Double threat!
Objects closest to the camera may appear larger than they are.
Always remember that the closest thing to the camera will take the spotlight.
Mandi is a looker and if we were doing “sexy” photos to show off her assets we might choose the pose on the left, but in the cases when you want your face to be the focus (so, usually)
put it in front.
OK, so here’s the set up: You are with your friends at dinner and you want a photo together, so you hand the camera to the person next to you and lean back to get in the photo with your girls.
Pretty standard, right?
Except now the photo is primarily of your arm, which is totally not what you guys were going for.
In this case I say jump up and bend in to stand over your friends putting all of your heads on s similar playing field.
Not only will it be more flattering but it will also bring balance to the photo…and you won’t feel the desire to untag yourself in it:)
(we were kind of cracking up cause Mandi kept making her most awkward faces to add to the ambiance)
Are you kind of seeing a pattern here? It’s really all about the distortion of size that the camera creates based on how close or far something is to the lens.
Just make sure you’re all as close to the same distance from the photographer as possible.
I hope this helps you feel better about your posing in the future but I also hope it helps you realize how easy it is for a photo to get distorted and not let it stress you out or ruin an otherwise lovely image for you.
Thank you so much to Mandi and my other lovely models