We’ve all been guilty of browsing social media, looking on in amazement at those gorgeous, glowing pics of our favorite stars. Just so perfect lighting, smooth-as-silk backdrop, glowing complexion, and that adorable smile that must have taken a whole five seconds to perfect. Our selfies, by contrast, look as though they were snapped sneezing in mid-air in low light. But the best news is, you don’t need a glam team or paparazzi trailing you wherever you go to snap great photos like a star. Technophobia and some know-how and loads of confidence are all that will be needed.
Master the Art of Lighting Like a Celebrity
Light is the magic that creates every eye-catching celeb photograph. Natural light can be your best friend, especially at the “golden hour,”otherwise, stand in front of a window or invest in a ring light to light up your face evenly and shatter unflattering shadows.
Avoid overhead lights unless you’re aiming for a horror movie effect. Celebs often use softbox lighting or diffusers to get that smooth, flawless glow. So even if your setup is DIY, a well-lit room or some affordable lighting gear can instantly boost your photo quality.
Choose the Right Background for That Star-Level Shine
Ever wondered why celebrity photos seem to always have such clean or cool backgrounds? That isn’t just happenstance. The background actually does make a huge difference in whether your picture ends up dirty or clean. A dirty or distracting background will hijack the whole show from you.
The best part is, you can create your own background eraser to clean up your photos. Wherever you happen to be, in your bedroom or on the go at a city center coffee shop, programs like this are available to erase your subject from unattractive backgrounds and replace obstructing surroundings with clean, streamlined backgrounds the same as the pros. You don’t have to have sweeping vistas; you can get mileage out of it.
Posing like a Star: All about the Angles
You don’t have to be a catwalk model to master those angles. Celebrities will try out various head tilts, chin placement, and shoulder poses to determine what appears most aesthetically pleasing. Holding your camera a fraction above eye level will create a slimming effect for your facial structure and stretch out your neck. Experiment in front of the mirror to determine your go-to pose and don’t be shy about smizing (that’s Tyra Banks’ term for “smiling with your eyes”).
Stars spend time getting these small things right because it actually does make a huge difference with how shots turn out. Once you find your golden angle, hide it from the world until it becomes second nature.
Elevate Your Look with the Right Styling
Star style is not head-to-toe designer brands. It’s understanding what colors, texture, and fit most flatter you. Neutrals are flattering on screen, but don’t rule out the brights if the mood of your shoot and you otherwise demand something other than that. Hair should be styled so that it frames the face, and makeup if you choose to do it should appear as though it’s highlighting, not hiding.
Celebrities look ahead to the camera when choosing their attire, and so can you. Steer clear of crazy busy patterns that steal your focus, and consider that colors may not pop as well under different light sources. Easy styling decisions can make a big difference in obtaining a sleek, paparazzi-style photo.
Use Technology to Your Advantage
Don’t fool ourselves into thinking that magic ends with the camera click. Stars retouch their images heavily with computer programs and you can do the same. Photo-processing software allows you to tamper with brightness, contrast, shadows, and much else. They can quickly remove minor blemishes and give radiance to your images to make you sparkle without making you an unrecognizable cartoon character.
One of your least-leveraged resources after production? The background. That’s where you really get to step it up. Clean studio look or drop yourself into some chic location? You can rig up your own background eraser to help you swap out that slobbily hot kitchen for something Vogue-quality.
Confidence is Your Best Filter
Even the most gorgeous shot can turn out bad if there isn’t the right energy behind it. Observe how your favorite celebrities walk, even when there’s no camera in sight? That’s utmost confidence. The camera loves confidence, and it shows in your posture, stance, and expressions.
Breathe, drop your shoulders, and be yourself. Don’t attempt perfection, but authenticity. That’s what’s actually noticed.
Practice Makes Perfect
There’s a cluttered camera roll that exists behind every viral celeb selfie. Don’t get discouraged if your first attempts aren’t exactly what you dreamed they’d be. Celebrities whose work you likely admire most probably tried tens of attempts before finding that one shot that you’ll remember. Practice shows you what does and does not work, and how to improve.
Experiment with varying light, clothing, angles, and even some basic editing. The more photographs you take, the more you’ll have a natural feel for how to capture star-quality photos with ease. The more at ease you become with the camera, the more your photos will translate that and show that ease.
Think Like a Pro Photographer
You do not have to spend the bank to purchase a DSLR camera in order to have the ability to take excellent pictures. The majority of new smart phones already possess highly excellent quality cameras which are capable of taking wonderful, sharp, excellent quality photographs. Master the camera mode on your phone, i.e., portrait or manual focus, and use it to extract the maximum out of it.
Conclusion
Getting shots as stunning as your celebrity role models is super cheap in your budget category on a non-red-carpet income level. It’s all about subtle illumination, confident placement, a bit of styling, and sneaky retouching. With software where you can change your background or even create a background eraser yourself, you can turn a boring snap into a cover-worth transformation.