Smile For The Camera

With the popularity of social media, the profile photo has become a modern-day calling card. Today I am sharing my best tips for taking a profile photo to capture your personality while looking your best.

The photo above is the original, while the one below would be the profile photo cropped. The first thing you might notice is that I am not taking a selfie. At almost sixty-two, I never want a camera that close to my face. Lighting and the camera angle are the most important things to consider when someone takes your photo. Never stand in full sun at high noon for a picture. When the sun is high in the sky, it will always cast harsh shadows on your face.

 

Always find a place to stand in the shade while facing the light source. Make sure your photographer is not blocking the light. (The photographer’s shadow should never show up in a photo.) Ask the person taking your photo to stand six to eight feet away from you and hold the camera at their heart level while snapping a few pictures of you. One photo is rarely enough. When you find a photo that pleases you, crop it to save a profile photo.

I use a Sony Alpha a6000 Mirrorless Digitial Camera for all of my photos. It has a memory card that I can remove and place on my computer to edit, crop, and save the best images. I use the Windows 10 photo storage and editing software on my personal computer to crop the photo and the Paint App to adjust the image’s size. The original size of my photographs is 6000 x 4000 pixels. I crop them and then reduce the images to 800 or 1000 pixels wide.

Know your best side; mine is straight on. Turn your best side to face the camera. Look at the camera to determine where, precisely on the camera, the lens is before taking the pictures. Appearing to look into the eyes of the person looking at your photo is a great way to come across as open and honest. Looking straight into the lens also conveys confidence. Think of something that makes you truly happy so that your smile is an honest one that includes your eyes. A fake smile is always apparent.

When your photos must be taken inside, stand, or sit in front of a window or light source other than overhead lighting. When you are sitting, and your photographer is standing, it gives your face a lift because you look slightly up. Have the photographer stand to the side of the window while you are almost facing it so that the available light is on your face.

As the model, you must take control of the shoot unless working with a professional photographer. I have been telling Mr. Mickey for years, “Stand here. Hold the camera here. Push this button.” I listen for the click and then move a bit each time I hear it so that each pose is a little different. One image will always be somewhat better than the others.

The jacket is from last year by IC Collection from My Fair Lady. The shoes are by Sam Edelman. The look in the last two photos is from the blog post here.