Lovely Ekatherina sent me one of my most thought-provoking reader questions to date:
I’m wondering what makes someone “photogenic.” Sometimes when I look into the mirror I think, “Hey, maybe I’m not so bad after all!” But then I see a photo and my reaction ranges from cringing to wanting to crawl into a hole. Can one be pretty without being photogenic? Can someone become more photogenic?
Helluva brain-bender, no? I asked Husband Mike – who has been taking professional portraits for more than 15 years – and even HE doesn’t really know. Sometimes being photogenic seems like a trait that people are just born with … but some folks appear to improve over time. Celebs and execs start out looking terrified and stiff in their photos, but after a few years in front of the lens they begin to appear natural and poised.
I think it’s mostly down to confidence and relaxation: If cameras make you nervous, you’ll involuntarily cringe. And even an infinitesimal cringe will be magnified in a still image. If you don’t mind cameras, you’ll just grin and be yourself. And in the latter case, you needn’t really be drop-dead gorgeous to take drop-dead gorgeous photos. I couldn’t say how, but I think cameras really can capture confidence. Confidence in a photographic subject is what makes an image compelling and mesmerizing. Lack of confidence makes the observer feel uncomfortable in sympathy.
Ekatherina ‘s description reminds me of one of my favorite Ani DiFranco lyrics:
It took me too long to realize that I don’t take good pictures
‘Cuz I have the kind of beauty that MOVES
(from “Evolve“)
And I have seen this very phenomenon time and again. Aside from the whole confidence thing, I think there are some people whose beauty is truly a factor of movement and life. Still photos never capture the gorgeousness that’s there in person. Toni Colette, for instance, looks stunning in her movies but less so in still photographs. At least, to me …
If you always hate how you look in photos and the prospect of “just being more confident” sounds downright preposterous, try this out: Make an effort to breathe deeply, roll your shoulders back, and think of something truly funny or joyous when someone hauls out a camera. See if just being more relaxed helps bolster that confidence. And if not? Insist on video.
If you’re interested in the mechanics of figure flattery in photos, here’s a very old series of posts about how to look great in a photo:
Part I – full body
Part II – seated/half body
Part III – headshots
Now, what do you think makes someone photogenic? Is it tied directly to beauty, or confidence, or relaxation? Are YOU photogenic? Any pointers for someone who wants to look better and more natural in photos?
Toni Collette image via Caroline Bonarde Ucci.
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{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
These are great posts, all four! When being photographed, I've never ever managed not to look like I'm either:
a) on the run from the law (i.e. shifty & awkward),
b) 20 stone heavier than I actually am,
c) drunk (i.e. dopey & cross-eyed), or
d) miserable & confused
So I will definitely be putting your fantastic advice into practice! Thanks!
I used to avoid get my picture taken, but now i don't really mind, after all there are moments i want to remember and my looks have nothing to do with that, they are what they are and won't change because of a bad photo
I have taken a lot of photos of myself. When I first started taking photos (and even now) I didn't have the confidence to ask friends to model so I used myself. Since I knew no one but me was going to see them I didn't care if I looked goofy trying out a new lighting trick. Over time I also learnt how to flatter a face and body (mainly mine) in a photo. I know I have a good side, that face I pull looks silly when captured on "film" and that the pop up flash is never your friend.
I still find that when someone else points a camera at me I am not particularly comfortable but I don't freeze and hide anymore, my confidence is definitely better from having taken 100's (literally) of bad photos and a handful of good ones!. I have friends who argue that I am photogenic and I always insist I'm not, I've just learnt that relaxing in a photos helps enormously
So I really think you are on to something with the confidence thing Sal at least in my personal experience.
Wow, that's a really interesting question. I've always thought it's one of those things you either have you or you don't. I, unfortunately, don't have it.
I think it's practice, practice, practice. Sure I think there are people that are naturally photogenic, but I think for most people – especially those in the spotlight – they get used to knowing how to show their best profile – what to elongate, how to turn ever so slightly – all that goo stuff. Or maybe I'm just saying all that because I'm not photogenic & I want to believe it
I don't consider myself particularly photogenic, and I actually used to hate having my picture taken. Between my camera obsessed brother-in-law and my blog, though, I've become a lot more confident over the past six months or so. I still take some horrible photos to be sure, but in general I no longer look as awkward, dopey, or pained.
I agree with the beauty that moves idea. I'm an art major so I've had to take photography and also film/tv. The photography class all of my photos do make me cringe (and I consider myself an attractive person!) but for some reason I look really good on a movie screen.
go figure.
