SELF-PORTRAIT | 8 TIPS TO HELP YOU LOOK NATURAL IN YOUR LIFESTYLE AND BUSINESS PHOTOS

TIP

ACT, DON’T POSE

01

Don’t stay still. Keep moving. Don’t always look at the camera.

Holding the same pose makes it look forced and staged. Your smiles starts to fade and hurt, your body becomes stiff. Try it now. Smile and hold a pose, then count 5 seconds in your head. Notice how your face starts to strain, and how uncomfortable it feels. Really! Do it!

You need to imagine you are making a soundless video with music only you can hear. You wouldn’t just stay still, would you? The important thing is that while you focus on moving, you lose your awareness of the camera. It is the goal to distract you from it, to make it look as if the moment would happen regardless.

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USE ACCESSORIES

02

With lifestyle photos, you need to set a scene. What will you be doing? Working? Relaxing with a book? Preparing Tea? Using accessories will bring natural movement to your portraits. Use a coffee mug, bring it to your lips and take a sip. Take a book and flip the pages.Play with a hat. Work on your computer. Take notes in a notebook. This will help you break the ice if you don’t know what to do and how to move.

Holding the accessory distracts you from the awkwardness of posing. Once you get more comfortable in front of the camera, it’ll be easier to let go of it and proceed to do normal portraits.

Please note that lifestyle photos are more about situations than classic portraits. Don't do like me and stay in front of a wall. Sit at your table, on your couch, in your bed. It needs to look natural.

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PLAY MUSIC

03

This is the awkwardness killer here! I don’t often play music when I work with clients, as I talk to them and know where I want to go. But on my own? Hell yes, please!!

Playing music will:

Play inspiring music that fits with the mood you want to convey. It will be different whether you want a quiet and relaxed mood, or a happy and dynamic look.

Personal Tip: I prefer instrumental music, otherwise I can't help singing. But singing can help if you need big smiles, as long as you take the photo at the right moment.

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ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE SILLY

04

Feeling awkward is ok! Relax and have fun. Trust the process. You can do your selection later.

Don’t take this too seriously. What we want to have, is emotion and genuine expressions. If you don’t relax and have fun, it’ll show. Sometimes we’ll look silly, and sometimes those will be our favorites shots. Sometimes, the silly thing you just did, will be what will make you laugh a real genuine laugh. Those are the shots we are looking for, not the forced ones.

Allow yourself to feel awkward for a bit, and laugh about it. If you need to, pull faces at the camera for a few shots before you begin. Make your ugliest faces. You’ll realise it’s not so bad after all… aaaand that you can’t do worst than that.

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TAKE AS MANY PHOTOS AS YOU WANT.

05

IT'S ABOUT SELECTION

In my session here, I took nearly 200 photos. I narrowed it down to 20 during my selection. That number is actually really high, and I achieved that by using all the tricks mentioned above. I used to never keep more than two!!!

It’s ok if you throw most of the photos away. Only keeping the best of the best is why you do a selection. And please, don’t judge yourself on your “not so good” shots. Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY has those. Laugh about it, throw them away and move on.

The more you practice, the easier it becomes. Believe me. Now it takes me less time to get the results I want.

TIP

CHANGE ANGLES

06

For variety, or to make sure you took the photos in the best conditions possible, either move the camera or you around. Here for example, I stood too close to the wall when I started, so my face is the same colour as the wall. There is no contrast. I moved my seat forward a little, and moved the camera to a slightly different angle. Bam! Magic!

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SHOOT WIDE

07

CROP LATER

By that I mean that you can take photos that includes more of the scene around you. You can crop later. That way you make sure you are not cutting away anything important.

Be careful not to crop too much and lose quality.

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KEEP YOUR BRANDING IN MIND

08

What colors represent your brand? What is the general mood?
Those question can help you chose what you will wear, or what colors your accessories will be. It’ll help you decide if you prefer a bright and airy look, or a darker and more dramatic style.

In my case I knew my colors are green and gold, so when it was time to do my “about me” photo for my website, I made sure it was coherent with the brand.

EXTRA

PINTEREST IS YOUR FRIEND

TIP

If you need inspiration, pinterest can be very useful. It can really help you achieve the kind of mood you are looking for. It can also help you find ideas for your lifestyle photos. Just be careful not to copy exactly what you see!

My pinterest board is filled with inspiration for lifestyle and branding photos. Go have a look!

This is all! If you apply these tips, you should be able to get more comfortable in front of the camera.

Just as a reminder, here is a list of all the tips I have given:

Now get out of your comfort zone and get shooting!

BASIC LIGHTING DIAGRAMS FOR INDOOR PORTRAITS

INDIRECT WINDOW LIGHT, SUBJECT AND CAMERA

Most flattering light. Flat

Modelling light. Angled.

One sided soft light

The closer to the window, the harder the light (more contrast). For a soft flattering light, don't stand directly in front of the window.

Note: No sun should shine through the window. When the sun hits the floor or objects, it reflects back on your face from bellow, which is very unflattering.