How To Teach People To Take Good Photos Of You

by Mia M.

Hello, beautiful people. Is there any feeling worse than getting all done up, having a fabulous night out and wanting a photo to capture the memory . . . only to have your friend take literally the most awful photo of you that you have ever seen? (Which is saying something because you’ve seen yourself in all kinds of states. I’m talking 3-day-deep-binge-watch states. That’s not a good look on anyone.)

Well, today I’m helping you to fix that problem by showing you how to teach your friends how to take good photos of you! To test this theory, I took my friend Luke to some lavender fields and made him take photos. Here’s the before – and the after.

Now, I know that you’re thinking “wow, Mia, that’s so vain” and it most definitely is – but as a blogger a lot of my content is photographic. And a lot of my growth/brand depends on my social media – which means that I have a lot riding on being able to get decent photos . . . and I’m not interested in ditching all my friends in favour of photographers to achieve those dreams.

 

 

Tips For Taking Better Photos Of People

1. Rule Of Spacing

The rule of spacing is so freaking important – and, thankfully, it’s one of the easiest things to explain to people. All they need to know? You want an equal amount of space on any side of you. Let’s look an example.

2. Look. At. The. Freaking. Photo.

I don’t know why this needs to be on this list, I really don’t, but the amount of people that approach photos as “point in your vague direction and shoot” is just confusing. Seriously, I’m not joking – tell people to look at the photo they’re taking while they’re taking it and they’ll end up taking a far better photo.

They’ll also end up telling you “oh, look down –  that angle is awful for you. Can you tilt your head?”. Which is solid advice we all need at least once per photoshoot.

3. Have a reference photo

This is a massive help for you too, especially if you’re anything like me and a truly awful model. It allows the person you’re asking to take a photo (who, let’s face it, is probably not a photographer and has no idea what to do) to actually have a clue what they’re supposed to do . . . and it helps you to be like “oh, okay, I should be doing that.”

4. Just take loads.

Can we bold this? Highlight it? Underline? People that take one photo of you when you ask for a photo are what I like to call saboteurs. Okay? That’s not a real friend, that’s not someone who wants you to get a good pic for the ‘gram.

Tell the people taking your photo to take loads. Hundreds. Thousands. Okay, so clearly not literally – but you get my point. You want them to take loads, so that you may possibly get one that’s usable.

5. Make it fun!

Look, let’s face it: your friends have better things to be doing than taking photos of you. Don’t be ungrateful or rude if you don’t come out of photos looking like Beyonce – and don’t moan at them if they aren’t into it. Make sure you’re keeping it fun and upbeat; they’ll be willing to take more photos for you and the photos will probably come out better because you’re both having a laugh!

6. Give them a bit of direction

Again, your poor innocent friend probably has no idea what they’re doing – and you might need to give them a bit of direction. What lighting you’re looking for, how to use your phone/camera, how many photos you want etc.

Okay, my friends, those are my top tips for getting people to take good photos of you! As a blogger, this is a skill you’re probably going to need at some point, so I hope these tips were helpful. What did you think? Do you find these tips helpful? Let me know your thoughts down below!

Peace,

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About Mia M.

I'm going through a bit of an existential crisis right now, I'll tell you about myself when I figure out if I'm real or not.

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hey, i’m mia

tattoo lover, plant hoarder, DIY addict and overall stoner grandma

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