How to Look Good in Every Photo.

Over the past few years I’ve heard every kind of excuse as to why some people feel they can’t take a great picture, or why they don’t take pictures. After years of experience, and hearing every kind of excuse I thought I’d share my personal guide to improving the outcome of your pictures. 

I, for one truly believes that everyone has something to bring to the photographic table. I think every person has something beautiful to offer and it is my task to harness that beauty, that sensuality, masculinity, pride, strength, or that confidence into something visually striking. I’m not changing you. I’m making a perfect facsimile. As flaky as it sounds, that light and camera can reach far deeper than what is seen on the outside. 

Now are there people that are physical masterpieces of Godly perfection? I’d be the first to say YES. Let’s be real about it. Beauty might be in the eye of the beholder but there are certain types of beauty that are as certain as gravity. If you don’t believe that, you’re lying to yourself and probably lacking a bit of self esteem. The big surprise is, they’re not all walking in the Victoria’s Secret show. They’re your neighbors, friends, workmates and relatives. I see it every time I leave the house. She’s in the grocery store, she’s your barista or your bank teller. He might be your physics professor or your landscaper. It doesn’t matter the source. There are some gorgeous people on this planet. I don’t know if they are nice people but if it’s eye candy, it’s just plain eye candy.

“Yeah she’s hot.You may not be as tall as that (eye candy) barista, but you should stop comparing yourself to other people. She doesn’t have your smile, your hair, or your eyes. That is something unique to you. Despite what you believe, you have the most insanely gorgeous cheekbones I have ever seen. Your skin is like baby oil on glass; smooth and supple making light literally slide around you as you move; and you move so confidently without trying and project regality and a powerful confidence making you extremely sexy.”

Have I said that to anyone before? Of course I have and it was entirely true. I had a client which complained incessantly about her hips and kept comparing herself to someone else. Was she hippy? I don’t really know. Where she saw hips, I saw dunes and lines. I saw curves of highlight and shadows with a cascading terrain of canyons and hills. I saw a dance and play of light as she strode into a room and smiled; something my camera would absolutely love. 

When we did finally shoot, she saw it too after viewing her images. Thru tear soaked eyes she thanked me for allowing her to see how I saw her, how everyone saw her. The lesson here is that your excuses are just that...EXCUSES. After decades of staring at yourself in the mirror, your idea of what you think you look like is not likely shared by anyone else on Earth. In fact, I’d say your own opinion of your physical self is probably shared by less than half the people you know whether that be good or bad. But my experience suggest that most people probably think better of you physically than you realize so stop beating yourself up. For everyone not in the Godly perfection crowd, well... that’s just sad.

Leave the Excuses

I’m too hippy, I have a pot belly, what about my muffin top, I want to grow my hair out, I’m too old, I’m short, I’m a lumbering giant, I’ve put on weight, I have no coordination, blah blah blah. No one is asking you to walk a tightrope. So you think you’re heavy? Guess what? So do runway models, and singers, and actresses. Most of them think they are heavy too. Yet, they are on billboards, magazine covers and all over the Internet. Why? Because they get paid? Would being paid to take a photo make you feel any better about yourself? I think not. 

When someone tells me that they are too heavy or have put on weight I take it as saying “I don’t trust you to take a good photo of me right now because I’ve put on more weight than I’m comfortable with; thus, giving me a less than ideal view about myself. You’re great but not that great. No amount of light will rid me of my self loathing. No amount of makeup will make me feel beautiful right now. Next year when I’m at my goal weight you can take shot after shot of gorgeous images of me because I’ll be thinner. Your talent is solely dependent on my thinness. You’re only as good as how thin and fit I feel. I’m just not happy with myself because I’m fat and ugly and have no confidence.”  

When you word it like that it sounds horrible doesn’t it? But isn’t that what you just told me? Is that not what you said? It may have been paraphrased but that is exactly the meaning when someone says, “I’ve put on too much weight.” You told me that my talent and ability to take a mind blowing gorgeous photo of you is associated directly with how you feel about yourself. Until you feel great about your body I am damned to a career of utter mediocrity and talentless wandering. 

