Symply Boudoir
15 Ways to Look
Brilliant in a Photo
No filters. No Photoshop.
Just you, knowing what to do with yourself.
Just you, knowing what to do with yourself.
A guide for women who are done hiding
Let's be honest about the photo thing.
Most women have spent years either actively avoiding the camera or tolerating it with their arms clamped to their sides, chin pointed up like they're trying to read a menu on a high shelf. Sound familiar?
Nobody teaches us how to be photographed. We're just expected to stand there looking natural while someone points a lens at us, and then we pick the photo apart afterwards as though it was a forensic exhibit.
Here's what I know from photographing women every week: looking great in a photograph is a skill, not a lottery. There are things you can do with your body, your posture, your chin, your arms — small adjustments that make an enormous difference — and none of them involve sucking anything in or hoping for the best.
"Ageing gracefully is an art. Ageing disgracefully is a blast. Either way, you deserve to look exactly like yourself — just on a good day."
These 15 tips are what I talk through with every client before we shoot. Take your time with them. Try them in the mirror. They're not tricks. They're just good information that nobody gave you until now.
Part One — Your Body & Posture
01
Never stand square to the camera
Facing a camera head-on gives the lens the widest possible version of your body, which flatters almost nobody. Turn your body about 45 degrees to one side so your shoulder is angled toward the camera rather than your full front. This alone creates a slimmer silhouette without you having to do anything else.
Try it: stand sideways, then rotate one shoulder toward the mirror. Notice the difference immediately.
02
Put your weight on your back foot
When you shift your weight to the foot furthest from the camera and let your front knee bend very slightly, your hip drops and creates a natural curve. It stops you looking rigid and planted, and gives the whole pose a relaxed quality that reads well on camera. This is the single most-used trick in portrait photography and nobody ever knows you're doing it.
Think: lean back, relax the front knee. That's it.
03
Create space between your arms and your body
When you press your arms flat against your sides, your upper arms flatten and spread — which is exactly what you're trying to avoid. Even a small gap, just a few centimetres, between your arm and your torso keeps the shape of your arm intact. Rest a hand on your hip, hold something lightly, or simply let your arms hang forward slightly rather than gluing them to your sides.
A hand on one hip does the job perfectly and looks completely natural.
04
Roll your shoulders back and down — not up
Tension goes straight to the shoulders. Most people, the moment a camera appears, hunch slightly without realising it. Before any photo, take a breath, roll your shoulders back and let them drop. Your posture improves, your chest lifts, and your neck looks longer. It sounds basic but it changes the whole shape of a photo.
Breathe in, shoulders up — breathe out, let them fall back and down. Then shoot.
05
Lean in slightly toward the camera
It feels counterintuitive but leaning very slightly forward from the hips — not dramatically, just a few degrees — pulls the eye to your face, makes you look engaged and present, and automatically lengthens the body's appearance. Think of it as moving toward the conversation rather than away from it. Works particularly well when sitting or half-turned.
Engage toward the lens, not away from it. Leaning back reads as reluctant.
Part Two
— Your Face, Neck & Chin
06
The chin trick that changes everything
Push your chin forward and slightly down — like a tortoise poking its head out of its shell. It sounds ridiculous and feels more ridiculous, but it defines the jawline, reduces the appearance of a double chin, and creates separation between your face and your neck. Done correctly it's invisible in the photo; you simply look like yourself but sharper. Almost every professional model does this without thinking.
Forward and slightly down. Not up. Practice in a mirror first — you'll see why immediately.
07
Turn your face very slightly away from centre
A completely straight-on face photo emphasises symmetry, and very few people are actually symmetrical. Turning your head just 10 or 15 degrees to either side makes faces look more interesting, more dimensional, and generally more flattering. Find your preferred side in a mirror — most people have one, even if they don't know it yet.
Ask your photographer to try both sides. You might be surprised which one you prefer.
