This is a collection of pieces of advice to make your everyday photos more enjoyable to look at; a little more with every post. These are only bits which do not claim to be complete, but are rather all you need to know at that moment.

I assume my readers are non-professionals who are interested in capturing their memories in the way they have experienced them, instead of how their camera device automatically suggests an output, thereby speaking of using anything from a mobile phone to an auto-set DSLR.

About the author: I am Mareen Fischinger, a professional photographer, living and working in Düsseldorf, Germany.

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(Please note that I know nothing about certain camera models and do not see myself in a position to give any shopping advice.)
April 3

Why we don't like ourselves in photos

I keep hearing sentences like “I never look good in photos”. This originates from the reality of how we usually see ourselves. We look in the mirror every day and the person looking back at us is someone we know like our mother or siblings.

We are “used” to that look, speaking of the angle we take at ourselves, the height of the view (eye-level) and most importantly, the reverse sides. No face is symmetrical, and a sudden horizontal flip of our whole self, as it is in photos of us, is double the change of unsymmetricality to us.

No wonder we like the look of ourselves in Photobooth pictures taken with our Macs: They act like mirrors. Ever noticed?

Just as it is possible to get used to your own voice in a recording, you can get used to your look in photos. It just takes some time and practice. Release your muscles and put on a genuinely happy face.

In ten years, you will be happy you didn’t hide from every photo taken.