Attitude 

Given time, a little patience and leaving your self loathing at the door you are already 50% there. Confidence, is one of the key components. Shake off that self defeating air you’re projecting and come in fired up and ready to have fun. Whether they are CEO head-shots, maternity shots or senior pictures matters not; shedding the apprehension and remembering that it is not the end of the world will improve your visual disposition. 

You ever wonder how someone that is stereotypically average looking in person looks like a supermodel in pictures? Yet, someone breathtaking in person looks like a train wreck in pictures. More than likely it’s confidence. They may have had one or two bad photo experiences and every photo shoot after that they met went a sense of foreboding and depression. Guess what? It translates. Your sense of dread doesn’t do anything for the image. Furthermore, you project it around you. Everyone feels it. The one you do not need to project onto is your photographer. Most photographers are business people. Sure they want to insure they capture the best shots of you, but they’re creative and fluidic which means they want to have fun and keep an uplifting atmosphere. It keeps their creative synapses firing and allow them to see potential in you that you may not have seen before. 

I’ve had all types; even the 5’10” proverbial bombshell with the angel face. But when the lights started to flash it all faded away. I struggled to bring her to life. There was no spark, no life behind the eyes. There was only a pretty face and just having a pretty face and/or a great body does not necessarily equate to a great picture. Just keep it positive and drop the expectations that you only have for yourself. No one is judging you and there is no one to impress.

Dress the Part

I think you’re mind blowing-ly hot; but that doesn’t give you a license to try and fit into a size 8 if you’re a 12. Dress appropriately and be realistic. Sometimes, your biggest fan sees you thru rose tinted lenses. Therefore, it would be prudent to get another opinion and check up on different styles and buy clothing and accessories consistent with your intent. My most used self made phrase is “just because they made a mini skirt in your size, doesn’t mean it’s for you.” Get a little help. Your photographer or a stylists would be extremely helpful in this case. Unless your best friend has won styling awards, they may not always be the best source of style trends and appropriateness. Best friends often dress similarly as you and you two seek conformity with one another. You and your friend may be wearing clown suits and think it’s still the s**t. But it probably went out of style with "hammer pants."

To Pose or Not to Pose  

Posing is a skill. If you’re not sure about it don’t try it. There are some basic stances your photographer will take you thru to insure great results for your shoot. Please don’t try top model stunts unless they’re part of your skill set. Basic considerations are poses that shift weight to one leg or another, or to one foot or another. It aids in the illusion of slimness and a shapely figure. 

However, the best shots I’ve ever taken are candid shots; shots where the subject appears to be in their own space or some other natural state. No posing required. A genuine laugh, a smile, or glance or tilt without them even knowing what they are doing is perfect. One of the best shots of my photographic career was a client brushing out her hair. Another was a client adjusting her earring. They are spontaneous and natural and they don’t look staged. If the theme permits, candid is the way to go to not look dorky. If works for almost every genre, especially wedding, portraits, boudoir, and glamour. 

My largest advice to women is Triangles and Curves. Most positions that put the body’s limbs in triangles and the core of the body as an s-curve relative to the limbs is gonna be awesome. Create space between the arms and body (refer to triangle). Bringing your arms in close to your body adds a visual sense of bulk thus adding the illusion of weight. Turn and twist, shift the weight away from the camera and bend the arms creating space between you and camera, as well as between the arms and body. Not to worry, it’s not something to remember. A good photographer will subtly remind you. 

Just Give Me the Light

Remember where the light is. We want the light to strike the key area of interest. Most often that area will be your eyes. Always remain mindful of your eyes and body relative to the light source. While we may not say look into the light directly, we might remind you to look toward the light or past the light. 

Your Good Side  

Some studies suggest that the left side of the face is statistically the visually favored side as it pertains to attractiveness. I don’t know about that. I have captured photos of beautiful people from all sides with varying results; sometimes it’s the left and sometimes it’s the right depending on several factors not all of them being pre-disposed to one side or another. 

In conclusion, stop insulting yourself and get out there and just take pictures already. It's a photo not a prostate exam or a pregnancy scare. 

