A friend has just shown me some 50 to 60 photographs that she took at a girlie night out. I hate to say it, but practically all her fellow revellers look like demons from hell.

It’s the old red eye problem. It’s caused by reflected flash. As most point and shoot cameras will automatically use flash indoors (and even outdoors if the light is poor), it is a very common occurrence.If you want to look good in photos and avoid having the centres of your eyes looking like the mouths of a volcano, don’t look straight at the camera lens when flash is being used.  Preferably look just over the top of the camera. This will make you appear to be looking at the camera without the hell fire effect.Simple little tips like this can make you look so much better in those impromptu photographs. This “snap” was taken with flash although it was daylight outside. The ambient light therefore wasn’t too low - so not a red eye in sight.

Red eye is caused by light from the flash bouncing back off the retina, the light sensitive area at the back of the eye. In poor light, when flash is likely to be used, our pupils are relatively dilated (wide) to allow more light in so that we can see better. When the pupils are dilated the retina is more exposed and it reflects more light.

If the eyes are looking directly at the camera then the light reflected from the retina will hit the lens full on and be recorded by the light sensor in the camera. As the retina is red in colour this makes the pupils appear bright red.These days the photographer can use the red eye reduction feature on the camera, or failing that edit the red eye out by means of digital editing software. However not everyone does this, and it is better to avoid looking directly at the lens, rather than risk appearing in subsequent photos as a half-crazed banshee ! (the dictionary definition is a wailing female spirit of Irish folklore origin).

email bob@lookgoodoncamera.com to find out more about looking good in photos or telephone 07920 130985

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When I was a lad, cameras were expensive and difficult to use. (Black and white films only, you had to load and unload them in the dark, remember to wind on the film after each shot, take photos with no focusing aids………..). Small wonder then, that it took a camera competent photographer to produce anything approaching a decent photograph.

No matter how photogenic you were, uncle Fred’s photos were going to be pretty naff anyway. There were no computers and no internet. There was therefore no danger of finding photographs of yourself posted on websites or publically accessible photo albums such as Photobox, Pixmania, Kodak etc etc.

Technology has changed all that. Relatively inexpensive point and shoot pocket digital cameras can produce technically good photographs without any know-how being necessary on the part of the photographer. Once taken those photos can be uploaded onto computer and made available to a host of people via email, websites, blogs and commercial album sites.

So if you want to look good in all those photos that your friends and relatives are going to take (and then distribute to all and sundry), maybe you should take some positive action to make yourself more photogenic. It really isn’t difficult to look better in photographs. You just need a little practice.

Email me on bob@lookgoodoncamera.com for more information 

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This is Lisa who comes from Leipzig and at the tender age of 18 is walking/camping from Lands End to John O’Groats accompanied only by her backpack weighing some 10 kilos. She hopes to complete her journey in about 60 days. She has a natural smile and is very easy to photograph as these 2 quick “snaps” illustrate. Given that her pack is probably over 20 percent of her body weight, and that she had been walking for 7 hours when this photograph was taken, she is remarkably photogenic.

Being “natural” with the camera is an important part of being photogenic. For some people it is relatively easy and for others a little more difficult, but practicing having your photograph taken by means of a photo-shoot gets you to treat the camera as a friend and we all find it much easier to be “natural” with our friends.

My mate Poth and I walked a mile or two with Lisa early/mid June when we were walking a bit more of the South West Coastal Path near Hayle in Cornwall. We hope it’s going well Lisa, you’ve had some pretty horrible weather the last week or so. If you get the chance email Bob@lookgoodoncamera.com and let us know how you are getting on. Here’s another photo of you. If you want some high resolution copies let me know and I’ll email them to you or send you a print. Good Luck. 

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Are you one of those people who frequently appear in photographs with their eyes closed? 

Well even the most photogenic model gets caught out that way occasionally, but there is a reason why it happens more to some people than it does to others. It comes down to blink rate. 

Quite simply the more often you blink; the more likely you are to be caught on camera with your eyes shut. Blinking is something that we all need to do. It’s essential for cleaning and lubricating the outer surface of our eyes. 

A minority of individuals are unlucky enough to have neurological or nervous conditions that cause them to blink more often. However the majority of us can exercise a degree of control over how often we blink. Do you remember trying to stare other kids out when you were a child?

Just as the conscious mind has a degree of control over blinking, so the sub-conscious mind effects blink rate as well. Research has apparently shown that we blink more when we are not concentrating, when we are tired and when we are worried or embarrassed. 

Now I’m not suggesting that you consciously try to stop yourself blinking when you are having your photograph taken. That would be far too uncomfortable and having your photograph taken should never be uncomfortable. 

However if you are comfortable and well rested and you concentrate on providing the camera with interesting images, you will significantly reduce your blink rate and the chance of you being photographed with your eyes closed. That way you are going to look a lot better, no matter who is taking the photograph.

One of the things a photo-shoot will do is get you feeling comfortable in front of the camera and thereby significantly reduce the chance of you being photographed with your eyes shut in the future.

email bob@lookgoodoncamera.com to find out more about looking good in photos or telephone 07920 130985

Go to Home Page www.lookgoodoncamera.com