People often say, "Don't take my photograph. I look terrible in photographs."
Practise taking your own photo. If your spouse or child does not like photos, try to get them to learn to use a camera and practise taking photos of themselves.
Best of ten or twelve photos
The old Polyphoto principle for taking toddlers, and the one used by many photographers from local papers in a hurry, is simply to take a dozen photos and pick the best one. Time is money, so the newspaper photographer who is a freelance wants to be quick.
Posing and Editing
The studio photographer who wants to take lots of time posing, setting up a white umbrella to reflect light, and will charge accordingly. He may also spend time editing the photos, selecting the best one, removing blemishes, enhancing colour, adding a frame.
Three Outfits
A wedding studio photographer or TV programme often asks you to bring three outfits, one formal, or glamorous, or a national dress or uniform or sports outfit or swimsuit, one funny or favourite.
The mixture of outfits gives three different looks. It also means if you have one disaster outfit or disaster colour there is an alternative, totally different shape, colour, style.
Best of Three Poses
You could tell somebody to pose and say you aren't taking it yet, just pose. Take one before your joker makes silly grins and V signs over your VIP.
With and Without
Remember to take photos with and without the baby and family pet. Why? Several reasons.
Why no Babies and Pets?
The baby or growing children will date the photo. Pets and babies may move. They may be unsuitable for a formal photo. (Why did this man applying for a job send us a photo where he is blocked by a picture of his pet?)
Babies are beautiful
Babies may look ugly to you. They may look interesting to far away relatives.
Pets are Popular
They create interest and sympathy amongst other pet lovers. The pet picture will be vital if the pet is wanted because the owner reports it missing or stolen. Or if a neighbour says the pet has killed their pet. If you want to report something, or get paid. Now where is that snarling photo?
That is either because:
1 The photographer needs to take more care
2 The person being photographed needs to make more care
Looking at group photographs as well as photographs of individuals, that includes myself, I have made the following observations. Call them Angela's Answers if you like to think of them that way.
1 PICK THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHER
If you don't look good in photographs you need a better photographer (or a makeover - more on that later).
2 TAKE A GREAT PHOTO
If the subject claims they don't look good in photographs, it is your opportunity to take a photograph of them in which they look good. This might involve spending more time. (More on this later.)
3 FILE FAVOURITE PHOTOS
If you don't look good in photographs, take some good photographs so that next time you apply for a passport or a job you have some good, recent photos to hand. (Keep them in a large colourful box or box file labelled Important photos and documents. If you fear that will attract burglars, just write Favourite family photos.
4 POSE FOR A PHOTOGRAPH
Ten tips
1 Smile
2 Closed and open mouth photos.
Close your mouth if you are the subject and have bad teeth. The subject's mouth is better shown both ways for speed and less embarrassment. Ask them for one pose mouth open and one pose mouth closed. Especially if teeth are badly shaped, wonky, discoloured, showing fillings. Have one smiling and friendly photo. One serious photo for passports (some now ask for unsmiling photos). Also for job intervals, or photos when you have had a family bereavement or national tragedy a grinning picture might not look suitable.
3 Take a better bust photo
Looking at photos of myself - oo - er. If you are the photogprher, make sure you are also in one of the group photos. Unfortunately the VIP visitor is most likely to offer to take a photo. You might want somebody else to take you with the VIP. You can also get the complete stranger out of the photo of the committee by asking them to take a photo with you in it. Stand to one side and then edit yourself out.
4 Take Cuddles and Separate photos.
The more photos the better. You don't want to send a photo of yourself with somebody else's arm around you on a job application or after your divorce to a dating site.
Together and Separate
Couples often hug each other. You then get the wandering hands look. As if the man is trying to get too friendly with members of the opposite sex, the same sex, under age children. As if the glamorous lady won't let go of her millionaire husband. you get disemboded hands. Pictures with people who seem to have three arms, three legs, or even four legs and four arms. You can't ask people to unclasp each other. You can ask for two different poses. First ask them to cuddle up close, even closer. Then ask them to pose separately.
Vary expressions. Tell them to smile, then look serious. (Sometimes telling people you have finished, or to smile, just makes them grin more, or frown more. So then you have to give the opposite instruction.)
