Picture Feedback Megathread

[zar04]

First ever photoshoot

[pancakemouse]

First ever photoshoot

Facial expressions look a bit sad, but lighting and fashion is on point.

download/file.php?id=14847&mode=view is your clear best for a first shot.

[Vamos]

First ever photoshoot

Facial expressions look a bit sad, but lighting and fashion is on point.

download/file.php?id=14847&mode=view is your clear best for a first shot.

This!

Pictures always transport a vibe, whether that corresponds to reality or not doesn't matter, that's how it resonates with the viewer. And your facial expression doesn't say anything good sadly.
Book a new shooting and smile a little, this neutral “model” look is not good for everyone. The new pics will be awesome, i am sure.

[zar04]

it’s a bit embarassing to have to ask this but how do i not look sad in photos.

I can’t smile voluntarily - it doesn’t look good. I tried not looking sad; i have no clue how to.

Should i try faceapping / photoshopping the expressions?

[Adventurer]

it’s a bit embarassing to have to ask this but how do i not look sad in photos.

I can’t smile voluntarily - it doesn’t look good. I tried not looking sad; i have no clue how to.

Should i try faceapping / photoshopping the expressions?

Even if you're not aiming for a smile in the photo, try smiling first to loosen up your face. Think of something that actually makes you amused and makes your eyes and mouth both smile and warm the face muscles up a bit. Then go for neutral.

Mirror practice: assuming you can already hit non-sad-looking expressions while looking at the mirror, the next step is: turn away from the mirror, attempt to make the face you want, turn back to the mirror. In your particular pictures some things that make them look sad are downturned mouth corners and paranoid-looking eyes, so experiment with targeting those elements specifically.

You also get some +NotSad points if you look at the camera (but don't turn your face all the way to the camera).

And if you're doing multi-location photoshoots, bring at least different shirts for photo variety.

The bridge+skyline is a pretty cool background.

[zar04]

Got it; i have photoshoot booked in 2 weeks time. Buying another outfit too; gonna practice having better facial expressions.

I’d hate to just have these photos be useless though; what photos are usable - and if possible can somebody give a rating out of 10 for them?

[Vamos]

Should i try faceapping / photoshopping the expressions?

Yes, do that. A few of the photos are solid, JUST the facial expressions aren't good. I just tried it, have a look (just PM me, if you want the pics to be deleted):

IMG_3604.jpeg

IMG_3603.jpeg

[Yggdrasil13]

it’s a bit embarassing to have to ask this but how do i not look sad in photos.

I can’t smile voluntarily - it doesn’t look good. I tried not looking sad; i have no clue how to.

Should i try faceapping / photoshopping the expressions?

I had the same problem at first. In my experience smiling for a photo is something you will actually improve at the more you try and do it. And the best way to practice it is to go and do photo shoots. That’s why a Tri-pod and a camera is, imo, such a useful tool. You can take as many pics of yourself as you want free of charge, whenever you want. Spend an hour a day shooting photos for a week and your smile is going to improve. And if you happen to hit a great one, you’ve got a pic right there. If you don’t have a tripod and a camera you could ask a friend to take pics of you with their phone and try a photoshoot like that.

Another thing that helped me was looking at photos of guys with great smiles and trying to imitate it. Obviously they have different facial structures, but I still found it helpful to have an idea of what I was going for.

Ofc you don’t have to smile, you could go for another expression. I chose to try and smile because I thought it would be easier than a stoic gaze. If you want to go for a different look, find a guy, or a few guys, with an expression you like on the internet and try to capture the same vibe. You might not nail it at first, but the more photos you take, the better you’ll get at it.

Also fwiw on a photoshoot, I’ll snap like 1000-2000 pics with the shutter and most of them are still bad. But these days usually a few are decent and now and then one will be great. That’s all you really need.

[GN44]

it’s a bit embarassing to have to ask this but how do i not look sad in photos.

I can’t smile voluntarily - it doesn’t look good. I tried not looking sad; i have no clue how to.

Should i try faceapping / photoshopping the expressions?

Maybe try not to smile, start with a small smirk. Or you could just go stoic face and then use faceapp to give you a smile.

You could also try learning how to squinch:

On the topic of your shoot I like your fourth pic but expression could be better.

[Slurp]

Went and took some more photos with a friend of mine. Today there wasn't much light and it was overcast so the photos look more cold compared to the previous ones.
Did go out in the city so the background should feel a bit more natural.

The photo with the red background is a reference from the previous shoot. Most of them kinda look awkward.

[Adventurer]

2nd to last looks good. IIRC Mystery Method had some harsh things to say about holding a drink in front of your chest instead of at your hip, but the vibe on that pic seems good regardless.

[Slurp]

Thanks for the feedback @Adventurer

About that picture I quite like the fact that we managed to capture a couple of cars moving behind so it looks "alive" in a way.

Also I think the drink holding thing applies when in a conversation to show a more relaxed body language. I'd say that usually it's more of a cocktail rather than a coffee cup. Still good point.

[zar04]

Just finished editing the photos that i took earlier.

Only thing i did was use face-app premium to edit my facial expressions to make me look less depressed. Apart from that and a mild touch up to the skin smoothness; photos are the same.


These better?

[pancakemouse]

Just finished editing the photos that i took earlier.

Only thing i did was use face-app premium to edit my facial expressions to make me look less depressed. Apart from that and a mild touch up to the skin smoothness; photos are the same.


These better?

WAY better. I generally look down on FaceApp but these are tastefully edited.

[Sisyphus]

It's not so much about smiling or not smiling, but more subtle facial movements, mainly your eyes.

You have a very common problem, your eyes look "dead". Like you've been on your computer for 12 hours and are tired. And your brow is too tense, like you are worried or sad.

All of these things hurt your subcomms. It basically communicates boredom, laziness, lack of focus, lack of energy.

Just smiling won't fix this, because it feels fake and other people also easily pick up on it.

You need to smile with your whole face, or only with your eyes.

You need to have more awareness of what kind of vibe you are projecting to other people with your body language, but specially with your face.

It's hard to do it on purpose though. The right vibe generally comes as a result of an spontaneous spike of emotion. It requires practice and a general awareness of the inner emotional states that trigger a good vibe.

Some things that might be helpful:

-Relax your brow and let it drop.
-In general, relax your face.
-Have some anchor that makes you smile naturally (a joke, a good memory). Try to "smile with your whole face"
-Try to focus your eyes into a distant object in the background. The idea is to look more engaged or focused.

I attached 2 photos as an example. I strongly believe this isn't nitpicking. All of those subtleties add up and can add or substract to your baseline attractiveness.