Hello Everyone!
Here is the first of the second set of posts you’ve been waiting for. Photoshoots! In the next few posts, I am going to cover posing, makeup/costuming, themes and more!
Posing (Part I)
Watch lots of America’s next top model. I am serious. The episodes are filled with drama, yes, but also lots of useful information. You can usually find a marathon of the series on one channel or another. I watch it as much as I can. One of the tools that Tara repeats over and over is: “smizing” or smiling in the eyes. It seems small, but in fact, it makes a big difference. Similar to dancing, your eyes have to convey the emotion of the photo you are taking. If your eyes are dead, then your photo will not pop and catch attention the way you want.
Know what your smile feels like. What does your face feel like in a smile? This sounds odd but it’s true. You may think that you are giving the camera your 100Watt dazzler, when in fact you are not. Practice in front of the mirror, trying to convey different emotions with your face and know what they feel like. Almost like dancing, you can train your face to convey what you want.
Practice your poses. If you’ve never held a backbend for 10minutes, then you’re not going to get a good backbend photo. It sounds crazy but you won’t get that backbend shot immediately. It may take lighting changes, camera adjustments, or maybe you want one moving your veil or not moving your veil or sword or prop. Whatever pose you decide on, make sure you can hold it for an extended period of time. The longer you can hold your pose, the higher the likelihood it will look the way you pictured it. Even if it takes a while to get it! Any strain will also translate to your face (see above)
Move! your eyes and your head while posing. You can hold one pose but by moving your eyes to the side or up and down, the feel of your photo can change. The same goes for your head, moving your head down or at an angle can change an edgy full on photo to a more demure one.
Stay tuned for part 2!