Are you one of those people who just hate to look at photos of themselves? Does it sometimes boggle your mind, since you know you looked fabulous in the mirror when you left the house…yet a photo taken a few hours later is enough to make you swear off pictures altogether? Well guess what? The problem isn’t you. Often times, it’s not us, but how we’re standing/posing or the lighting, that’s the culprit. But with just a few simple tips, you can start smiling at the camera instead of hiding from it!

• The Stance – How you stand in large part can determine how heavy you look in pictures. If you stand face-on, shoulders squared with the camera, you will most certainly look wider than you would normally. Instead, stand with your hips shoulder width apart, with your weight on your back foot, and your front leg slightly bent at the knee. Also try the twist your torso trick. With the camera in front of you, turn your feet to both point either left of right, depending on what you feel is your best side. Then, twist your torso back toward the camera, one shoulder toward the camera and the other away.
• The Arms – Keeping your arms at your sides will only make you look wider, and your arms heavier. Instead, try the patented runway and red carpet pose, by placing one hand on your hip, elbow slightly pointing back. Not only does this help to highlight your waist, but it will make your arms look more toned.
• The Chin – This is definitely one of the most important (and easiest) tricks you can try to shed pounds in photos! Just to let you know in advance though, it will feel absolutely ridiculous while you’re doing it…but it works wonders for the camera. Try to hold your head up high, push your neck very slightly forward (like a tortoise), and chin very slightly down. But keep your facial features relaxed, don’t strain. Think of it in terms of simply moving your forehead forward, and your chin down.
• The Hair and Makeup – If you are going out and you know you definitely will be faced with a camera at some point, most professional photographers will tell you that you should put on a bit more makeup than you would normally wear, since the lighting and the flash can wash you out. Bronzer and/or blush is recommended too, for the same reason. For lipstick, go brighter rather than darker. Dark colors make images recede, so your lips will look smaller with darker lipstick. Keep skin as matte as possible, so you will actually want to go less on the highlight to avoid looking oily. And don’t forget to fill in your brows, since they can literally change the whole shape of your face. Hair should be shiny, frizz-free, and au-natural is best.
• The Clothes – Regardless of whether or not there will be picture-taking going on, you should always be looking to dress for your shape (apple, pear, hourglass, boyish, etc.)…so if you’re wearing the most figure-flattering clothes when the photos start snapping, you’ll naturally look better and feel more comfortable and confident. If there are areas you would like to camouflage, then remember to use strategic layering, draping, tailoring, ruffles, and hem lines to your advantage.
• The Light – There’s a reason why everyone loves candlelight…it’s honestly very flattering. But if there’s no candles to be had, Christmas lights work well (hooray for the season!). In general though, natural light works best. Try to avoid shots when the sun is directly overhead, since it will cast unbecoming shadows (under-eye bags, double chin, wrinkles and crows feet…yuk!). By far, sunrise and sunset will cast the most flattering light for you.

Image by Morgan Sessions is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: pexels)