7 Photos to Take When You Think You're Not Photogenic
If you’ve ever looked at a photo of yourself and immediately thought, I’m just not photogenic, I have a tiny challenge for you:
Don’t try to look photogenic.
Seriously.
Some of my favourite photos happen when I stop trying to create the perfect photo and give myself something else to do instead.
You don’t need to know your angles.
You don’t need to know how to pose.
And you definitely don’t need to magically become more confident before stepping in front of the camera.
You just need somewhere to start.
So grab your phone, prop it somewhere safe, turn on your timer and try these seven photos.
1. The looking-away photo
We’re starting easy.
Instead of staring straight into the camera wondering what your face is supposed to be doing, look somewhere else.
Out a window. At your shoes. Over your shoulder. Up at the sky.
Give your eyes somewhere to go.
YOUR SPARK! Take 10 photos without looking into the lens once.
2. The walking photo
Set your timer and walk.
Towards the camera. Away from it. Across the frame.
Movement gives your body something to do, which is particularly helpful when your brain suddenly forgets how arms work the second a camera appears. 😂
Don’t worry about getting one perfectly sharp photo either. A little movement can make an image even more interesting.
YOUR SPARK!
Walk through the frame three times and choose your favourite.
3. The hands-busy photo
Hold your coffee.
Fix your hair.
Put on your sunglasses.
Flip through a book.
Pick a flower.
Your hands don’t need to find the perfect pose. Give them a job.
Suddenly, you’re not posing anymore. You’re doing something.
YOUR SPARK! Pick one object already around you and interact with it.
4. The tiny-detail photo
Plot twist: your whole face doesn’t even have to be in the photo.
Photograph your hands.
Your smile.
Your hair catching the light.
Your silhouette.
Your shoes.
The little details that make you you deserve photographs too.
YOUR SPARK! Take one photo where your face isn’t the focus.
5. The blurry photo
Yes. On purpose.
Move right as the photo is being taken. Shake your hair. Spin around. Laugh. Walk too quickly.
We spend so much time trying to make photographs technically perfect that we forget they can simply be interesting.
Blur can turn something ordinary into something that looks like a memory.
YOUR SPARK! Make the least technically perfect photo you can.
6. The photo where you’re actually doing something you love
Play the piano.
Paint.
Bake something.
Get ready.
Take photographs.
Work on whatever you’ve been creating lately.
Set up the camera somewhere nearby and let it document you inside your own life.
There’s something very different about seeing yourself doing something you genuinely care about.
YOUR SPARK! Photograph yourself creating something.
7. The photo you almost delete
This one matters.
Take a photo without deciding whether you’re beautiful in it.
Don’t zoom into your face.
Don’t inspect every tiny detail.
And don’t immediately delete it.
Leave it in your camera roll.
Come back tomorrow.
Sometimes we judge photographs of ourselves so quickly that we never actually get the chance to see them.
YOUR SPARK! Keep one photo you normally would have deleted for 24 hours.
One last thing…
Being photogenic isn’t a personality trait some people were lucky enough to receive.
A camera is capturing one tiny fraction of a second.
It doesn’t get to decide how beautiful, interesting or worthy of being remembered you are.
And learning to photograph yourself isn’t really about learning how to look perfect in every frame.
It’s about getting curious about the person inside them.
So don’t wait until you feel photogenic.
Take the photo anyway.
You might just be one selfie away. ✨