Make Old Images New Again With Post Recomposing

Make your old images new again by recomposing and cropping.

One of the gifts of digital photography is being able to edit and continuously change original captures. I've found that shifting the perspective of the viewer by recomposing an image in post processing is a great way to spark new life into what might be an uninteresting image. In totality some pictures might be okay. But by recomposing an image you get to view it in an entirely new way. 

Depending on the results, a basic image can take on a completely different mood. A poorly composed shot might be reframed into a great shot in post-production. Take the following image; a gorgeous woman and a fair picture. However, by changing the point of focus you gain a completely different perspective by zooming and magnifying different areas. In the recompose on the right, you focus more on her gorgeous facial features and transform a basic image into what might be considered a beauty

Before you throw it out reconsider the advantage of recomposing an image. However, make certain that your image can withstand the resize. This depends on several factors; resolution, resampling, object type, clarity, and exposure being chief among them.

Most importantly, be certain that your are within your rights to modify, edit, or manipulate the image. Just because it's you doesn't mean you have the right to edit it. This depends largely on copyright ownership and usage rights often between the photographer and the subject. It being in your possession doesn't necessarily make it yours. In fact, in most cases it isn't the subject photo in the strictest sense of copyright ownership so be careful.

If you're the photographer then you probably know based on your model release or some other agreement. In any event, it's a great way to make something new from something old.

High Key Fashion Capture

It wasn't the original intent; that is, to do this capture in high key. But after seeing her in this bebe cocktail dress it became inevitable.

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Such phenomenal skin beckoning a white on white scene so as to keep the distractions minimal and focus chiefly on the model (as if that would be a problem); and do to such a nearly flawless caramel complexion, even against white on white that dress screamed with it's silvery highlights and accompanying silver heels.

This was a three light setup if memory serves and I didn't spend a great deal of time pining over the metering. Amazing how that happens; those on the fly captures giving even more than I could ever have imagined.

It certainly doesn't hurt that she's beautiful; being next to flawless. 

Valentine's Day Photo Ideas

It's coming fast. Valentine's Day is but a few days away and I hope you have your thinking hats for some great gift ideas.

It is often touted as a holiday for women. But I believe it's simply because no one has asked guys what they want. Sure we're not all bent on chocolates and flowers or super long candlelit dinners. But all men love women. We love them even more when they're being spontaneous and seductively unpredictable.

So what exactly do we want? We want excitement, mystery and memories that makes us smile years later. All that and a good meal with some sleep and we're good to go.

The most sought after idea as of late are tastefully captured boudoir and lingerie pics in a beautifully bound folio book with glossy page after page of sugar and spice. Also, canvased prints are ever more popular and becoming increasingly more affordable; some from 8" x 10" up to 30" x 40." if you're super smart about it it will come across as a complete surprise when you surprise him/her.

I'm not condoning sending tasteless pics with your smartphone to the new boyfriend or girlfriend you met last week. I'm suggested something more tasteful and long lasting given to someone you've made a serious commitment. I don't think the man or woman, guy or girl you met yesterday or earlier this month qualifies. Funny how that works. I don't recommend it if you don't have a deep level of maturity in you, in your significant other and in your relationship as a whole.

Consider a boudoir or lingerie photo shoot. Or even consider a tastefully playful portrait with just a tinge of zest to make your significant other smile. It's 2012 folks; live a little.

When is a Photographer considered a "Professional" Photographer?

On a past "day job" nearly nine years ago a familiar customer approached and asked me without context if I knew anyone who could do photography. Before I even had a chance to reply she went on as to the reason for her inquiry which happened to be to photograph the interior of her newly constructed alleged "mansion" of a home. Five minutes later I simply said that I understood what she was looking for. Mind you I'm on the "day job" and not in the habit of even bringing up that I too had fairly strong photographic experience and knew what she needed. I don't solicit work on someone else's dime, not even as a volunteer; never have and never will. I didn't want to invite the request or go there. But as if she read my mind, she asked point blank "are you a photographer?" She already knew that I have a design background. Of course I answered honestly (another policy of mine) and said yes. Then she followed with "but are you a professional photographer?"

