Some of my clients come to me because they want to know how to look good in their wedding photos, so I do get asked from time to time if I can recommend a wedding photographer. I thought it might be useful therefore to include a few words of advice on that subject:-
Before choosing your wedding photographer you need to think a little about what you want. Wedding photographers can have very different styles and there can be a considerable difference in cost.

Location

It is generally more practical and less costly to commission a photographer who is based in the area in which the wedding is going to take place. So local contacts, Thompson’s Directory and Yellow Pages are useful sources of information. You may, of course prefer to use someone that did a particularly good job for your friend/relation a hundred miles or more away. If so, ensure that they can provide you with the time and service that you require at a price that is acceptable to you.

If you are having your wedding at a special venue or hotel, it is worth asking them about local photographers that people use frequently. As we will see later there is a considerable advantage if your photographer is familiar with the venue and and the exact spots that lend themselves to good photographs. (I’ve seen too many bride and groom photos spoilt by the obtrusive drainpipe in the background)

Style

There are a huge number of photographers’ sites on the web which are well worth looking at, to formulate your ideas of what you like and what you don’t want. For example do you want everyone looking as though they have just stepped out of Vogue, or do you want something more relaxed. Do you want mood and attitude or do you want smiles and alleged reality. Do you want lots of family groups or do you want lots of impromptu shots of family members enjoying themselves.

None of these things are mutually exclusive, you just need to decide what you want. Have a look at some photographers’ work and decide what you prefer. You can’t expect your photographer to be a mind reader. You have to tell him or her what you want. Don’t be afraid to show him or her examples that you have seen and liked. More importantly, obtain samples of work done by your prospective photographer. Wedding photography is a commercial business. You need to shop around for what suits you best.

Chemistry 

Okay, call me a romantic, but I still think you need to bond with your photographer. When I say you, I mean you, your partner, your Mum & Dad, bridesmaids etc. There are some fantastic technically able photographers who have little in the way of people skills. Look Good on Camera would not exist if every photographer knew how to get the best out of their clients.

So I would advise you to choose someone you are comfortable with, and who is going to be receptive to your needs and requests. I would also recommend that you look at the tips on this website to ensure that you are going to look your photogenic best.

The days when wedding photographers just turned up on the day, took a few standard photographs and rushed off to attend another wedding are long gone. You should expect your photographer to give your wedding the attention and time that it deserves. You need to interview prospective candidates and get a clear picture of the service that they are going to provide.

In my view a good wedding photographer will meet with you and your partner, and possibly other family members, ushers, bridesmaids etc beforehand to determine the scope and timing of the photographs. You may wish them to include photographs of the wedding party’s preparation for the ceremony (hair styling, suit fitting, make-up application etc), so choose someone who you are going to be comfortable with photographing you in those situations.

Familiarity

Your photographer needs to be familiar with your requirements and the venue/location in which he or she is going to take photographs. As a UK based photographer, I am only too familiar with the vagaries of climate and weather. Your photographer has to have contingency plans for fine and foul weather conditions in/near your wedding venue. Don’t forget to ask about them.

Background to wedding photographs can be so important. We can’t all get married on a Hawaiian beach with the sun setting behind us, but your wedding photographer should be able to choose an appropriate background near to the Wedding venue for you to pose for those photographs that are going to adorn the homes of your nearest and dearest for years to come.

Cost

Prices vary. Make sure that you compare like with like. I would advise getting a package that includes a set number of appropriately sized photographs plus a disc of all photographs taken that you can use to print more photographs at a later time, if you so desire. [Please note that you do need to ensure that the photographic files are of a sufficiently high resolution to allow good quality prints to be made from them. As a rule of thumb the file sizes should be in megabytes rather than kilobytes. This may sound a bit geeky but it is important. You should remember that copyright stays with the photographer unless otherwise negotiated.] 

In conclusion, I believe that the choice of a wedding photographer is a very personal matter. I can only hope that the above few paragraphs are of help to you. Good luck with your wedding plans.

Do you ever wonder why so many public figures look so unimpressive in front of the camera? I certainly do.

The answer is that they don’t invest any time in improving their camera image.

Those public figures that do put time and effort into their photographic image come over a lot better visually, not because they are beautiful people but, because they’ve learnt how to look good on camera.

You don’t have to have be a beautiful person to look warm, friendly, commanding, trustworthy, seductive, intriguing……

Looking good on video is just an extension of looking good in still photographs. You need to know what works for you and practise in front of the camera.

In order to discover what works for you, you need a photo-shoot with a photo image coach who can show you how to improve your body language, expression and posture.In this way you learn how to influence what the camera sees. 

email bob@lookgoodoncamera.com to find out more

Go to Home Page www.lookgoodoncamera.com

Why do the paparazzi ambush the famous and beautiful outside night clubs in the early hours of the morning? Because if you want an unflattering picture of someone, wait until they are tired with a skinful of booze and you can’t go wrong.

