3. Try out poses in front of a full-length mirror
It feels silly, but practice helps your on-camera body language feel more natural. Whether sitting or standing, you want to suggest movement and create angles with your body. Giving your hands something to do helps. They can prop up your chin when seated, lean on a doorway or chair, slip casually into your pockets, hold a bag, your glasses or a mug. No matter how relaxed the pose is, be sure to tighten your core, keep shoulders down, neck lifted and posture straight. This will feel fake at first but looks real and projects a confident, vibrant and healthy look regardless of size, weight or mood of the photo.
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(Left to right) Jennifer Grey, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christie Brinkley and Sharon Stone
Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images; Photo by Mark Von Holden/Variety via Getty Images; Photo by Sonia Moskowitz/Getty Images; Photo by Araya Doheny/Getty Images for Visionary Women)
4. Keep changing your pose between shots
Take more than one photo. Do several at a time. Wolfe suggests “the click-click-click method, almost like a slow-motion movie, to prevent an overly posed result and find a worthy shot.” Many women make two big mistakes when staying in one pose: They do a face front “mug shot” with shoulders, hips and feet in a straight line or the red carpet “chicken wing pose” with one hand on hip, elbow extended straight out. One makes you look broader and more static; the other phony (like you’re trying to be a model). Try several takes of these instead: Turn your body to the side, your head toward the camera, shift your weight from one leg to the other and pop your hip out and/or create angles by bending or crossing your arms or legs. (FYI: Crossing your legs, either seated or standing, makes them look slimmer, and you appear taller!) You can even modify the “wing” to look more flattering by pushing that elbow back and down instead of out to the side, or put your hands on either hip to emphasize a still-trim waist. The secret is to keep varying that pose while being photographed, not to hold it.