Given that I knew her fairly well and being within the context of her inquiry her question was not if I am a professional photographer but more accurately are my pictures of such a quality that I would be considered a professional by a peer or maybe just another average everyday person. It set me to thinking in what we be a lifelong quest to answer that question. I've even researched the question without end for my own curiosity as to what the photographic industry and it's forerunners considered a Pro. Guess what, after almost ten years it still isn't clear.

By some definitions it is a person who supports themselves financially practicing photography exclusively. Other definitions say that at least half of your income has to come from photography. Some even say that you need to be published and recognized in a prominent industry publication. The aforementioned customer could have cared less about how I feed myself. Her inquiry clearly leaned toward quality and not quantity or the source of my income.

Since that time I've done photography full time, part time, occasionally not at all and often just because I love it as a hobby. Does that mean I was a professional by definition and then I wasn't and then I am again? Does that mean that a high school history teacher who is also a weekend photographer that sells thousands of dollars of landscape prints from a self-published website isn't a professional photographer; yet, the bulk of his/her income still comes from teaching? What about someone that has a degree in photography? Are they instantly a professional?

Living at a time when everyone with a digital camera and off-the-shelf editing software thinks they're a photographer doesn't help either. In the last decade there have been more photographers (or people claiming to be) than ever. Even people that have spent twenty or thirty years running a photography business have found their business encroached upon by newcomers which they say have at best novice skills. Newcomers are telling everyone they're a professional photographer without an inkling of an idea about what that implies - without any appreciation of design principles like composition line and form - without any regard to shape and light beyond the technical definitions. But does that mean they're not professionals? They may or not be.

Strap a lens onto your new digital SLR, luckily capture a stunning award-winning landscape shot on auto-settings, get the shot published in a national magazine and suddenly you're a professional? True? It depends on your definition of "Professional Photography." The label is in broad use and expanding exponentially and in my opinion creates a false perception in consumers' minds as to the quality of work. I say drop it altogether, lose the stigma it has wrought and let the images say the thousand words they were meant to say.

I wouldn't say that I'm a professional photographer and some people by definition would probably agree. But nor would I say that I am not. It's a rapidly changing and evolving field and I am changing and evolving with it.

On Location Photography

It is not often enough that I get an opportunity to do on-location photo shoots.  When the opportunity to do so arrived I did not hesitate. Of course, a visually stunning client inspired me. But I was looking forward to another chance to blend a bit of off camera flash photography with ambient light. It isn’t a new trick for me but the weather was exceptionally promising as is so rare in the NW this time of year. Furthermore, time just happened to permit the chance to get out.

Lugging around gear still doesn’t appeal to me much since I decided to forgo the aid of an assistant this time around. However, I do believe the capture shows it was well worth the slight if temporary inconvenience.

She was ravishing in the sunlight and the flash provided just a kiss of fill to emphasize the natural sparkle in her eyes along with her infectious smile.

It was a portfolio building photo shoot for her. However, her looks, the moment, and/or the scene provide the base for the perfect cosmetic’s print ad. But then again, she has a perfect smile, perhaps a dental brochure. There is an endless amount of potential with on-location photography as it relates to advertising. But enough babble about business this time. It was pleasant enough to be the one to simply capture this stunning aspiring model. 

Photoshop "Soft Glow" Image FX: Photoshop

I really like using this effect on outdoor portraits. It is designed to give your images an ethereal soft glow. While it can work for any image it seems to work best on outdoor images where the light source appears more natural.

It begins by converting your image to a smart object from which you may access your smart filters. After converting to a smart object it may be wise to double-check your foreground and background color. Make sure that color is set to black for foreground and white for background on the Photoshop toolbar. From your header click Filter to access your drop down menu; choose sketch then Halftone Pattern. Leave the default settings as 1 for size and 5 for contrast. Leave the pattern as Dot then press OK.

