I went out with girlfriends lately, to the Edison. Great drinks and atmosphere.
This outing gave me the chance to experience one of the differences between WestCoasters and Midwesterners. It's all about the Photo. It was a hilarious, but instructive experience. Thanks to the wonders of digital photography, we could see the results immediately.
The first four times pictures were taken of me, my eyes were closed and my mouth was wide open. One of the LA friends said, kindly, "Well, you do look joyful." This brought up a topic: why do I (and my compatriots) take such shitty pictures? As one of the Chicagoans explained, "I learned how to take pictures in lower school, and stopped there."
We were the only ones to say "cheese," which is a big mistake. We've all had moments forever frozen in time, where the camera seems to be looking up our noses, probably because we threw our heads back while laughing. We think that people who pose for photos look funny, but at the end of the day, as another Chicagoan said "Do you want to look funny for 5 seconds, or have a crappy photo forever?"
There is a happy ending to this story. One of the LA women took pity on me, and taught me a few tricks: chin down, head tilted slightly to the side. We all did it. Great result. Then we tried the winsome pouty expression. Also good. I then went a little bit too far and tried the looking over my shoulder pose. It's more tricky than it looks. I leaned a little too far, and looked like the Tower of Pisa.
But the next night, at a dinner party, I told everyone about my quest and practiced. We all did. I'm pleased to say that I've made stellar improvements. I've also learned that "supermodel" works better than "cheese" in photos.
After I get this down, then it's on to Red Carpet stuff.
I wonder if I could meet that kind LA woman.......loved this blog.....it's all about angles and finding the one that best compliments you....
Posted by: Beverly Lindo | July 30, 2009 at 12:18 AM