I love to take pictures of my kids. Don’t all moms? Looking at them later on and seeing the children grow and experience life is incredibly rewarding. But it’s also a great way to avoid being in front of the camera, especially if we hate the way we look! It can be really hard to feel confident when someone is taking a picture of you and you’re feeling fat or tired as a new mom. When I became a mother, I fell into the trap of never, ever appearing in a picture for that reason. But I’ve since learned a few tricks to look good in pictures. When my kids grow up, I want them to be able to look at their baby photos without having to ask why I was never in them.
My first recommendation is just get over your self-consciousness. If you don’t look like Olga Tañon or Sofia Vergara in real life, you’re not going to look like her in a picture, either. Pictures of celebrities are airbrushed and retouched more than we can imagine. So, aside from using Photoshop, our best bet is to adjust our expectations and remember that our kids love us, no matter how we look.
Read Related: Preserve Those Memories Forever: Tips From the Pros
My second tip is to glam up a bit. When I know I will be taking pictures, I choose a more flattering outfit, put on just a touch of makeup, and style my hair. It takes an extra five minutes but the payoff of having a photograph I’m not afraid to post on the internet or e-mail to family is totally worth it. A good makeup base to use is Makeup Forever High Definition Foundation. It doesn’t look cakey yet covers all flaws when you´re in the spotlight.
Finally, I learned some posing tricks! Look at pictures of celebrities on the red carpet. Are they ever shot straight on, facing the camera, deadpan? Heck no! These ladies angle their bodies, often cross one leg in front of the other, and tilt their heads to show their best side. There’s no reason why you can’t do that too! Practice in front of the mirror to find your best pose. A celeb trick to show off your pearly whites is to press your tongue to the roof of your mouth as you smile wide.
It’s not hard to get great shots of yourself. And really, preserving our memories is what photographs are for. If you don’t do it for you, do it for your kids! They will thank you when they grow up.
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