I’m a terrible model. I get nervous and go for funny rather than glamourous every time. Baby dinosaur? I do a killer imitation. Lizard face? Check. Glamour? Not so much.
So, just in time for wedding season, I enlisted the help of trish boyko (no caps at her request) of Calgary’s f8 photography Inc. She and her husband, Matt, have been shooting weddings together for 13 years. On the side, trish does glamour photography, too. She fell in love with glamour photography through her work with brides. Those are moments when a woman’s curves, glamour, beauty and confidence really shine through, she says.
Trish gave me a few tips for women who want their look to be more glamour, less baby dinosaur when there’s camera pointed in their direction.
1. Stance
Glamour is all about the way a woman stands. It’s about creating curves, elegance, grace. Don’t face the camera dead-on like a football player (I totally did this at my wedding!!); instead, turn slightly to the side. Now, step forward slightly with the front foot, bringing it slightly in front of the other. That will give you a lovely curve along your thigh and bottom. If you raise up a little onto the toe of the front foot, it activates the muscles in the leg and shows off your toned shape.
Keep your shoulders down. Try this: lift your shoulders up to your ears, slide them back an inch, and let them drop into place. Feel your posture improve? Good. Now keep them at that level. You can still use your shoulders to accentuate curves; move one forward, one back; one up, one down.

2. Arms
Arms deserve special mention. Bend your elbows lightly, and keep your arms away from your body. Put a hand on your hip if you want. That gives you sexier arms than if they’re squished up against your body. If you are not confident about your arms, three-quarter-length sleeves look gorgeous in photos. (The most important thing, she says, is that a bride feels good in her gown. Buy a dress that shows off your favourite assets.)

3. Face
Tilt your face out towards the camera. That will accentuate your bone structure and elongate your neck. Like Tyra Banks always tells the models on America’s Next Top Model, smile at the camera with your eyes. Sounds nuts, but it works! Engage the camera with your eyes; don’t just stare at it.

4. Avoid Tone-on-Tone Colours
Find colours that pop. “If you are using white flowers, make sure you’ve included a lot of green in the bouquet.” If you are planning an engagement session or family photos, she cautions against wearing anything with a logo. Go for clothes that you make you feel amazing. Black always works well for photos, she says.
This is my beautiful sister on her wedding day (she’s a photo pro and really knows how to make an image pop!):

And some other suggestions for the wedding day:
5. Give The Photographer Plenty of Time
Trish recommends booking two or three hours with your photographer. That way, you have time to enjoy the photos and no one has to stress about holding up the reception. Make sure you leave yourself some wiggle room for things like traffic problems, missing flower girls or any other hiccups.
Trish also suggests brides leave enough time for the photographer to get picture of the details of the reception — the flowers, the plating, etc — before everyone digs into dinner.
5. Consider an Engagement Session
It’s a good way for the couple to get accustomed to the photographer, and the photographer to get a good sense of the couple. (We didn’t do an engagement session and we definitely started out very unnatural in front of the camera that day!)
You can find more of f8′s beautiful work here.
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I’m working on a post for next week with Calgary makeup artist, Trena Laine. She’ll give you her makeup tips! (She has some very good suggestions for women who cry during weddings.)
~Chris
PS – Jennifer Dykstra of Open Image Photography was our wedding photographer and did an amazing job! Our time with her was one of the highlights of our wedding day. Jen is a specialist in working with people that love outdoor adventures.