How to pose and look better in photos and avoid that double chin!

Here are my top 5 tips on how to pose and how to look better in photos…

As a boudoir photographer, I see so many women who struggle with having their photo taken, knowing how to pose and not liking how they look in photos.
We’re all different shapes and sizes and I pose all my clients differently to flatter their figure depending on what suits them. We’re all unique and what suits one may not suit another!
However, I’ve taken the most common problems I see women struggling with and have come up with a solution that suits most people. This includes how to hide a double chin, how to make your waist look smaller, how to slim your arms etc…

I run a Facebook group for women in business who want to get more camera confident and more visible in their business. It’s called “Gorgeous You – the confidence to be visible”, and last week in the group I taught the lovely ladies in there how to pose over a 5 day challenge. I was so pleased that so many women got involved and got out of their comfort zone, and I saw amazing transformations throughout the week! I had such good feedback and it gave me more confidence that I’m teaching the right stuff that people want to know. I’m even going to be developing an online course from it, so please let me know if you’d be interested to hear more.

Here are my top 5 tips for how to pose and how to look better in photos! Keep reading…

1. Find your good side!

This may seem uncomfortable at first, especially if you shy away from the camera. But this is something you can practice on your own. Put your phone in selfie mode and take lots of photos from different angles.

Start by looking directly foward with your face central, and take 3 photos – one with your chin up slightly, one with your chin level, and one with your chin down slightly. Repeat with your face turned to the left slightly, then with your face turned to the right slightly. You should then have 9 different photos!

Look at all the different angles and see if you have a preferred side…

2. How to take more flattering selfies/portraits…

Find the light! Good lighting is key to more flattering images. The trick is to always face the light source (so the light should come from behind the camera). Make sure it’s soft light and not harsh direct light – e.g. make sure you’re not in direct sunlight because this can be quite unflattering (and you’ll struggle to open your eyes properly if it’s too bright).

Natural light from a window or outside in the shade is best!

There are also some great photo editing apps for phones now that allow you to smooth skin and lighten bags under eyes etc. Just make sure you don’t do too much skin smoothing, please! You don’t want to look plastic!

3. Seated posing – how to avoid those double chins

I see so many women who struggle with not liking how their face looks due to having a double chin (or multiple chins!) in photos, or not liking their arms, or worrying about their tummy/hips.

There are a few simple tricks to flatter your figure and avoid double chins when you’re sitting down posing for photos.

Firstly, bring your chin forward (imagine you’re a turtle!). This will probably feel really weird and look weird from side-on, but that’s ok! To the camera, it will look great.

Secondly, imagine you’ve got a piece of string pulling you up from the back of your head. This will lengthen your neck (keep your chin forwards!).

Thirdly, make sure your shoulders are relaxed and down (and not hunched up by your ears!).

4. Standing posing – How to flatter your figure and make your waist smaller

Standing and posing for photos is something a lot of people struggle with most. How to hide your tummy? What to do with your hands? How to look more flattering and not 100 years old?!

Firstly, improve your posture! Imagine you’ve got a string pulling you up from the top of your head and keep your shoulders down. You don’t want to be slouching or hunched.

If you want to make your waist look smaller, here’s a trick to create a faux waist… Put one hand on your waist, then move it up higher and move it in! Or you can cross your arms across your body. Just make sure they’re not pressing into your body too much. Ideally, you want to keep your arms away from your body slightly to slim them if you don’t want those arm bulges!

If you’ve got larger hips, try moving your hips away from the camera and they’ll appear smaller 🙂

If you’re not sure what to do with your hands, hook your thumbs into your pockets or belt loop. Or hold something, such as a scarf. This will help you to look more relaxed and natural.

5. Practice makes perfect!

As with anything, the more you do something, the easier it becomes. I’m a firm believer in practice makes perfect. You have to get out of your comfort zone at first to make any changes and improve. It might take days, months, or even years to get better at it. But taking small steps and making slight adjustments will work wonders in the long run.

Keep practising and it’ll get easier!

Good luck and please let me know if this blog has helped you!

Please share these tips with your friends!

If you’d love to know more about my confidence-boosting photoshoots, please get in touch!

Or feel free to check out my other Confidence Boosting blogs HERE

Many thanks for reading,

Ginny x