It’s a cliché but it’s true: everything starts from within.
The most important thing you can do for yourself, not only in photographs but in your overall well-being and satisfaction in life, is to learn to love and accept yourself. The more at ease and comfortable you are in your own skin, the better you’ll look in photos.
But in addition to that, here are some tips for feeling and looking great in photos (and some tips I know all y’all love about body angles)!
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RELAX:
- Laugh! Even if you don’t feel like it, just do it, fake it. Do laughing yoga, make yourself laugh because it’ll force your body to relax. (You can use yesterday’s advent calendar gift as a starting point ;))
- Move your body! Jump up and down, do jumping jacks, dance, whatever it is, just keep moving. It will get your heart pumping and it will relax your body.
- Talk to the person photographing you (even if it’s you making a selfie ;)), make conversation and the entire situation will feel a lot less intimidating.
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BE IN ACTION:
- Put your head down, start (fake) laughing and lift your face to the camera.
- Walk, dance, marvel at your surroundings. Find little things to focus on.
- Do something you enjoy and have someone photograph you while in action.
- (Of course keep in mind that in low-light situations [without flash] movement is going to be blurry, in some cases even in daylight if the movement is fast enough)
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MONITOR SELF-TALK:
- When something goes well, when you do something right, how do you reward yourself? What do you say to yourself?
- When something goes wrong, how do you talk to yourself?
- Based on your self-talk, are you your best friend or your enemy?
- Make monitoring, and actively changing, your self-talk a part of your daily life. It’ll drastically change your life.
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BODY ANGLES:
- For a more defined jaw, push your neck forward and chin down just a little bit.
- For a less round face, turn your face just slightly at an angle toward the camera.
- For a slimmer figure, turn your body at an angle (nearly sideways) with both shoulders still visible, and lean forward from your waist toward the camera.
- For more curves, arch your back while standing sideways toward the camera.
- Remember this: whatever is closest to the camera is amplified (gets bigger)
I hope these tips will make your Christmas photographs that much better. Remember, you don’t need to look or be anything different to be gorgeous. You’re enough just as you are.
With love,
Erika