08
Camera angle matters more than most people realise
A camera positioned even slightly below your eye level will emphasise your chin and create a double-chin effect regardless of your actual chin situation. A camera at eye level or slightly above is almost universally more flattering. You don't need to stand on anything — but if you're ever photographing yourself with a phone, hold it up. Never down.
Phone selfies: arm up, camera above eye level. Always.
09
Don't clench your jaw or your eyes
The anticipation of a photo creates a particular kind of tension — slightly braced expression, slightly narrowed eyes — that reads as discomfort or mild alarm in the actual image. The trick many photographers use is to have you close your eyes just before shooting and open them on cue, which resets the muscles in your face. If you feel yourself clenching, wiggle your jaw gently side to side first.
Soft jaw, open eyes. Let the expression settle before the shutter fires.
Part Three
— Hands, Arms & the Bits We Worry About
10
Hands are harder than faces — here's what to do with them
Flat, tense hands photograph badly. Fingers together and stiff look like you're about to deliver a presentation. The solution is to relax the fingers so they have a very slight natural curve, and never show the back of your hand flat-on to the camera. Showing the side edge of the hand instead is instinctively more elegant. Resting your fingertips somewhere lightly — a shoulder, a hip, a piece of fabric — gives them purpose.
Soft fingers, curved slightly. Touch something lightly rather than holding stiffly.
11
Use fabric, props or your outfit to your advantage
A wrap, a cardigan held open, a piece of fabric draped across the front of the body — all of these give your hands something to do while also creating visual interest that draws the eye and softens the outline of the torso. It's not hiding; it's styling. There's a difference. A deliberately placed fabric element is a compositional choice, not a compromise.
Think about what your hands are doing before the photo, not during it.
12
The stomach tuck that doesn't require sucking in
Rather than holding your breath and clenching your stomach muscles — which never looks comfortable because it isn't — try this: stand slightly side-on, put your weight on your back foot, and lean your upper body very slightly forward. The combination of angle and posture naturally draws in the silhouette without any sucking in. Your lungs will thank you.
Angle, weight shift, slight lean forward. Breathe normally. It works better than holding your breath.
13
Lighting does more for your face than any product
Soft light positioned slightly above and to the side of your face (what photographers call Rembrandt or butterfly lighting) creates shadow definition under the cheekbones and along the jaw, reduces the appearance of any puffiness, and gives skin a warmth and texture that harsh, flat light completely destroys. When you're outdoors, position yourself so the light comes from one side rather than full-on facing you or behind you.
Side-angled light above the face is your best skincare product.
Part Four
— The Bit That Actually Makes the Difference
14
Smile with your eyes first, not your mouth
A smile that starts at the mouth and stops there looks polite. A smile that reaches the eyes — the slight crinkle, the lift of the lower lid — looks real, and real photographs beautifully. Think of something that actually amuses you just before the shutter fires. Think about the last time you properly laughed. Smoldering works too, incidentally. A relaxed, slightly inward expression is endlessly more interesting than a grin on command.
Think the smile; don't perform it. The camera picks up the difference every single time.
15
Stop trying to look like your best photo and start looking like yourself
The women who look most extraordinary in photographs are nearly always the ones who stopped monitoring themselves and just got on with it. The self-consciousness is visible. The moment you let go of the idea of how you're supposed to look and simply exist in the space — annoyed, amused, curious, comfortable, unbothered — something real shows up in the image. That's what makes a photograph worth keeping. Nobody is looking at the wrinkles. They're looking at the expression.
The photo you'll love most won't be the one where you were trying hardest.
Ready to find out what
you actually look like?
Every woman who's sat in front of my camera has said some version of "I'm terrible at being photographed." Not one of them was right. If you're curious about the Ageless Over 50 Project, or just want to have a nosey, you know where to find me.
symplyboudoir.com
Sharon Mallinson — Symply Boudoir, Lincolnshire
Ageing gracefully is an art. Ageing disgracefully is a blast.