4 Front and Side views
Try to get face on and left and right views. This is especially important for people who have lopsided faces. They might have a birthmark, a scar from an accident, a mouth which is lopsided because of a stroke. Most people have a good and a bad side. They often know it. If they don't, they might still prefer one side to another in the final result. You might want to emphasise it or minimise it, or have a true picture for identity purposes or medical analysis.
5 Near and Far
Take a close up of the face and one of the whole body. The whole body picture may show the face rather small. So you need a close up. The face photo might be missing their amusing outfit or fabulous figure.
A face photo only can conceal their dropping burst or protruding paunch. The whole body photo may show that the girl with bad teeth, which could be fixed, has a fabulous figure.
A close up shows teeth in detail, and eyes. Beautiful eye colour. I have seen two accounts of people whose lives were saved because a photo on Facebook told a friend or even a stranger that the person posing had signs of a problem which could be solved if it were caught fast.
6 With and without make-up
Those forties photos with the latest hairstyle and heavy red lips look so forties. Excellent if you want to show the era. But an extra plain photo, without fashionable hairstyles or make-up, would be good to show your family or friend looking natural, to make you feel closer to them in any era, regardless of fashion.
7 Clothes Style
Take photos in successive weeks at your club or family gathering. You might not want to tell aunty or your helper at the club that her baggy dress looks awful. On the other hand, the picture of her in a shapeless dress, with horizontal stripes going diagonal because she stands lopsided, with her hands in her pockets, will show her the effect without your needing to say anything.
8 Colours
If somebody looks great in an outfit, don't just tell them so, take a photo.
For stage performances at a comedy course we were told to wear white around the face. This applies to all colours of skin. White picks up the light from the overhead spotlight, reflects white onto your face, makes people look at your face rather than your shoes, draws attention to you rather than others on stage.
9 Best Underwear
Oops - who has the droops? Before a photo, tighten your bra straps. Get your bust higher, and horizontal, not drooping to one side. Keep shoulders level. If you have a protruding bust, tum or bum, wear a minimiser bra, support bra, underwired bra, corset, body shaper.
Go on a diet. Take the photo before the big lunch or Xmas dinner, at the start of the week's holiday rather than the end when you have put on a stone in weight. However, take a photo at the end if you are at a spa or active holiday and fighting fit at the end.
10 Groups
You need three or four pickers of a group. Most modern mobiles have a burst function. You may find that a person who closes their eyes in one picture can have open eyes in another.
11 Time Delay to Include Photographer
Look around the room for a table where you can set up your mobile on a tripod or fixed surface to prevent camera shake. You might want to set this up early and take photos before the event or at break time.
12 Early Photos of People
The advantage of the early photos is that you can get the early arrivals, people who arrive early and who leave early. You might also have extra time, if your car / lift/ other transport is leaving early.
13 Early Photos of Places
The room or theatre where you meet may look better empty. Before the person with the large hat sits in front of you blocking your view of the stage. Before the sign goes up banning you from taking photos of the performers.
Before people strew their bags across the aisle. Before the banner of a rival or unknown organisation is set up at an angle.
14 Set Up
This also enables you to set up a table; before somebody shouts, 'come on - we have to go, because you have to clear the room and lock up, or the next event starts gathering outside or streaming into he room. Before a rival or official photographer gets their tripod in the best position and blocks your view.
15 Sending Photos
Get the names of people for captions. Ask them the spelling. Ask their phone number or email so you can send the photo. Send it straight away, to save hunting through all your photos later and to check the email they have given you is correct. (A great way to get somebody's email - send them a photo of themselves.)
16 Hiding Photos
If you have photos of children, don't put them up on social media such as Facebook, where the photo could be seen by predators, or parents, teachers, bystanders or others could object.
17 Photographer's Credit
Make sure your name appears as credit on good photos. This has at least three advantages:
1 You establish your reputation
2 You prove that you have copyright and it is not a stolen photo
3 People know who to contact to receive more photos or ask for persimmon or pay you.
4 You know which photos were taken by you and which were taken by somebody else.
18 Dating Photos
Modern cameras date photos. This is a mixed blessing. The advantages are that you can identify the venue by the date. You can compare this birthday with the last birthday. You can quickly find a photo of an event when somebody asks for a copy.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.
