When I was in middle school the “it” girls lived at Glamour Shots. The commercial portrait studios offer professional makeovers and a complete photo session in which you (try to) pose like the Cindy, Naomi and Christie. Basically, the shoot involves getting your hair teased to unprecedented heights, caking on more make-up than Tammy Faye Bakker and having a Mylar-type shawl wrapped around your bare shoulders. You then choose your best shot and have about a million copies made to hand out to other girls at school, who then go home to their parents and lament that they will be scarred for life, if they too don’t get a chance to pose for a bunch of overpriced wallet-sized photos.
Nothing against Glamour Shots, but you can have ravishing photos taken without having to drop hundreds of dollars in the process. Simply find a family member or friend who owns a decent digital camera and have him or her follow these tips:
Learn to manipulate light: When you are trying to capture the essence of a woman in pictures, having the right lighting is critical. You don’t want too much light as your subject will look overexposed and garish. Shooting in dark conditions is no good either as you won’t be able to see your model’s best attributes. The solution is to use filters to soften the appearance of your subject’s skin. You should also experiment with a mix of natural and artificial light, which can hide a multitude of body flaws.
Practice poses: Go glam in photos by allowing your female subject to exercise her creativity in the posing department. One way to create a stunning glamour shot is to concentrate on certain body parts. For example, if your subject has drop-dead gorgeous legs, then have her pose with her great gams in full sight. Likewise, if your subject was born with amazing eyes, then play to her strengths by highlighting her orbs in a seductive headshot.
Related Articles:
Basic Photo Tips for Digital Camera Owners
Cameras: Knowing When To Upgrade
Telling A Story With Your Shots