Hello Friends! Let’s talk have some coffee talk about one of the most common phrases I hear from other people! “I’m not good at taking photos!” Or some variation of it! “I don’t like having my photo taken.”, “I always look bad.” You’ve heard it and maybe you’ve actually said it.

Well friend, let me lay down some truth. That’s a lie we tell ourselves.

We believe it to be true, and then we become a self fulfilling prophecy.

My awesome friend Beth is beautiful and told me she needed photos taken. She works in small towns, or underserved areas where other health care providers don’t want to go. The local paper is going to feature her to introduce her to the community so she needed a picture.

I was more than happy to help her because I know how awesome and beautiful she is. She also prefaced the session by saying, “You’re going to have to be patient. With me… I am not photogenic. It’s a bad trait inherited from my family.” You better believe I had some questions about this wide generalization when we had our session!

When we met, we dived a little deeper into her statement.

She said that never felt that she really enjoyed the photos she took. I showed her some posing tips and tricks on how to look camera friendly. You know, stuff that is in my email giveaway for those on my email list! (Come join on the bottom on the page!) Some snuggles from Ollie don’t hurt either. He’s a good photo therapy dog.

We did a few test shots. It’s okay not to like every picture of yourself as long as you can tell me why. Once I have a why, I know where to go and how to get you where you want to be!

In Beth’s case, she naturally smiles like Julia Roberts. She has a 1000 watt smile that lights up a room! I love that she is joyful all the time, and its one of the reasons why I love her. But looking at the pictures critically, she also squints her eyes a bit when she does what we called the 100% smile.

We talked about doing a 50% smile instead where the eyes are more open and friendly. After doing a few practice runs of the 50% smile,  and a few laughs along the way, we took a great photos that we both loved!

Professional photography isn’t just about having a big camera and knowing how to use it. It’s also about working with your clients to make them comfortable.  If you’re uncomfortable, you’re able to see that in the body language and in the eyes.

Posing clients is really a simpler way of using body language to set a mood. Great photographers know how to pose their subjects, empower them, put them in great light, looks for interesting composition, makes them feel comfortable in front of the camera and have them enjoy the process. That is always my goal for clients during a shoot. To understand what they want and to deliver on awesome images!

I hope this was helpful to you! Please let me know if you have any questions and how I can help you get awesome photos!