Looking relaxed and natural and happy never hurts (no one really looks GOOD in those photos where they're not smiling and lifting their chin just so, even if it does hide the double chin) but I do think a good part of looking good in photos is facial geometry.
My sister and I have very similar facial features (and we both look like my dad). In person, she has been described by some as "butch" or "mannish" – her features are larger and stronger than mine, she got the longer, pointier version of the nose, and heavy black brows. I'm more "cute" and my face is small.
In photos, I regularly look like crap. My little features get lost, I have a double chin and chipmunk cheeks. Plus, I'm four inches shorter, but my shoulders are as wide as hers, so I look broad and squashed.
My sister has not, to my knowledge, EVER looked bad in a photograph; in front of a camera, her stronger features assemble into symmetry and a very distinctive beauty. And her wide shoulders make her look angular and lean, rather than stumpy.
There's one picture of us, though, behind each other from the side, in which you can see that the general outline of our profiles is identical.
Love this post!!!
I myself am of the "confidence" camp when it comes to whether a person is photogenic or not. If you just aren't confident in front of the camera, it picks up on it and magnifies it. I myself have not always been completely comfortable and confident in front of the camera–and even now if I'm having as "off" day, it will show! :p
I think for me, having had a few professional photographers take photos of me, the key is really relaxing mentally and physically. I extend this even to casual snapshots that we take on vacation. If I concentrate too hard on looking photogenic, it doesn't work. I have to relax, envision in my head the confident mood I want to project (happy/sexy/cute/etc.), and just take a deep breath. If I feel confident that I own my look, the camera doesn't perceive the small amount of awkwardness.
It also really helps, as weird as this sounds, to learn what your best angles are and most flattering lighting for you. At the risk of sounding like I'm advocating vanity (rofl!), spending some quality time in front of the mirror can help to understand what angles are your best, or even what side of your face is the most flattering. Little things like that help so much to create really successful photos.
Anyway, 'nuff rambling!
♥ Casey
blog | elegantmusings.com
Thanks for this post! I love to have my picture taken. (This by all means does NOT mean I like every picture of myself.) I have been told I take nice pictures and I also often like how I look in pictures.
Why? For me, I think it comes down to confidence and feeling like 100% me.
I feel like most of the time I walk around pretending I know what I'm doing and I always feel unsure about myself. I am wildly unconfident about my academic abilities and how I present myself to others in person.
But when I get in front of a camera, I have the chance to be myself, the real me – it's a time I can step out of my shell that I hide in from others. In front of the camera, I can take more chances and I absolutely love it. I feel free and 100% me (even if there are others around), and with this, comes confidence. You can see in pictures that I love to have my picture taken – you can see the real me, because I actually feel like me. I may not be the "pretty" girl – but pictures make me feel pretty. I feel confident and feel like myself, and I love it.
What makes people photogenic? I think it varies, maybe depending on bone structure, symmetry, and confidence. Some sort of combination of biology and psychology. For me, a genuine smile makes for a good photo. And I look better from one side, due to asymmetric facial features. So when I smile and look at the camera from a certain angle, I'm photogenic. I have learned to make my "camera face" to appear photogenic, even in candids. But with a serious face I look ridiculous. Stoned is more like it. Alternatively others rock the Mona Lisa smile.
This makes me think symmetry has a lot to do with it now that I think more about it, as previous research has suggested. (Elizabeth Hurley epitomizes facial symmetry)
I've found that some people actually look consistently "better" in still shots than real life…or at least they look like the best version of themselves. Their faces look really crisp and defined, or something.
So yes, I think one can be innately photogenic–I wish I were!–and others can become more so.
I'd forgotten the below (from your headshots how-to, which apparently I need to re-read every time a camera might be present):
>Not everyone has a Tooth-and-Gum Festival like mine. I've made peace with the fact that, if I'm genuinely happy, hapless viewers will learn a great deal about my oral hygiene, whether they want to or not.
Boy do I identify, ha/sigh. But as we all love to see a (non-creepy!) smile in person, I try not to obsess about the ones captured in photos…BUT how nice it is to get perfect-storm smiles that convey genuine emotion and flatter one!
I think practice helps! I used to hate having my picture taken, because I would invevitably have my eyes closed, double chin etc. Now I think I take ok pictures, and I know how to best present myself. This has come mainly from taking lots and lots and lots of pictures of myself and ruthlessly destroying/deleting the ones that look horrible! I think in the initial phase when I didn't know what I was doing, maybe one in 20 pictures comes out ok, now its maybe 1 in 3. And I'm confident enough to know what works photo wise, so even if someone else is taking the picture and I only get one shot at looking good, I'll just go with it.
