My Good Side

I had/have a friend who was amazing at “posing” for pictures.  She had a stunning ability to place her body in perfect position for every click of the camera. Although she had no formal training, she possessed a flare for ensembling a professional model look worthy of a magazine cover almost every shot.  This chick had all the right moves and bear in mind, this was WAY before You Tube videos. She was blessed with a natural instinct for angling herself before the lens. She always knew where to stand, how to place her hands and feet and look picture perfect in every photograph. It was so hard to be her friend!  lol 

What a handy talent to have, RIGHT?!  Raise your hand if you could have saved a boo cue of money with a few little tid bits of picture posing advice?  (ME, ME, ME)  Shoot, back in the day we had to muttle through rolls and rolls of developed film before we found a single picture worthy of framing.

Good grief, I was 40 years old before I realized that I actually have a “good side”.  WHO KNEW??

Striking a pose may seem fake and uncomfortable at the time but it can truly make all of the difference when the final pic is revealed.  My Mr. Chicken Fry has poked fun at me for 20 years now.  He seems to think that a well posed picture is too calculated and unnatural.  To which I boast, “Hum, well there is a trillion dollar industry out there that totally disagrees with you.”   I get what he is saying…there is happy medium.  No one wants to look like they are trying to hard either.  Like this…lol  (which is a total spoof) 

I’m no expert.  In fact, I’m in a never-ending state of training.  My college bestie, my best girl, has got it down pat.  She’s like my go to text-book and I study her photo panache. Exaggeration is the key.  Chest out, tilt the head, stand up tall and you may be thinking “how vain,” but if you want a pretty picture you gotta put in the work.  Who wants to take a bad picture?  I mean who frames photos with your eyes closed or crossed?  No one frames the picture of the bad angle FAT arm or gut!   

This was my “trying to hard” urban cowgirl look!  lol  

Listen up lovelies, I don’t always get it right but I can offer some tips and techniques that we can all work on for better photos.  Hello – social media is all about the pics, the  pics, the pics!   A good rule of thumb to always remember is that posture is EVERYTHING.

Look at this ↓

 

How uncomfortable do you feel for the poor girl with her wrists dangling down in front?  Her sweet shoulders look slumped and concave and the clasped hands makes me straight up nervous!  I’m not the fashion or the posing police but this really isn’t a good look for anyone.

I discovered that my “good side” is when I’m positioned on the left side of the camera. Not sure what that means but I usually find that I generally like the photos of me on this side! for instance…the picture below I’m on the right side opposed to the left.

This picture of me and Mr. Chicken Fry is much better.  I would call this my good side.

So this photo is how a lot of people pose for a picture.  There legs are straight and not bent and the arm is hanging down and pressed into their body.  It’s not that it’s necessarily a bad pose but it doesn’t do you, me me, us, anyone, any favors…if you know what I mean.

In this photo I look like I just rolled out of bed which is absolutely true.   So again, both legs are straight and I’m covering my stomach and pulling my arm into my body which can be extremely unflattering.  It creates the illusion of a FLAT, FAT arm.  Cocking yourself side ways, just a tad, is more slenderizing.  Just remember to stand up straight and hold your tummy in tight.  (these models work for girls)  

So here I have turned to the side.  I have my hand on my waist and one knee bent and my foot placed slightly behind my foot. and yes…I’m slightly flexing!  But it looks so much better don’t you think?

This was like a trick shot selfie.  I notice a lot that models in magazines often raise their arms to elongate their torso.  Obviously I’m not modeling clothes but I was trying to get a full body shot.  Here I have positioned myself to the side and have one knee bent and my toe pointed down and my heel angled up.  This pose slims the leg and gives a little something something to the pose. (very similiar to the bend and snap move from Legally Blonde)  lol

 This is basically the same pose but with my foot bent going behind in stead of in front.

Look at this photo.  Baby girl is standing up arching her back and looks great.  I have the puffy fat arm look.

When taking pictures with a group or alone it’s always fun to use props like a purse, pocket, jacket, wall or car  Placing your hands in a pocket and tilting your hips to the side gives the pose a bit of panache and spunk.

I think it’s important for ALL of us to keep in mind that pro models are “skillfully directed” and told how to pose.  The positioning of their hands, arms, chin up, back straight, tilt to the left…  I’m also 100 percent sure they have a TEAM of people preparing their spray tans, make up, clothing,   hair, all the way down to the nail polish.

Happy FRIDAY – Don’t forget to FLEX!

Love, peace, pose and say cheese!

Angi xo