How to take Beautiful Self Portraits
By Phoebe Montague from Lady Melbourne

• How to pose in self portraits
• Working your best angle
• Make the most of natural light
• Make your camera work for you

Do you remember the time before digital cameras were born, when you’d get your 24 pack of photos back from the chemist and cringe at the squinted eyes, double chin or just plain incriminating photos? A distant memory for most these days with the rise and rise of the digital camera. It is almost impossible to take a bad photo on one – if you don’t like it, simply hit trash.

But our ability to edit out unsightly photos of ourselves before they have been downloaded does not solve the problem of posing itself.

Posing for photos is something that takes practice and patience, but I’m here to tell you that it can be much easier than you think.

What a Poser!
How to actually stand, or sit so that it looks flattering might seem like a simple task but there are a couple of things you can do that will enable you to take less pictures, of better quality.

Repeat after me:
• Sitting towards the edge of your seat, chair or sofa will not flatten your thighs and make them seem slimmer.
• Up, up, up! Stand up straight, sit up straight and pull your shoulders back.
• If you are standing, turn you body to the side or position yourself on an angle facing the camera.
• Profile shots are always more interesting than front on.
• Don’t be afraid of extreme close ups, they make for interesting pictures

Your best side
It’s a personal thing knowing what side of your face or what angle you like to be shot from. The more photos you take of yourself, you will no doubt see a trend in the ones you choose to post. I like my right side, when I’m tired my left eye gets a bit sleepy so I pose myself with my right side facing the camera all the time. If you are starting to notice a trend in the photos, recognise what angle or side it is you naturally look best in and use that pose for future photos.

Let the Light In
Basically, the better the light source, the better your photos will be. It’s that simple.

Photos taken with flash are generally never flattering, blowing out colours and distorting features. Unless you are a photographic pro, I would avoid taking your pictures after dark.

Get outside, in direct sunlight, dawn is going to be your best source of natural light while the sun is still high in the sky.
Pose yourself with the sunlight hitting your face and make sure that the camera is not pointing towards the sun.

Work your Camera
• If you are blessed with a camera that has a built in timer- use it.
• Get a tripod so that you can be mobile with your camera and don’t have to precariously balance it on the kitchen sink or bedside table.
• Start taking your photos with a wide shot, and then zoom in gradually to take your close ups.

I hope these basic tips will help improve your photos, as the weeks go by I’ll be offering more advanced tips on photography, as well as formatting, writing and themes amongst many other things!

If you have a topic you would like covered, simply leave a comment and I’ll do my best to cover it off.

Happy blogging!

Lady Melbourne
You can check out Lady Melbourne’s blog at www.ladymelbourne.com.au