Sarah Jessica Parker is an actress that I find pretty and sexy looking in video, but plain in still photos. Maybe what she and Toni Collette have is charm, more than beauty.
I never thought Princess Diana was beautiful, but she never looked bad in a photo, and the paparazzi got her from every angle.
I'm wondering why my kids look adorable in almost any photo, and I look horrible in more than half.
Since I have photography as a hobby, I've done several self portraits. I think getting the right angle, elongating your neck and just getting comfortable can make a nice photo. I have taken so many crap photos that I know better how to take good ones. Of course, I rarely like photos other people take of me.
I always look awkward in posed photographs. ALWAYS! Somehow, my boyfriend is the same way. Our parents (both sets of them – lol) have been begging us for a picture of the two of us "dressed up" for as long as we've been dating, practically. We've had opportunities since then… at weddings, his company Christmas party, etc. But somehow EVERY time we hand someone a camera and ask them to take a picture of us, we end up looking horrid. My theory is that we don't like asking people to re-take pictures 35 times, until we get one we like. If I'm mindlessly taking cell phone pictures of him (or myself) at home to post on myspace, I can say "no! Bad photo! Reshoot!" and not feel like a diva. But when its someone else taking it, especially in a setting with a lot of people around, it just feels so pushy to be like "no, I don't like it, take it again!". This also applies to pictures other people take of me in general, not only to ones with the two of us.
In any case, both sets of parents are still without photographs. And it seems, will remain that way indefinitely.
I think I'm pretty photogenic when I know someone is taking a picture… then I can get ready and smile and I look fine… it's candid pictures or ones where I'm more in the background when I look terrible, which isn't the worst thing I guess… I am a blinker though so I wind up looking like I'm stoned in pictures a lot though too!
Like Miss Addict, when I learned to take self-portraits with my handy digital camera, I realized that the reason I often hated photos of myself was because I tensed up so much in front of the camera. My self-portraits were inevitably more relaxed…and I could take 50 of them to get the one good one. So now when I'm asked for a photograph for a web-page or a book, I take it myself. I've noticed that in doing the SPs, though, I'm also more relaxed when someone else takes a photo, so those have improved, too. Although I felt really, really stupid and vain taking the photos at first, it taught me a lot about taking photographs.
i think you've hit on the key points of "photogenicity", you have to practice taking photos! also, watch ANTM, proves some gorgeous girls dont take a pretty picture
People have told me that posing is a matter of practice, just like anything else.
I've always used those Ani DiFranco lyrics to describe myself! I also say that I don't always take good pictures, but I look gorgeous in real life.
The first round of really good photos I ever had of myself were my formal undergrad graduation shots. My school was fun in that we didn't do the traditional sit on a stool with a bouquet of flowers pose, but went outside and posed against buildings, rolled around in leaves, and all together acted like goofs. The photographer made me laugh so hard and have so much fun that I forgot about the camera. The photos were gorgeous.
Now that I'm taking regular self portraits, I work hard to make myself feel happy while I'm doing it – and it works. My pictures are getting better and better.
Great topic, Sal! I've long thought of myself as unphotogenic, but have learned a lot about my best angles and poses through taking my blog photos every day; as a result I'm now more confident those times when someone unexpectedly points a camera at me. I do think there are people who are naturals, and although confidence certainly has a lot to do with it, I think it's also important to remember that a still photo isn't a totally accurate reflection of reality. Cameras can compress and distort, and some faces may be enhanced by those changes whereas others will be changed for the worse.
I look best in photos when I am smiling, full teethed naturally.
I look like a mad biatch whenever I try to not smile…case in point…my passport photo….SOOOO BADDD!
Any pro photog will tell you that it takes dozens of shots to get just one or two good ones, so I find that a big part of "being photogenic" is not expecting to look smashing in every photo ever, but to accept that the great majority will be culls.
I find that I take the best photos when I interact with the photographer. If we're talking, goofing around, working together to create a mood, then I look pretty good in the photos: I'm focusing on whatever the photog and I were talking about. If, however, I focus on "posing," I look absolutely horrible.
it's funny…when i photograph people, the pics that i think came out wonderful, they end up hating because they don't like their smile/pose/eyes/teeth/etc. but i can't blame them because i tend to be that way w/my photos – very critical and never happy. i think everyone is photogenic – they just have a hard time accepting it.
This is a great question, and one I often think about. Why is it that food, clothing and animals are always photogenic whereas humans are not. I think it has to do with human skin and the way light dances on its surface. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.
