Your wedding day is one of the most significant and special days of your life. Filled with happiness, joy, and love, the photographs of your big day are keepsakes that you will cherish forever. It is these wedding photographs that you will show your children and look at again and again in the distant future. How you look in these pictures can affect your enjoyment of them. A good way to guarantee that you look photogenic in your wedding photographs is to hire a competent and experienced photographer. They will know how to take quality photographs, instruct you on how to pose, and get the right camera angles to show off your best features. However, your wedding photographer is not a magician; you need to meet them halfway and ensure that you make yourself as photogenic as possible. Here are a few tips on how to do this:
Have An Engagement Shoot Before The Wedding
A great way to practise looking photogenic in your wedding photographs is at the engagement shoot. Unlike any of the photography on your wedding day, you can take time and prepare for your engagement shoot. If the pictures don’t meet your expectations, you can retake them again and again until everything is perfect. Having an engagement shoot also allows you to become familiar with the process. You can identify what you need to improve on such as posing or smiling. You will also get to know how your photographer works, and this will allow you to brace yourself on the big day when all the cameras are focused on you.
Identify and Practice Your Best Profile
Do some research and go through your old photos. Choose the pictures that you like the most of yourself, identifying what exactly it is that makes you look good in them. Is there a common theme throughout your favourite pictures? Perhaps it’s the way you smile or the fact that the left side of your face looks better. Practice how to recreate these attributes in advance so that when the time comes, posing for the camera will be second nature for you. Talk to your friends and photographer. Sometimes it is useful to get a fresh pair of eyes when trying to spot your best profile.
Choose The Right Makeup To Suit You
When deciding on makeup, try to go for a look that complements your skin tone. People tend to look better in wedding photographs when they wear natural shades. Try to opt out of getting a fake tan or using glitter as these can distort how the camera processes your image colour. Use eyeliner to highlight your eyes and lipstick that accentuates your lips. These steps will help you look beautiful when the picture is finally taken. If you struggle with choosing the correct makeup, hiring a professional wedding makeup artist will make the job easier.
Try Out The Makeup Before The Wedding
You don’t want to leave anything to chance on your wedding day, and when it comes to something that affects your appearance, you definitely can't afford to take a risk. When you’re using new brands or different colours for your wedding makeup, it is a good idea to do a trial run. This will help you estimate how long the process will likely take, how you look with it on, how it looks on the camera, and whether or not you have an allergic reaction to the products. Sometimes what you thought was a beautiful colour, in fact, looks terrible on your skin. It is essential to iron out these types of issues to make sure it doesn’t ruin your special day by making you look bad.
Have a Practice Run For Your Hair
Equally important as giving the makeup a try is having a practice run for your hairdo. This should be done a few weeks before your wedding. Again, check how the hairstyle looks in real life and in pictures. Ensure that the style doesn’t obscure your face and if you are having an outdoor wedding, make sure that it will retain its shape if it rains or becomes windy.
Fix Poor Posture
Even if everything about you looks perfect, poor posture can ruin what would have otherwise been a great photo of you. Having good posture will help you look more photogenic and confident. Practice sitting correctly with your spine and raise your neck to a straight position. When you stand or walk, keep your head straight and square your shoulders so that they are parallel. Push your chest forward slightly as well. In time, good posture will come naturally for you. By the time the photographer takes your wedding pictures, you will have a beautiful posture and you won’t have to constantly remind yourself to sit up straight.
Smile - It’s Your Day!
A natural smile can make anyone look photogenic, with or without makeup. To help your smile look bright and radiant in the photographs, visit your dentist and get your teeth whitened. Practice your smile in the mirror and exercise those muscles. You want them strong and ready for your wedding day when hundreds of pictures will be taken and you and your smile will have to be glowing for the entire event.
Enjoy Yourself
Finally, you need to remember to not stress too much about the photos of the day. Sure, it will be great to have incredible wedding photographs to look back on, but isn’t it better to have relaxed and natural-looking photos of you having a great time? Your mental state will be reflected in the pictures, and nothing looks better than authentic happiness. Relax and don’t worry too much about looking photogenic. You’ve already had your makeup done, your posture is good, and your smile is on point. Let your photographer do the hard work now. After all, it’s what you’re paying them for. They will capture your magical day and immortalise your happiness in these photographs.
Professional Wedding Photographs
Are you looking for a wedding photographer to capture your big day? Lee Hawley is a highly reputable wedding photographer who prides himself on capturing beautiful, natural looking wedding photos. Get in touch with him today to see how he can help you.