How To Look Good In Photographs?

[Maverick]

Annoyingly whenever I have my picture taken by someone else I squint so much and it looks like I have a lazy eye!

Anyone know any tips to counteract this? Or just look better in photographs in general?

[Ben Herbert]

This is a great thread and if we actually get some good advice we can definitely collate it for publishing in an article on site.

[Tom]

Incredibly vain thread! But it's probably caused more by smiling and scrunching your face up than dodgy eyes, so just don't smile. Don't forget though that most people probably see your squinty face quite often and think nothing of it, so unless you smile at yourself in mirrors a lot it's probably just a case of not being used to seeing it yourself.

[NZJames]

Practise in front of a mirror.

Sounds vain but true, you always think you're projecting something other than how you actually look so just practice a few relaxed expressions and smiles in the mirror so you know how they feel.

But key is to stay relaxed and dont pose or "smile for the camera". Be natural

[Sam]

Have good teeth. Braces, whitening, etc.
The better your teeth, the more comfortable you are when you smile. As an added bonus, the smile itself also obviously looks better.

[Maverick]

Incredibly vain thread!.

This is a fashion website...

I went to the opticians... I do have a lazy eye *sigh*

[Olly]

As someone who once was a regular at photoshoots (albeit a couple of years ago now), receiving a lot of 'gentle persuasion', I feel I can offer a wee bit of insight.

The best piece of advice I ever received was thus: Regardless of the whether you are wanting to smile or not (most of the time we were told not to smile-hilarious), imagine that you are. Your eyes will appear bigger when you're in that sort of frame of mind and it will lift you whole face. Try it. Smile in front of the mirror and then take out the smile but keep the rest of your face the same.

Also, don't be too rigid. You'll look terrible.

[electroRoss]

I thought I had a problem with an eye. The left eyelid was a bit droopy and sat slightly awkward. I got a pair of silk pillowcases and within a few weeks it was gone. Apparently they're great for wrinkles and I'm noticing my hair looks less messed in the morning too (although I shower every morning anyway).

[paul-b]

More to do with the conditions of a photograph, but most of my better ones come from shots made outside. Especially if you have fair skin, a basic flash can wash out your face and create harsh shadows compared to natural light.

Also, one of my personal issues has been to think the relaxed position of my arms is actually too stiff, so I've gone too far the other way and ended up placing them awkwardly. Usually your relaxed position really is relaxed when you see the end photo, even if it doesn't feel like it sometimes when you're actually having it taken.

[Nath6644]

Photos drive me mad. I sometimes wonder whats the point of spending so much time on my hair and outfits if I look horrible in photos regardless. Any advice on how to look good is very welcome!