Unless you’re a professional model or actor, celebrity or star athlete, the chances are high that having a camera lens pointed at your face is nearly as appealing as getting out of bed on a Monday morning. Fear, dread, self-judgement, self-doubt, all come crashing in, we feel exposed, “on-stage,” dreading what the photo will wind up looking like. It’s an orgy of self-sabotage, self-loathing, and a failure to live up to the expectations of other. Then you see the picture, and it’s all confirmed. “Oh god, I look like THAT?” I’ll share a valuable secret that will forever change how you feel about having your picture taken. YOU DON’T REALY LOOK LIKE THAT! A photograph is a millisecond, a freeze-frame falsehood, unless you’re in front of my lens, or another highly skilled professional photographer, who knows how to capture just the right moment, the moment where all that inner noise in your head quiets, and you show up, most pictures you’ve seen of yourself are lies. My client Amy Jo was desperate not to get caught in those traps, so before her session, I showed her several simple tricks that dramatically changed how she looked in ANY picture, not just mine. Here’s a simple big one… Push your face forward, just slightly, and all the skin around your neck and jaw firms up. Just like a turtle.

We’ve all seen pictures of the dreaded “chicken neck,” or “turkey throat,” the sure way to eliminate that is to press your face towards the lens, just a bit.  Keep your shoulders relaxed, lean in towards the lens just a tiny bit, and push your whole face… forward. The lens straight-on can’t judge depth, so while it feels really weird, it looks awesome. You can practice it looking straight into a mirror, and you’ll see what I mean. Face forward, chin slightly down… relax your shoulders, and smile with your eyes, more than your mouth…boom, instant transformation. Get in front of a mirror, practice it when no one can catch you, I promise after a few minutes you’ll get it, and you’ll love it in every picture you see of yourself ever-after.