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I think I'm pretty photogenic (when I'm aware a photo is being taken - otherwise, hell no) and I am married to a former wedding photographer. In fact, we had a great shoot this weekend at the house. When I was younger, I took terrible pictures and I thought I was just ugly - turns out that it's all about tricks and techniques. Here's some ideas...
Makeup - try using a makeup book like Making Faces. I used the pseudo-Cleopatra face from that book - golden eyeshadow, slightly smudged black eye liner, red lips. Golden highlighter on cheekbones and nose really works too. It looked fake in person but looked awesome in the pics. Emphasize the eyes and lips - don't go too dark on the lip color. Wear foundation even if you normally don't as every detail can show in a photo. Yes, they can do digital editing but it's a pain. Wear undereye concealer.
Expression - think of the idea you want to express. i.e. if you want to look intense, think intense thoughts. Happy, peaceful, etc - just try to feel inside what you want to look like on the outside. I think this is a lot more effective than trying to do a fake smile. Think about how cute pupplies are and a smile will naturally come to your face, or think about your husband/boyfriend, or whatever.
Music - take music with you - it helps. also, you can dance through the poses but usually it's better if you dance to a pose and hold it. Let the photographer take a few shots at each pose (he/she may have to adjust the lighting, etc.) I didnt really dance through my poses so much as go directly to the ones where I wanted my picture taken, but when I did the veil pictures - I wanted some action pics with the veil floating. These were hard - thank god for fast shutter speeds. But I found that my face isn't always pretty when I'm doing veil. :-( We did get a few good shots though.
Posing - Suck it in, keep your best posture possible - to the point where it's uncomfortable. It doesn't have to be natural but it can look natural. Take a care of how all your body parts are looking at all angles. Arrange your hair and costume so that it's draping prettily instead of haphazardly (the photographer will probably do this for you.) Try facing your hips diagonally with your chest to the front - this creates an image of thin-ness. Or think about creating an S curve with your body, by offsetting your hips from your top - this is very classical and pretty too. I also studied other dancer's websites to get ideas.
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