How To Feel Comfortable in Your Photos
Tips for looking relaxed in your images
If you’re new to the portrait session game, chances are you may feel a little bit nervous about what to expect. That’s completely natural, you are not alone in feeling that way. In fact, I hear from clients all the time that they’re apprehensive to get their pictures taken for all sorts of reasons, ranging from being “unphotogenic” to feeling awkward in front of the camera and beyond. To help you feel a bit more at ease leading up to the day of your session — and during the actual shoot — I’m given you some pro tips below.
Chat With Your Photographer Before The Session
Sometimes simply talking through the process with your photographer can help you feel much more at ease. For starters, I’ll walk you through each step of the session-day process so that you know what to expect. Second, getting to know the person who’s going to be photographing you can help you feel much more relaxed and yourself on the day of. I also send out a session checklist a few days before the session that helps prepare you ahead of time and gets you ready for session day.
Be Authentic to Yourself
Have you ever packed for a vacation and decided you were going to bring four different novels and a couple workout outfits even though you rarely read or workout? That same sort of mentality can occur when you’re prepping for a photo session as you try to reinvent who you are. Instead, relax and show up on session day as your authentic self. Wear clothes you feel beautiful and comfortable in — this is all about capturing the essence of you! I will also give suggestions based on your location to help you pick outfits that will compliment you and make you pop at the location choice.
Go Ahead and Glam it Up
It’s a fine line between not being true to who you are and wanting to look amazing the day of your shoot. The key to feeling amazing and comfortable on your session day is to elevate the traits you really like about yourself. If you love flowing dresses, find one that you feel incredible in. If your hair is your favorite feature, go ahead and get a blowout or spend the few hours beforehand focusing on your hairdo. If you feel more comfortable with a bit of a color, schedule your spray tan. Do these things only if you feel like it will make you feel your best and not because you feel like you “should.”
Know That We’re Pros at This Stuff
One of the reasons why people experience post-photo stress is that they might not have had the best images taken. Because of the lens, selfies create a distorted image of your face. Also, lighting and angles seriously matter. I’ve been doing this a long time and I know which poses to put you in that’ll make you look and feel amazing. I know how to position you against the light (and use extra light) to create a stunning portrait. My goal is to make you feel comfortable and fun at your session.
Just know that when you are at your session, I will be there guiding you through the entire shoot. I will put you in poses, give you tips, show you how to pose and when to smile or not. I will show you how to move about to make your images look natural and showcase the real you. You will be in good hands so you can relax and enjoy the session.
