In a previous post I was extolling the virtue of the still photograph over video: but even the still photograph needs to have a sense of movement.

In early portrait photography the subject had to keep still for a few seconds while the camera recorded their features onto a plate. Any movement would blur the image. 

The resulting rather statuesque appearance in 19th century portraiture perhaps set the fashion with everyone assuming that they were meant to look rather stiff and serious when being photographed.

With continuing improvements to the methods by which photographs were produced it was possible to reduce exposure time to fractions of a second. However even with an exposure of one thirtieth of a second, sudden movement can significantly reduce the sharpness of the picture. 

Popular cameras incapable of shorter exposure times than this were being sold well into the second half of the 20^th century. So, everyone was encouraged to keep quite still and “watch the birdie”. 

Today’s cameras are very different and are capable of very short exposure time, with shutter speeds far faster than is needed for crisp portrait photographs. 

Yet it is surprising how many people still think that they have to freeze for the camera. I like my subjects to keep moving from pose to pose. It helps relax the person being photographed and brings some movement to the still images that we produce. 

So when you’re being photographed keep moving between brief poses albeit relatively slowly i.e. slow foxtrot rather than breakdancing (is that how you spell it?) and your pictures will have movement and meaning.

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

Go to Home Page www.lookgoodoncamera.com 

Videos are great for recording events and action. Every week most of us watch hours of moving images in some form or other.

So why do we still take still photographs?

When we see a moving image we watch it very much as we do real events happening around us. We look to see what it’s going to do. We enjoy trying to anticipate its next action. Because we’re concentrating on the action we take in relatively little of the detail of the image and concentrate largely on the aspects of it that are changing.

Because we are pre-occupied with action, we often miss detail. That is why it is quite common to see something in a still photograph that we did not notice when we were taking the picture. 

The still photograph doesn’t change, so we have time to study it in detail. A good still photograph therefore has the potential to convey so much more in terms of human emotion. We can see sadness, pathos, despair and tragedy as well as anger, joy, love and beauty. It has the potential to capture human strength alongside human weakness. A really great still photograph, much like a painting, has the ability of showing us something different each time we look at it.

Still photographs get hung on walls or stood on sideboards as a constant reminder of a point in time. Videos tend to be less enduring being archived into constantly growing storage capacity. 

Try to look good for the video camera, but make doubly sure that you look your best in those enduring stills.

email bob@lookgoodoncamera.com to find out more

Go to Home Page www.lookgoodoncamera.com 

To look your best in photos you need to be relaxed.While today’s cameras can produce good photos almost anywhere, for truly beautiful portrait photography you need to have the facilities of a photographic studio. I can show you how to look better in pictures anywhere, but if you want really great photographs you need studio lighting. Because it is necessary to reduce the resolution of images to make them manageable on the web, the difference in technical quality between photographs posted on websites is not always obvious. However you can get a feel for the difference by comparing shots in our gallery taken in studio conditions e.g. Cheryl, Guy, and Rose with those that were not taken in a studio e.g. Emma and Fiona. For many people the thought of just visiting a studio is daunting, let alone the prospect of posing for a photo-shoot. If you add to that the need to change clothes, hairstyles and make-up, all in an alien environment, then unless you are a professional model, you are almost certain to feel uncomfortable. If you are uncomfortable you are not going to look your best. Every good photographer knows that relaxing their subjects is crucial to producing good glamour, fashion, or portrait photographs: and that can be difficult when the subject is in unfamiliar surroundings.Just as cameras have got smaller, so accessories such as lights and backdrops have become more portable. So it is now possible to set up a studio in anyone’s home, provided that they have some electric points and 10 square metres or so of potential space (for those of you who like me who are more familiar with imperial measurements that’s about 10 feet by 10 feet). I have significant experience of setting up my studio in flats and houses. Yes it takes a little more time and I may have to re-arrange some furniture, but I am extremely careful and your carpets, furniture and paint-work will be safe with me!You have the advantage of being in your own environment, with your own changing facilities, close to all your clothes and personal grooming aids. Please give me a call or email me if you would like to know more.

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

Go to Home Page www.lookgoodoncamera.com 

If you want to know how to be photogenic you need to put some effort into having your photographic taken. In order to look better in pictures you must stop being a passive subject. To look better in photos you need to work at it. Think of your photograph that the camera is going to take, as a blank piece of paper. You take that piece of paper and you write or draw on it, and depending on what you write or draw that piece of paper becomes interesting or otherwise.You decide what goes on that piece of paper. When the lens is pointed in your direction, you are in control of what the camera sees: not the photographer. You can laugh, you can cry. You can make silly faces or engage the camera with a meaningful look. Or of course you can be boring and do nothing; and if you do nothing, your picture will look like a lifeless nobody.Rule number 1: Convince yourself that you are going to enjoy having your picture taken. Or better still pay me to convince you! Because if you don’t think  it is going to be enjoyable you will be negative and fearful about it. If you are fearful you will freeze and become a lifeless nobody.So to look better in photographs start working at it. Read some tips. Practise in front of the mirror or better still in front of a camera - preferably mine!

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

Go to Home Page www.lookgoodoncamera.com