I've wondered about this because one of my sons always looks good in photos, and the other…well…doesn't. I'm not sure what that's all about because IMO, they're equally good looking! One of my friends who I think is pretty and attractive enough always gets family photos that take my breath away – she looks so STUNNING! I don't know if it's how she applies her make up, or poses, or what, but it's like she turns into a supermodel!
Ouch, a touchy subject.
I've always thought I have the beauty that moves. My face is very expressive and it seems to me I'm constantly between faces when someone takes my pic. If I notice they're doing it I try to keep my face still for a moment and end up looking awkward. However, most pics I've seen that were taken without me noticing are either very good or downright awful.
Whenever I see myself on video I sigh of relief — I look so much better. I also look okay in the mirror.
I agree with everything you say. But depth is an aspect of face shape that leads some faces to be more naturally photogenic. If you have a face that is relatively 2-D, it will translate readily to film. Faces with more depth, a longer tangent distance from the ear to the nose, can photograph well, but are more likely to translate odd. I have the latter sort of face and am often struck with how sometimes my photos don't look much like me at all. Also, I can look really different from photo to photo.
This post is great. I think it's an interesting question… I'm told that I'm a "photogenic" person… but I really only think that's because of 1 reason. I have an extremely large mouth/lots of teeth/big lips/etc.
Therefore, that translates into me having a very large smile, and I usually show all of my teeth. People almost ALWAYS comment on how Large my smile is. Sometimes people think it's just a fake smile, but it's just what I do. I think a person's smile is a factor for me when I consider whether it's a nice photo. I also think smiling exudes confidence as well. You've definitely made me think! I appreciate that about your blog!
I don't consider myself photogenic. Do you know how many outfit pics I have to take to get one that I'm OK showing the world?? I'll feel perfectly pretty in the mirror but then I'll see a set of pictures from the same day/night/event and I'll look awful. This happens in posed shots and action shots alike!
My mother used to tell me when I was younger that I looked prettier in photos than I do in person. True story! (Lest you think this is really mean, a lot of Asian parents exhibit this tendency towards well-intentioned bluntness and I didn't take it to heart.) Your guess about what makes one person more photogenic than the next is as good as mine, but you're right, I've met some people who are gorgeous in person but their beauty doesn't translate to photos somehow.
Having Tivo has taught me that even the most amazing beauty can look unphotogenic if I freeze the screen at the wrong moment. I think photogenic people have lots of pictures taken and throw away all the pnes that aren't "photogenic" and keep the ones where they are.;-)
I think the key is the proportions of your face. Wider faces, with wider mouths, and wider or almond-shaped eyes seem to be more photogenic. I have a narrow face and small mouth and even in photos of me that are flattering I wouldn't call myself photogenic. I have a friend, and have seen lots of pics of people, who, because of their face shape, have the ability to actually look *better* in their photos than in real life, while for the rest of us I would say the opposite is true…we stuggle to look as good in photos as we do in real life.
i do not think that photogenecity (a word??) is tied to beauty at all!! my mother, who is gorgeous, takes the most awkward photos!! and my best friend from college, who has a chin like jay leno, looks like a frickin' supermodel in every single shot. i think you can certainly help by relaxing, by angling yourself in certain ways and by feeling comfortable.
what a terrific post!
I am very unphotogenic. I have mostly large features in a narrow face. I seem to have heavy-lidded eyes because they're almost always shut in photos, making me look perpetually drunk (although I don't drink). It doesn't matter how happy or confident I'm feeling – it does not translate in photos. Some faces photograph well. Mine doesn't.
WOW, I did not have a clue who that was in the photo til you said Toni Colette! Did you see her in the Golden Globe awards? She was exquisite walking to the podium!
I do not consider myself photogenic, but relaxing and being myself helps tremendously for me, and that is why I truly treasure my wedding pictures!
What a great question! I used to take HORRIBLE photos – I'd run from the camera. And my sister is the most photogenic person ever. My mother would occasionally comment on this regrettable discrepancy. Hmmm. But when I started reading fashion blogs, I began to redefine beauty in photographs. I saw how character is beautiful – that quirks make for fascinating faces that are fun to look at again and again. That made me feel more confident about my own photos. I also think that practice helps everyone to take better photos. You get to know that certain poses are just unfortunate
And to have a photographer that "gets" you is a tremendous help.
Happiness is a photographer who wants to take your picture. To me, that's the key to a nice shot. If you like the person taking your picture, and they like you, you smile more naturally, you feel pretty, and that translates into looking pretty.
