Photo tips: How to get a great self photo..

Here is the layout I made last month, in this l/o I listed things that I'd like to improve on (eating a proper breakfast, getting more exercise etc.)  I think that as scrappers we tend to stay behind the camera instead of infront of it and sometimes may shy away from getting our photo's taken.

Here are some tips on getting a good photo of yourself for your layouts and your avatar pics'.....

PHOTO TIPS:


I know that half the battle of this challenge will be getting a photo that we are happy with. Here are a few tips in getting a good shot:

~ OVER EXPOSE YOUR PHOTO ~ For the layout (above) I took a photo I was fairly happy with and decided to change it to sepia tones to coordinate better with the papers I used. BUT when I changed it to sepia, the small sun freckles on my face looked like an aweful rash!! To fix it I 'overexposed' the photo. This is an old 'Hollywood Glam' trick. You'll notice that in all the old B&W pic's of Marlynn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Vivian Lee......mainly all you see are their main features.....eye's, nose, mouth....that's it! no blemishes, wrinkles, lines.....just blank clear skin. This is achieved by over exposing your photo. Most photo editing software will have a place were you can adjust the exposure. Just keep brightening the photo until you've achieved the look you want (you can also 'darken the darker area's' to get even more contrast).

~ TRY TAKING YOUR PHOTO FROM A SIDE ANGLE ~ taking a photo from a side angle can give a softer prettier look and will open up the eyes more. (I really don't have very large eyes, but in the photo above they 'show' well because of the side angle).

~ HOLD THE CAMERA HIGHER ABOVE YOUR HEAD ~ when taking a photo of yourself, hold the camera at a higher angle, this will reduce the 'double chin' effect that you may get with a head on shot.

~ LIP GLOSS ~ This is a trick I learned from Heidi Swapp!! She always carries a little bottle of lip gloss in her purse for photos (not just of herself but her children too!) ....I'm not talking about deep colored lip gloss, just something to add a little shine to the lips. I get my girls to put a little bit of a light pink lip gloss on before I take a portrait shot, you'd be surprised in the difference it will make to give a photo more 'life'!

~ TRY CHANGING THE COLOR TO BLACK & WHITE/OR SEPIA ~ Sometimes you might think a photo of you is 'okay' but you want something a little more glamorous. Try changing your photo to black & white or sepia (most photo-editing software have this feature...I believe you can also perform this task in Piscassa....a free online photo-editing site)

~ USE A WHITEBOARD TO CAST AN EVEN BRIGHT GLOW ON YOUR FACE ~ If you have assistance in taking your photo, this can be a nice little trick to get an even cool light on your face. Have someone stand in front of you holding a large piece of white board, beside the photographer (you can use a large piece of white bristol board for this) ....it will reflect a nice even light on your face.

~ CROPPING ~ For a different look, try cropping your photo in an unusual way. Cropping show that only half your face shows, or only your eyes, or a feature of your face that you really like!....this can give a nice 'artsy' look to your photo.

Hope this helps in getting us to see more layouts of my favourite people! Scrappers!! :)

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If you are up for a quick little challenge Bo Bunny runs a Friday Challenge every week. This week the challenge is to 'Scrap your Favourite Day of the Week/and Why' .....I chose 'Friday' as my favourite day.....Here is my l/o........

I picked Fridays because that's the day I have the house ready for the weekend.....fresh sheets on the beds (I just love my first night on freshly laundered sheets!), a clean house, and making plans for the weekend. I used the Bo Bunny Noel and Cambridge collection to make up this page along with the beautiful Chiffon Rose trim by Bo Bunny. I also wanted to give a mention to the adhesives I used on this page! TOMBOW sent the girls from Bo Bunny some amazing adhesives to work with this month! I used a liqued glue pen they make to attach my pearl trim to the BB Chiffon Rose trim and it worked like a charm! ......For more details on this challenge please check out the information at the Bo Bunny Blog today ~~> Layout Challenge Friday

It's time to challenge yourself!! Come join us for some fun and Prizes!!

~Gabrielle xxx