How to take better photos
Who are these naturally photogenic people and how do I become one of them?
I tend to be the one person in a group with my eyes closed or making some weird face.
For years, I hid behind the camera taking the pictures so I wasn’t in them. I felt too fat or not cute enough, my clothes made me look frumpy, I stood weird, my hair wasn’t done or my makeup was too light. You name it .. I had an excuse for why I shouldn’t be in the photo or why that one of me you just took was terrible.
Now that my girls are grown, though, I love looking back at old photos and seeing what I looked like then, but there are so few pics of me to choose from. My second daughter looks JUST LIKE me twenty years ago and I love to see the similarities. Also, I would literally pay money to be as skinny as I was back then when I thought I was too fat. Seriously, younger me was kind of a dumbass.
Still to this day, I truly do not enjoy seeing photos of myself which is probably surprising if you follow me on Instagram where my page is basically just photos of me. Why? Because I’m selling a product and that product is me - a whole, healthy and happy human being helping others to become the same. In all my analytics, photos of me perform better than stock photos or even those of my dogs. At the end of the day, I’m using social media as a tool and Instagram is visual. I’m creating the picture of what I’m offering through my writing, online courses and coaching packages. That meant I needed to get comfortable being in front of the camera.
This took practice and oh my goodness so many retakes. I googled “how to pose in photographs” because I’m special like that. I copied other people and tried to stand how they did. Most of the time, that looked pretty dumb when I did it. I practice posing in the mirror daily. I take photos, delete and repeat. I learned new apps.
I’ve learned a few tips along the way:
Learn your “good side” - practice with selfies so you can see what you’re doing.
Stick your chin out to the point that it feels weird.
Tilt your head slightly - rarely does straight on work well.
Shift your body to the side - it’s more flattering.
Hold your arms out - not resting against your body.
Presets are your friend - it takes the guesswork out of editing and makes your photos look better.
Lightroom is easy to learn and makes applying those presets pretty simple.
Do something, hold something, sit and stand - change it up and you’ll find what works for you.
iPhone users - Portrait mode / Studio light is your new best friend.
So regardless of what you do for a living or how active you are on social media, being in photos is still important. Knowing how to take good photos is a learned skill, so practice often. My advice? Just do it - be in the photos! Moms, your kids want to look back and see YOU in their photos, too. They see you every day and the way we look changes over time. Being able to see you in photos as they remember you is such a gift to them.