When you think about it, you probably see the majority of people you know more often on Facebook than you do in real life. The exceptions are people you live with, your colleagues and those who don’t have Facebook of course, but with everyone else you may go weeks or months without seeing them only to have new pictures of them crop up on your computer most days.
What’s important to remember here then is that the same must also be true. Most people who know you will see you more often online than they will in person. That then means that their impression of you will probably be formed largely by how you appear on Facebook.
Now if you’re like most people you’re probably going to cringe knowing that Facebook is hardly a place for your most attractive pictures. Chances are that the majority of your pictures on Facebook are things friends thought it would be funny to tag you in, or things that were taken when you were drunk and/or pulling a stupid face.
So it’s important that you learn to take a good photo and to keep your Facebook profile looking its best. Here’s how you do that.
Tips for Looking Good in Pictures
Many people are self-conscious about their jaws and chins in photos and as such they tend to move their jaw down into their neck and chest. This unfortunately often has precisely the opposite effect to the one they intended, giving them a double chin. Looking up too much though can make you look like you have a turkey neck.
What’s the answer? Simple: move your head forward slightly in order to reveal more definition. This is a simple trick but it can make all the difference to photos.
Another tip is to try and find your lighting. This is what top models do, and it means thinking about where the lighting is coming from in the room/outdoors where you are, and then moving into a spot so that it will be the most flattering. The best type of lighting is often something called ‘rembrant lighting’ which means just over one half of your face is lit.
For your body, remember that hands on hips and legs crossed in front of one another can make you look slimmer, while raising yourself up slightly on the balls of your feet can make you look taller.
It’s also a good idea to look after your looks in general. Complexion is important, so consider a <a href=”http://www.lasercentre.ca/”>chemical peel</a> or other beauty treatments if this is a problem for you.
Curating and Editing
No one wants to be that person who is vain enough to un-tag themselves from every photo. To avoid falling into that category then you should aim instead to simply add more photos where you’re not completely blind drunk by doing more interesting things regularly and making an effort to photograph those occasions. That said, if someone has tagged a particularly sadistic photo of you then don’t be afraid to remove it quietly. You can wait a couple of days if needs be and that way no one will notice.
Likewise it doesn’t hurt to occasionally do a little editing when uploading your own photos. Make sure it doesn’t look too obvious or again this is something you’ll get judged on – but just increasing the brightness a notch for instance is often a good way to remove those blemishes.
Another trick is to use Instagram to take more of your photos. Ah Instagram… where vanity is actively encouraged… Here it’s considered normal to apply filters and use other basic editing that will make you look a little better, so that’s a free little trick!
Lastly be careful choosing your profile picture. This is the first thing people will see and over time they’ll come to associate it with you. Make sure that’s an association you want to encourage!