Hey! I remember those posing posts. I may have gone overboard here: http://tinyurl.com/yhub2j5
(photobucket link to me rocking Sal's pose in the grand canyon last year…)
Me, I remind myself that they take thousands and thousands of pictures of models and we only see the best 1, 2, or 3. So it's not that they're so photogenic (although they are) but they have professionals willing to waste a lot of electrons or film to get that "perfect" shot, and coaches telling them how to move for best effect.
For H.S. senior pictures my mom found a photographer by way of running into some great photos and tracking down the guy. (Rademacher – I still remember his name, 20 yrs later, he was that influential.) It was the first time I felt awesome looking at pictures. He took so many good ones that we just got a portfolio of 8 of them rather than settling on one. I don't look back on them and cringe. It changed my relationship with film because I knew I could take a good picture.
My advice is also to learn how to use makeup. If you're going to a party, make sure you use the tricks that help you look your best and hide your worst. And if all else fails, remember that one always needs "before" pictures.
http://www.rademacherportraits.com/
This guy was my photog 20 years ago. Check out the "environmental" pics for the idea.
Oh, and Daniel Craig. Poetry in motion. Freaky in stills.
I used to think I was photogenic (and I think I look nice in some photos) but taking regular photos of myself for my new blog endeavor has changed my mind. I use a self timer, I tend to be rushing to place and a bit nervous about knocking things over, and therefore I must take many pictures to find a few that I don't mind sharing. And the crazy thing is that I think I'm pretty nice looking. However, figuring out how to incorporate these great tips from Sal takes practice and work. I am learning to be more comfortable with the self-timer photos, as I feel when horsing around with friends.
I think that beautiful Chloe Sevigny is also more lovely in motion than in still photographs (but she looks quite nice in them too).
I really believe in the relaxation rule. The more relaxed you are when having your picture taken, the more beautiful you will appear. However, how come some people hate even their candid pictures, those taken when they weren't looking, hence they weren't stressed?
I personally swear by taking my pictures myself and by editing them down to the few really good ones.
I always tell my hubs when he's taking a photo: shoot from above! Slims the face, chin, body…
I have a photo that I (full disclosure) am using on my personal ad right now. It's my head in about 3/4 face, I have a big quirky smile and I'm wearing a goofy hat. I think it represents me pretty well, and it's quirky enough to freak the norms, as they say. The other night I went on a date with a guy who told me "you look SO much better than you do in your photo, not that your photo was bad, but, there's just something different…" Anyway, I think it's that moving thing. Photos just don't capture personality that well, especially if I'm taking them.
Oh my Lord, I take a terrible photo. It messed with my self-image for a long time, actually–I thought that in spite of what I saw in the mirror, photographs were catching the *real* me and the real me could be summed up by the word "jowls." I still dodge the camera, and my favorite wedding photos are the quirky ones of our hands together, closeups of my feet, and so on. Sigh … and I felt so lovely and happy that day, and not in the least self-conscious about the camera.
In reality I'm no great beauty but my face is expressive enough that (I think) it is charming. And I am slowly learning how to dress to trick the eye away from my short neck, big bust, thick waist, etc … but the camera eye is seldom tricked unless I'm posed just right and I can't seem to think about how to pose and at the same time relax enough to take a flattering picture.
It's interesting, one of my daughters takes great pictures, the other one doesn't. Part of that no doubt is that the one who takes good pictures is a big ol' hambone and loves to clown for the camera, while the other is more shy and reserved. It's interesting, though, that the photogenic one has a bigger head and larger, more emphatic features. My daughter who has finer and in some ways more conventionally pretty bone structure gets lost in a photo.
I think it's how they pose, how the light hits their face, and what kind of lighting is used. For example, I don't think I'm that photogenic because I have under eye circles that create weird shadows on my face.
I spent a couple of years in front of the camera in my late teens and early 20s, and I tend to think that either one is photogenic or one is not. Most models look rather weird in real life, and it is my personal experience that photogenic people might not be all that striking off-camera.
I think being photogenic might have a lot to do with an aura of awareness of one's face, expression and body language, and those are things you can't learn systematically. Essentially, it is about having a natural visual talent of sorts; you just "know" what the photo will look like before it is even taken. Having said that, good portraits can be taken of every single person, with the right instructions. Exceptional photos, now that might be a different issue.
I liked this post! I'm pretty fond of my looks in real life (just shy of vain, really), but I HATE how I look in photographs. For some reason, my teeth, which do a natural hook in the front, look ridiculously crooked on film. (It's honestly not that noticeable in person, or so I've been lead to believe). I also usually look fatter, duller, and my smile looks fake. I'm thinking of utilizing your smile-with-your-mouth-closed option… maybe I can master that. Thanks!