The moment a camera is pointed at you, your body stiffens. Suddenly, you have no idea what expression to make. Have you ever felt uncomfortable being photographed?
One approach worth trying is to pose by deliberately “playing a role.” Imagine that you are someone else and try striking even an awkward peace sign; your tense expression and body may naturally begin to relax. Simply stepping away from your fixed image of yourself can make being photographed feel considerably easier.
You’re Not the Only One Who Dislikes Being Photographed
We cannot see ourselves directly. The image we encounter in a mirror is laterally reversed and appears as a three-dimensional form in space. A camera, however, strips away that depth and compresses us onto a flat plane.
Photo by 海/kai
A photograph is not a mirror that reflects everything about you; it is merely a single moment held still. Yet we can become trapped by the assumption that the person in the photograph somehow looks less appealing than the person we imagine ourselves to be.
What is more, we live in an age of constant self-surveillance, in which selfies and video calls have become routine. It is entirely natural to grow acutely conscious of how we appear.
At such moments, however, it may help to build a broad visual archive of yourself—a collection of reference points showing the many different ways you can appear.
The Deliberate Approach of “Playing a Role”
There are three main reasons why posing through deliberate performance can be effective.
The first is a shift in awareness. By moving your attention away from “the self being observed” and toward “the self inhabiting a role,” you can free yourself from the disconnect between how you appear in a photograph and how you imagine yourself.
Photo by I J GILLIGAN
The second is that it eases self-consciousness. Try letting go of the idea that the person standing before the camera must be your “unfiltered self.” An unfamiliar pose—deliberately closing your eyes or flashing a peace sign, for instance—may be enough to release the tension in your shoulders.
The third is to stop comparing yourself with pre-existing images.
Social media is saturated with supposedly ideal expressions and filtered photographs. Without realizing it, we compare those images with the version of ourselves that has just been photographed.
Many of the factors that determine whether we think we look good or bad in a photograph lie beyond our control. A photograph or expression that seems unremarkable immediately after the shoot may, when revisited later, reveal itself as an evocative and compelling image.
Photo by I J GILLIGAN
That is precisely why it may be worth setting aside, at least for a moment, the question of how to look better in photographs.
Let Go of How You Look, and Photography Becomes More Enjoyable
What matters is not memorizing techniques or flattering angles, but whether you can make peace with the self you encounter in photographs.
Step away from judging whether you look good or bad, and enjoy the photographic moment itself. Standing in front of the camera may then begin to feel like a lighter, more liberating experience.