Looking your best in your photos

As you’re planning your wedding or portait session, there are a number of things you can do to insure you look your best.  Photographers aren’t magicians and it’s not feasible to retouch all your photos, so think about the following:

Hire a professional make-up and hair artist -  I know, you do your own make-up and hair every day and you’re very good with an eyelash curler, but believe me when I say your photos will be better if you let a pro take over when it’s important.  Special occasion make up is different from your every day style and it’s not just heavier.  It’s more targeted.  Let someone who understands eyes make yours stand out.  People are who really good at this give you the kind of looks that can handle a close up photo as well as a distant one.  In addition, they’re pretty objective.  They may have ideas that look great that you would have never thought about.  Let’s face it, weddings are an expensive undertaking – drop the napkins with your names and get someone to do your hair and makeup.

Choose your dress and your bridesmaid’s dresses based on body type  -  This sounds obvious, right?  Given the current trend of wedding gowns, it’s definitely not.  I may make a few enemies here, but as popular as strapless dresses are, they may not be the best gown for your body.  Back and arm fat both show up in a big way in a strapless gown.  Try these tips when you’re shopping for a dress.  Never make a final decision without a trusted, honest, friend or family member with you.  The person in the dress store has an incentive for you to walk out the door with a dress.  If you leave, even if you say you’ll be back, the odds of you buying from that store go down.  So don’t trust them to tell you if the dress you love loves you back.

 Try on a number of styles.  You might think you only want a strapless, but you might find a halter or even (heaven forbid!) sleeves of some sort look really great on you.  Feel free to buck the current trends.  You’ll actually stand out more on your wedding day (isn’t that what you want?) because to most people, all bridal gowns look alike these days since they look the same on the top.  

After you’ve narrowed it down to 2 or 3, have your friend or family member take a few photos of you from different angles.  Take one with your hands at your sides and one with your hands up in front of you as if you were holding a bouquet.  This will do two different things to your body.  You can do this with your cell phone.  You need to see how your dress looks from the back (the side your audience will see!) and side.  Pictures tell the story much better than mirrors.  

One of the contemporary bridesmaid’s dress trends is same fabric – different cut.  To my eye, it’s absolutely brilliant.  Bridesmaids come in all shapes and sizes and there’s nothing worse than seeing the very large friend stuffed into a dress style that fits your size 2 friend’s body.  Also, the variety adds a lot to your group photos and everyone looks better because they look more confident in their dress.

As always, if you have questions regarding any of this, or have a question of your own, feel free to email me at info@caycecallaway.com or comment below and I’ll be happy to answer.