Auckland Portrait Photography | Top 5 Photoshoot Tips

What is it about about having a camera pointed in our direction makes our palms sweat and our smile suddenly feel plastered on?

Let’s face it, being professionally photographed is not something we face everyday. So it’s no wonder that we feel vulnerable and a bit silly when in front of a camera.
But, what if you could feel confident? And, taken care of and relax enough to allow us to capture the outer you in the best way, but also the inner you?

A telltale sign of an experienced professional photographer, is not the flashy gear, the lighting or the car they drive – but the way they make you feel.
A good photographer can make you look wonderful, but a great one can help you feel it too.

Here are our top 5 tips on how to get the most out of your portrait experience!

Breathe.

Seems obvious doesn’t it? But when we are feeling nervous, we tend to hold our breath.
This increases our heart-rate and raises cortisol levels (hello sweaty palms) and suddenly, that camera looks a whole lot bigger.
You don’t need to have an on-camera meditation class, but just a few deep, slow and intentional breaths can work wonders.

Relax.

Actually relax – your shoulders and your hands.
Watch how your body responds to everyday stress or uncomfortable situations – we tend to tense up and draw our shoulders up to our ears.
Uncurl those clenched fists or clasped hands. It may take a lot of effort to do this, but once you tell your body (even if you have to TRY to physically relax) that you’re not actually in the wild being cornered by a lion – your body listens, your mind listens to your body, and oh hey, you’re cool as a cucumber.

Let Go.

Trust that your photographer wants you to LOVE these photos. Let go of how you think you should smile or hold your face.
The mirror or selfie mode phone-camera you’ve been practicing on is a mirror image – it’s not actually how you look. Sometimes we get so used to seeing ourselves in this way that upon seeing an actual photograph, we don’t recognise ourselves.
Trust that we can see your magnificent features, your jawline, your cheek contours, the sparkle in your eye and how the light touches your face just so.
Now that you’re all loosey-goosey from steps 1 and 2, you’ll be more open to us guiding you through some posing suggestions.

Connect.

Take the time to talk. Give yourself a chance to get excited about what these photos are for, tell us about your journey so far, allow your eyes to get sparkly by drawing on what your really care about, why you love what you do.
An hour portrait photography session includes equal measures of photography and of us connecting with you as humans, without the camera clicking away. This is how we create meaningful, authentic photographs that you’ll look at and be inspired by yourself.

Think good thoughts.

If you take anything away from this post, it’s this;
Roald Dahl said this best “A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”

Want more tips?
We could write essays on this, feel free to give us a call or send us an email to connect!