Sorry but being photogenic and drinking alcohol are not compatible. If you know that you are going to be photographed and you really want to look your best - stick to the mineral water.

“But one or two won’t hurt,” I hear you say. I don’t want to be a spoilsport – I’m very partial to a few drinks myself – but if you want to look your best in those photographs, stay on the wagon.

Alcohol is a very effective relaxant and analgesic (pain killer), but it also reduces reaction time, impairs thinking ability, affects balance, and induces sleep.

Yes there is a dose effect i.e. the more you drink the more pronounced the effects become; and yes people are affected by alcohol to varying degrees; but even if you think you have a high tolerance to alcohol, small amounts will still have an effect. You may not notice them, but the camera will.

Think of the camera as an extremely sensitive breathalyser!

Because alcohol is a muscle relaxant it reduces tone in the facial muscles. Interesting really when you think how much money is spent on cosmetics that claim to increase facial tone. Nobody tells you that a couple of glasses of wine will reduce facial muscle tone far more than any toning lotion will increase it.

Reducing muscle tone makes facial features less sharp and well defined. It leads to a “jowly” almost dopey appearance. It also affects posture making people look more “slumped”, more round shouldered, more “blobby”.

Even small amounts of alcohol mimic the effect of fatigue and sedation, by for example increasing blink duration, thereby greatly increasing the chances of you being photographed with your eyes completely or partially closed.

So if you know you’re going to be photographed at a particular event (a wedding for example) stay off the booze until the photographs have been taken. You may feel better after one or two tipples, but trust me you won’t photograph as well.

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

Go to Home Page www.lookgoodoncamera.com

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 

Forget about the hand gestures which are so often the hallmark of insincere politicians. Disregard the carefully rehearsed actor’s rhetoric. The most expressive parts of the human body are the eyes. If you really want to send a message to the camera, use your eyes. Sorrow, mystery, anger, joy, compassion, sensuality, fun:- The list is endless. Don’t be camera shy. Engage withe camera. Use your eyes to talk to the camera and change the way you look in photographs. Yes, it takes practice, but it’s great fun. You can use your eyes to scold, to flirt, to question, to disapprove, to chastise……Be they blue, brown, or green they should always be seen. Your eyes are your individuality and using them will greatly improve how you look in photographs. By using your eyes you will add interest to your photos and look better in your pictures.

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

Go to Home Page www.lookgoodoncamera.com 

I don’t claim to be an expert on hair styles but I do have an opinion about what suits an individual best. As an interested third party I find it surprising that the vast majority of brides want to wear their hair up on their wedding day (even our cartoon of the camera shy bride depicts her with her hair up).

Now there are women who look very good with their hair up, women who look good with it down and some who look good with it up or down (Alex, the bride on the front page of our website is one such lady). However girls, if you will permit a mere male to give his opinion, many of you look better with your hair down.

Putting your hair up can give you a very severe look and can emphasize your neck and ears.  Hair can provide a frame for the face and have a major softening effect. If you have decided that a certain style suits you best for everyday purposes, why change it so drastically on your wedding day? 

Another problem with wearing your hair up is that the laws of gravity dictate that at some time it is going to start falling down. You therefore run the risk of having your photograph taken when your hair is becoming increasingly untidy. If you have short hair or wear your hair down, it is a lot easier to do a little titivation prior to posing for your photographer.

If you disagree with me, at least have your photograph taken with your hair up beforehand. That way you can judge for yourself and/or show the photos to a few people who you know will give you an honest opinion.

In a look Good on Camera photo-shoot we give you the opportunity to be photographed with your hair up and with it down. 

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

Go to Home Page www.lookgoodoncamera.com 

Throughout my career as a practising clinician I was obsessional about patient confidentiality. I believe that confidentiality has to be absolute. The very fact that someone had come to see me was confidential, let alone the reason for, or content of, that consultation. It was not for me to decide what my patient would want me to divulge and what they would want me to keep confidential. Some people are prepared to discuss their most intimate medical history with strangers while others prefer to hide quite common and trivial things from their closest friends and family.  

I believe that the same principles should hold for a photographer and have therefore added a section on Client Confidentiality on the About Us page of the website. I know that some other photographers do include a Client Confidentiality clause in their Terms of Business. For publicity seeking extroverts that may seem somewhat strange, but there are people who find having their photograph taken almost an invasion of their privacy. Yes, there really are people who are incredibly camera shy. It is this latter group that benefit most from a Look Good on Camera photo-shoot. Confidentiality is therefore vital to our business.

So you can be assured of our absolute discretion before, during and after your photo-shoot.

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