Within the layers panel, under Smart Filter you should see the words Halftone Pattern with what looks like a double arrow separated by a single line. Double click that icon. Change the blending mode to Overlay and adjust your opacity levels to your desired level; for our purposes 45% worked great. Then click OK. Your image should be showing deeper saturation and a color shift with some elevated exposure in highlighted areas.

Back on your original layer, go to the header and click Filter and drop down to Blur and then Gaussian Blur. Set your blur to your desired amount. For our purposes we used 50, then click OK.

Go back to your layers panel. Now you should see a sub-layer added called Gaussian Blur with the same triangle off to the right you saw earlier. Double-click that icon; set your blend mode to screen. You should see an immediate exposure change of your image. After which, set the opacity to your desired level. We used 90.

If your image is too heavy on saturation, create a new blank layer. After creating your new blank layer… on a PC, click Control-Shift-Alt-E. On a Mac click Command-Shift-Option-E. This merges all your filters and changes them into one new single layer. You may access Hue/Saturation from your header menu from Image, then adjustments or you may click your layer mask icon to the right of your layer adjustment icon on the bottom of your layer panel. Adjust your saturation to the desired level and Voila. Done.

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The Beauty Dish

The beauty dish is one of the most popular light modifiers in use. It is the preferred piece of equipment by amateurs and professional photographers alike.

Mola Beauty Dish

Why is it called a beauty dish? Largely it is called a beauty dish due to its shape and its resemblance to a bowl or dish. That shape attributes largely to the structural characteristics of the light cast. Light from the strobe strikes a central flat and often reflective disc that sits in the center of the dish and bounces omnidirectionally back into the bowl and out again into the dish's outer edges in a conal pattern.

The light cast is considerably more directional and specular than a softbox. While softboxes (as their name denotes) is far softer and generally wrapping but with significantly reduced gradient lumen transition from highlight to shadow. The falloff, as observed in light from a beauty dish, possesses a far shorter specular transition along its edges. While the transition from highlight to shadow is markedly short and evident, it is very mellow along the fringes of lumen dissipation giving the light a spherical characteristic. 

The specular quality of the light is observable in the reflective highlights falling upon the subject. The illumination nears zero as it approaches the outer edges of the cast conal light pattern. So why a beauty dish? Many photographers prefer the directional control and spherical light quality as it falls across a subject. This creates an observable transition within the context of a small frame. While softboxes create a greater spill, beauty dish lumen transition can be seen in a relative small area.This offers a significant degree of creative control for fashion photography and beauty. However, due to the light's swift falloff it is generally preferred with subjects where stronger contrast are more flattering as opposed to broader light sources that create less emphasis on irregular surfaces such as less than perfect skin.

The spherical nature of the light is clearly seen in this capture. Most photographers as do I, try to identify a sweet spot where the transition is perfectly placed. It varies depending on the conditions as well as the subject since the strength of reflection is governed by available light, exposure, DOF, and distance from the light source. Most might say that area is slightly outside of the physical center of the light source; catching the inner rim of falloff. This adds a layer of dimensionality to the shadow cast against the subject, creating more depth. 

Catchlights in the subject's eyes is also an attractive feature of the beauty dish's light. Most find that spherical conal pattern highly appealing. This spherical shape adds more life in the eyes, more specifically, depth created by the transition.

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That pattern can be seen in this image. As aforementioned, the subject lies just slightly off center of the reflective middle. For me this was the "sweet spot" for this particular capture. The falloff is clearly observable on the model's shoulder and this multifaceted characteristic is seen again on her nose bridge while the sphere is evident over the entire frame.


Again, this type of light is often used with subject's with above average skin and complexions. Be mindful that it will emphasize even the slightest irregular surface as seen on the wall the model leans against.

Like many other modifiers the beauty dish has accessories of its own including a sock and/or grids. Grids usually set into the outer rim of the dish and can be purchased in varying degrees often from 15 to 40 to control direction. Socks are made of a diffused fabric material that filters the light and softens it further, creating characteristics more like a softbox but with slightly more direction.

The beauty dish is certainly my preferred modifier and it is available in several different sizes. My personal favorite is the Mola beauty dish as seen above.