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How to look great on photos

Perhaps you are sometimes wondering how some people look so good in their photos? Is it natural good looks and great photogenic talent, or is it something else? Well, in many cases good looks provide an advantage, but with some preparation, anyone can look sizzling hot.

Find out below how to achieve that!

Who should take the photo?

The best, but unfortunately the most expensive option is to find a good photographer and have him or her do a photo shoot. They have the resources and experience to really bring out the best of you. The other option is to get a friend to help out and use some of the tips below to get the best results. The lack of photography experience can be often compensated by time and lots and lots of enthusiasm!

The least attractive option is to try to take the picture yourself – as even with preparation, this approach does not usually lead to the best results.

The camera

A question many ask – but don’t I need an expensive camera to take great photos?

The answer to that is - not really. It helps to broaden the artistic possibilities, but is not really required. Any digital point-and-shoot camera with at least few mega-pixels will provide good enough quality – especially if you shoot for the web or do small printouts only (10x15 cm). But for large printouts - such as the ones used in model portfolios – you do need a camera with 8 mega-pixels or more.

Most modern digital cameras do a good enough job, the more expensive ones also have better autofocus, have less delay between the button being pressed and the actual picture taken – plus have a load of options to adjust the settings manually. The more expensive cameras also capture colours more correctly, without less need to adjust things in the computer afterwards.

Even if you don’t have a very advanced camera, it still helps if it at least has a function called Portrait Mode. This option helps to blur the background and lift out the subject (that’s you!) in a more pleasing manner. It is not totally comparable with the results achieved with professional equipment, but at least the function tells the camera to adjust the automatic settings to help achieve the desired look. The more expensive cameras have other functions which achieve this effect, like Aperture Priority function or even the option to switch the lens in font of the camera to a specialty portrait lens.

Regarding the cameras in mobile phones – while popular, those don’t really provide enough quality or advanced setting options for taking good portraits. But they are great for a quick snapshot and quickly sharing the pictures!

About light

Don’t worry too much about the quality of the camera though – other things are more important. For example, the availability of light around you. Making good pictures is all about light. If you don’t have enough light, the picture could become blurred, as the camera needs more time to take the picture – time, during which the camera might shake slightly or you might move, affecting the sharpness of the picture. A lot of potentially good pictures are ruined by the lack of light! Adjusting the ISO setting to a higher number would help a bit, at the loss of quality. By the way, the light provided by lamps in the indoors is often not sufficient to make good pictures!

Additionally, if you don’t have the right kind of light, the picture might not be as good as it could be. Harsh direct light (such as midday glare from the sun, small desk lamp next to you or camera flash straight into your face) is usually not very flattering. It brings out any blemishes in the skin, casts distracting shadows across your face, creates too much contrast which the camera cannot handle, and so on. (But sometimes you still want to go for the harsher, more angular look – this perhaps being more suitable for men than women)

Soft, dispersed light (such as from the overcast sky, or in a large room with white walls and ceiling) will usually provide a better picture – but of course, as always, this depends on the look you want to achieve. If you have a large window in your room – try to get a position where the light from the window falls directly on you (this works best, when the sky is slightly overcast, otherwise the contrast between light and darkness might become too distracting).

By the way – when posing next to a window, try facing the window and not necessarily the camera, to get the light to do its best. In fact, whenever posing, try to turn your face towards the light. This will usually give you a more three-dimensional look, bringing out the shape of your face. It will also add a catch-light in your eyes, a small but important element which will make you look more attractive in the picture. Of course, if the light is too strong, it’s not a good idea to look directly into it – you don’t want to be squinting in the picture!

For outdoors, early morning (sunrise) or late evening (sunset) can be a good idea for taking portrait photos. Even though you might have a problem with the lack of light, the colour of light will provide an attractive glow to your skin. Many a bikini-clad beauty, playing in the waves at a sea shore, has been immortalized in pictures exactly during these early or late hours of a day. Of course, for the best bikini-clad seashore picture, you want to consider some further tips as well – read on!

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