My mum hates being photographed! I'm not that fussed about photographs of myself either. As I age, my face doesn't always reflect the age I feel inside and many photos catch me looking less attractive than I'd like to look. I have every sympathy for my mum who is obviously years older again than I am.
However, chronicling the women in our lives, our mums, mums in law, grandmothers and aunts is an important part of recording our family history. This mother's day or some time soon, grab the special woman in your life, sit them down and take a portrait that they're happy to look at. It's not difficult when you know these few tricks for capturing them at their best.
Where to look
Most people look better looking up at the camera rather than looking down at it. Even someone with no double chin will get one when looking down! Looking down at the camera also accentuates a person's nostrils which isn't always flattering.
When taking a photo, position your mum so you can stand higher than she is - this usually means that she needs to be sitting down. Find a place indoors with good natural light and shoot inside or find a shady spot outside. For our pictures of Anne here we hung some dark curtains from a front porch to shield the worst of the bright and uneven sunlight and shot outdoors.
Use a Tripod
Using a tripod will ensure that the camera is still when you take the shot - if not, focus on keeping it steady - especially if you start clowning around and you need to laugh. Jokes are good - in fact anything that works to make mum relaxed will help lots. I usually take a friend who is a bit of a wag with me and she makes comments and asks questions of the person I'm shooting. By the time a few minutes have passed the person being photographed forgets I'm even there.
Keep those hands busy
Having something for your mum to hold or to rest on works well as it gives her something to do with her hands. I've used an empty picture frame, a chair turned backwards, a book and even a sledge hammer (don't ask me to explain the significance of that one but it worked) when shooting.
You can use anything from a flower to a stuffed toy - whatever helps to take mum's attention off the fact that you're photographing her.
Makeup Please!
Ask mum to wear some light makeup - while you can remove obvious blemishes later on, the even skin tones you get from her wearing makeup can save hours of fixing on the computer and really will improve the portrait a lot.
Take lots of shots
When you're shooting, take lots of photos. I take as many as I can with the promise that I'll keep only the best and anything that the person absolutely hates will be deleted - no questions asked. After all, I want to do this again and building trust in me as a photographer is really important.
Look at me!
You will find that the best shots generally have the person looking direct at the camera - this isn't to say you won't get great shots when they're looking elsewhere but you can improve your chances by having them look at the camera as much as possible.
When photographing, fill the frame with the person's face. The closer you get, the more detail you will capture and the more intimate the resulting portrait will be. Check the results from time to time to make sure they are well lit and check again every time you move position, because the light will change - particularly when you are out of doors.
Costume change
If time permits, have mum change clothes half way through the shoot to a different colour so you get a different feel to your photos. You might be surprised how some colours work better with certain skin tones. If you have the space to work, move around to get a different perspective of your mum, but always take care that the background isn't cluttered and that it remains unobtrusive.
Fixing the images
Once I've downloaded and chosen the best shots it's time to clean up the photos on the computer. Any skin blemishes are removed using the Photoshop Elements healing brush. To lessen the effect of wrinkles a good fix is to make a duplicate of the image layer and to blur this duplicate with a small Gaussian blur. Then selectively erase the top layer to reveal the sharper features underneath leaving the blur over the wrinkles. Finally, adjust the opacity of the top layer to blend the two for a great result.
Using a warming filter will give a portrait a warm pink glow which is very flattering to skin tones. In Photoshop Elements, to do this, choose Filter, Adjustments, Photo Filter and choose a Warming filter (85). You can set the density of the filter to control how strongly it is applied. Other tools that I like to use include the lightening brush to lighten a person's teeth slightly and I'll often use the saturation enhancing brush to brighten their eyes. Err on the side of caution though, the edits you make should be subtle and gently enhance the photo - you're not performing cosmetic surgery!
If your mum gets just one photo that she loves of herself from those you've taken - you've given her a wonderful gift. Best of all, you can bet she'll be happy to pose for you again next year.
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