Wedding photos – how to look good in them, if you’re not the bride!
Wedding season is upon us and chances are you are attending at least one wedding this year. You’ve got a new outfit, had your hair done, put some lippy on and you look good. In fact you look darn fine – so why when you see everybody’s photos from the day go up on social media do you un-tag yourself from the wedding photos and declare that ‘you never take a good photo’?
It’s probably because you aren’t posing yourself to flatter in a wedding photo. Any professional photographer worth the £££ the happy couple are paying them will be focussing on making sure they look their absolute best in the wedding photos. You can apply similar techniques to make sure that in any group shots, or when someone whips out their camera phone you look ‘Insta-worthy’. Drawing heavily on some advice from Glamour magazine in the U.S.here are my top 10 tips for making sure you look good in wedding photos.
1. Practise ‘red carpet’ posing
Hollywood knows a thing or two about looking 10 pounds lighter in front of the camera, right? Try this classic flattering red carpet pose (and don’t feel like a wally if you practice this in front of a mirror – I’m encouraging you to practice LOTS! 🙂 ): 1.Stand with your hips rotated 45 degrees away from the camera; 2. Put your weight on your back foot; 3. Elongate your other leg and cross it in front, with the foot pointed toward the camera. Bend the knee a bit so you don’t lock up or look stiff; 4. Feel free to put a hand on your hip; 5. Don’t forget to smile!
2. Smeyse (Smize)
Yes I totally just made up a word! It means smile with your eyes (see what I did!!). Better than a limp fake smile, (a ‘smake’ – okay I’ll stop now), it lights up your whole face, makes you look like you want to be there and gives you a wedding photo you want to be tagged in.
3. Go easy on the bronzer baby.
Some cosmetic touches can actually backfire when it comes to looking more photogenic. Although you might feel more beautiful when bronzed, cameras tend to go a bit crazy when picking up yellows and oranges. Even if you look merely sun-kissed in real life, you might look closer to Donald Trump or worse yet an Oompa Loompa in the photos. This is especially true if others in the photos with you haven’t kept up with the same sunshine/spray tan/bronzer routine as you.
Similarly, glitter and other luminescent lotions can end up looking like sweat, not sparkle, in photos. Plus, they tend to rub off on everyone you hug…say, a groom wearing a black jacket.
4. Frankie says…Relax
Wedding pictures can take eons, and grinning through every one can be torture—especially if those killer shoes you’re wearing are making your feet blister. So if you start to feel your brow furrow, your eyes squint or smile stiffen, feel free to push the reset button: Close your eyes, let your lips fall back into place and relax your face. Don’t hesitate to ask the photographer to count out loud while your eyes are closed. On three, open them and turn on that winning grin, knowing you’ll be dancing barefoot soon enough.
5. Avoid the double chin
Trust me, double chins can plague even the slimmest of people in photos. To avoid it, elongate your neck by moving your head forward slightly and lift up your chin.
Another tip: Try touching your tongue to the roof of your mouth right behind your front teeth. Just be sure not to tense up too much.
6. Fake toned arms
The majority of wedding dresses (for both the bride and guests!) are sleeveless, which means you may be tempted to keep your arms close to your body or clasp them behind your back to camouflage bingo wings. This can actually make your arms look bigger and your shoulders broader. Instead, try lifting your arms out to the sides, just far enough to give the biceps and triceps breathing room.
7. Don’t underestimate the beauty of real laughter
Fake smiles are not flattering, and the same can be said for fake laughs. Next time you need to loosen up for a photo, let out a forced “Ha! Ha!” And then do it again. And again. The ridiculousness of it will make you and everybody else laugh for real. And that photo will be a keeper.
8. Blink 182
Don’t worry if you happen to blink when the shutter snaps—with digital cameras, it costs nothing to shoot another frame or three. If you’re notorious for blinking in pictures, go ahead and try to perfect your timing, but don’t rely on opening your eyes wider or they’ll get drier and be more apt to close. And for those who wear glasses, consider taking them off if you’re around bright lights or a flash is being used. It’ll prevent glare.
9. Stand up straight
When you’re feeling self-conscious, you may be inclined to shrink into yourself. But slouching won’t do you any favors, so try to rock the good posture instead. “I try to think about being a ballerina or pianist at a recital,” says Paige Brockmeyer of Evans, Georgia. “I put my shoulders back, chest forward and pull my belly button in toward my spine. The better posture I have, the thinner I look!” Remember: You can still be relaxed while maintaining good posture, so don’t forget to take a few deep breaths and let the tension out of your neck, shoulders and jaw.
10. Watch how much you drink
This should go without saying, but just in case, here goes: If you know that you’ll be in a lot of photos over the course of the wedding day (I’m talking to you, wedding party), go easy on the libations. The last thing you want is to look as boozy as you feel. Also the drunker you are the more your pupils dilate and the more flash captures them and you end up with red eyes, not to mention mascara running, bra straps hanging out, tights laddered….(you get the picture).
So there you have it – 10 tips to look your best in wedding photos. Give them a go at the next wedding you’re invited to or hope you are at a wedding being photographed by me as I will help pose the guests in the group shots as well!