Tips Infront of the Camera

When I first started this blog I had absolutely no intention of sharing photos of myself. Fast forward a year later and my face is everywhere. While I guess you could say I’ve “gotten used to it”, the truth of the matter is I am super awkward in front of the camera and it doesn’t help that the majority of the photos I take are on the street in front of passing cars and ogling people. One person walks by and my face turns to wax — the double chins form, my eyes roll to the top of my head, and my body cringes like I’m the Wicked Witch of the West melting away.  Needless to say, I am not Kate Moss. But you already knew that.

While I still have a lot of growing to do, there are a few things I’ve discovered over my past few years infront of the camera.

One — take a ton of photos. Essentially you want one good photo for every three bad ones so you have some options.

Two — open up your face. People have a tendency to squint and pucker in front of the camera, which causes wrinkles, emphasizes under eye circles, and basically makes you look like you’re having a really bad day. When I take pictures I try to use the face muscles that I’d use to wiggle my ears or move my scalp up and down (for the record, I can do neither of these circus tricks). I also try to open my eyes (read: smize) just a little extra — emphasis on the little as you don’t want to look like a blowfish being squeezed.

Three — move. I have a tendency to get extremely stiff the second I feel the camera lens on me. Much like a deer in the headlights I become statuesque and pray that holding a steady position will yield the best results. But I am not a deer and last time I checked photographers are not moving cars, so really all this does is make me look like a frozen freak on the brink of pissing herself. So I wiggle around, walk back and forth, kick my legs in the air, open my mouth as wide as I can, and do anything else that feels ridiculous so that I loosen up a bit. Which brings me back to the importance of step number one: take a ton of pictures.