portraits tips
Sally Newell of Serendipity Photography gives advice about looking great in your portrait photo
Bridal Portraiture could be said perhaps to said to be the most important part of wedding photography! It is the moment where the photographer and the bride work together with the colors, lights and tones of the venue and environment to create and intimate and lasting memento of ypor happiest day.
Most brides feel on the day that they shoudl be natural and spontaneous and that weddings should be easy but wouldn't it be good to stand out and look very extra special? Why is it that some people seem to have that wow star quality? Is it innate or is it something that we can learn? I remember walking in to a room and seeing Susan Renouf just in the crowd but she shone out like a beacon—not just blonde hair, but a powerful sense of presence. When flipping through a friend's wedding album, you may be surprised by the seemingly magical glow of radiant serenity that the bride embodies. A beautiful bridal portrait is, of course, not magic, but a careful collaboration between a photographer and the bride.
If you have six months to reprare regardless of how much time there are things you can do to have that extra sense of confidence and look wonderful. Try dance and gym classes to loosen up your body and add a bit of extra energy. If you have more time maybe even sign up for a model preparation course with a good agency for a bit of professional polish. Something really easy is to observe yourself and change the way you stand or move and see what looks great.
You should like the makeup you see in the mirror. The old style of heavy stage makeup allowed photographers to use especially soft film and still emphasize the features with much skin detail. Now, skilled photoshop usage allows softer yet still natural skin, while the features become more expressive or glamourous. Therefore bridal makeup now often is more like slightly defined day make with more coverage. Even with more personalized natural or expressive or glamour makeup looks what holds is what you see is what you get, although many photographers can change tone and contrast and coloration in a range of photographic looks in wedding album post production.
One of the hidden features of makeup is contouring or face shaping, which emphasizes your best features, and allows your personality and natural beauty to be projected rather than a mere painted on face. Slight shading under the tip of the nose nose reduces its length, similarly a little shading on the sides of the nose reduces its width, helpful for those of us who are worried about a wider nose. The same applies to your chin or forehead. The smile is the most important part of a portrait.. no just that also a happy glow.
How do models look good in front of a camera? They practise. Learn to feel comfortable, be aware of the best tilt for your head, and of poses to suit a range of moods. Twine your fingers in your hair in front of the mirror and observe or use a fan or your veil; partially cover your face and move it slowly and gracefully away. Consider what do you do with your hands— hands hanging down limply are not the thing. Look through magazines and photographs of people you admire for inspiration. Practise, emulate, or hold onto that bouquet!
Work with your dress. Try bending moving, tilting the hips and shoulders in opposite directions, and then a swirls.. see if t you can make the dress spin out while you go round and round, then stop, and again in front of a full length mirror, pick up the dress behind the side seam at a bit below knee level and try and throw it forward…The dress is more than just something to stand still and be pretty in, it should move and glide with you to create wonderful glorious images of you.
