A new series on the blog is up: the FAB Talent Room. In this category I make room for talented readers, fellow bloggers and others that inspire me – to share their passion. This could be a passion for fashion, but also for photography, beauty or lifestyle. In this first FAB Talent Room article you get to read something from one of my followers, the 19-year-old student and photographer Eline. If you want to enter the FAB Talent Room yourself, feel free to write me an e-mail () and tell me why YOU should be next! Now, go ahead Eline!

---

HOW TO: enhance your beauty in a photograph.

---

Hey ladies! Let’s start by introducing myself. I’m Eline, an enthusiastic Dutch 19-year-old student who appreciates the little things in life, but who also has big dreams. I have a big passion for photography. With my blog I try to get a little bit more exposure as a photographer, but I also write about my life (I’m almost moving to Paris for an internship!). When Frederique said I could be featured on her blog, I didn’t have to think twice. In this post I’d like to give you a few posing tips & tricks. Since most of you will be the ones posing on a picture, I’ll write this from the models perspective, but it can also be used by photographers. And yes, this article is named ‘how to enhance your beauty’ and not ‘how to look beautiful’, cause I’m sure that every single one of you already is beautiful!

Please note that I’m NOT a professional. These tips are written on what I’ve learned with experience, and not in any course or education.

1.   Let the photographer know what you want and what you don’t want.
This is perhaps the most important tip. Feeling comfortable in front of the camera will definitely enhance your beauty. I once had a shoot with a girl who prefers to not smile in pictures. I as a photographer, always try to give my models a genuine smile. We shot a few pictures with her smiling, but as soon as she said she didn’t like this, I was okay with that and we worked with the other possibilities. In the end all the pictures of her smiling didn’t make the cut, because the ones where she weren’t smiling turned out much better.

2.   Know your better side, and use it.
Once I had a shoot with a girl and at first I didn’t knew she was 80% blind in one eye. So when I asked her to stand with that side of her face towards the camera, she told me she wasn’t comfortable with that. I apologized, and we decided to change the lightning and shoot the other pictures from her other side. Again: let the photographer know what you want and don’t want. You’ll feel more comfortable in front of the camera, which will result in better shots.

3.   If you smile, smile naturally.
When I’m shooting someone and I want him/her to smile, almost all of them give me a fake smile. I personally think that it’s the photographers task to make the model smile naturally. To do so, I always try to act funny. If I don’t know a joke right at that second, I try to say things like ‘Think of your boyfriend’. Those things always work too. So if you want to smile naturally, you can always ask the photographer to tell a joke or anything else that makes you happy!

4.   Try to find a flattering position
If the shot is only from your face; try to move your chin a little forward and then down. This way you’ll prevent getting a double chin. Another tip for a better posture is to hold your shoulders back. Pretend you’re squeezing a lemon in between your shoulder blades. If the shot is a full body pose; try crossing your legs! One tip my dancing teacher always thought us: ‘Imagine you have a tiny cord inside your body that comes out the top of your head. Stand as if someone is pulling the cord up!’.

5.   Wear make-up and clothing that makes you feel comfortable
Before a shoot I often get questions such as: ‘What should I wear? And how does my makeup need to look?’. To be honest, I can’t really give you tips and tricks for this. This is for you and the photographer to decide together. With indoor portrait photography I tell my models to wear a white or black shirt, so it won’t distract from the face. If it’s full body, just wear clothes that make you feel comfortable. The makeup can also be different with every type of shoot. If you want to have a natural shoot, the ‘no makeup look’ will be just perfect. If you want to wear a little bit of extra makeup, a little bit of highlighter on the cheeks can look great.

I hope you can all use these small tips to enhance your beauty in a photograph. Have you ever used one of these yourself? Please let us know in the comments!