By the fabulous Cristy Garcia
From Cristy’s Flickr series….
Thanks to those who took the time to suggest how to make my photo posting more interesting. From all the suggestions, most of them from Facebook, I came up with this format that I believe will give some insights through my self-criticism and analysis of some of the photos I post.
For the pilot of the series, I chose this pic in which I adopted a typically masculine pose and tried to make it look feminine. This photo was taken in 2008 🙂
2018
What I like about his photo:
1- I look very relaxed and poised. This is something that takes a long time for us to learn. As men, we try to hard to adopt a feminine posture and in doing so we tend to look tense and rigid. The moment we let go and allow our body to loosen up, it is easier to assume the feminine role we are portraying.
2- The position of my hands. Right hand gently arched upwards while being softly held by the left, enhances the relaxed mood of this photo.
3- Leg and feet position. While one leg lies on the bench with the foot, pointing away, the other rests over it with the foot pointing down, and gently touching the floor.
4- Minimal makeup. After many laser sessions, my facial hair has diminished considerably and although not all gone, I can now pluck it instead of shaving. This allows me to be hair free for 5 days or so hence the need of very little makeup. For this photo I wore only a bit of powder and blush, lipgloss, eyeliner a bit of eyeshadow and mascara. Yes, there is some glow in my face but that just goes to show that the skin is smooth and has no paste on it 🙂
5- Eyebrows. Many people ask me about my eyebrows looking so thin and arched. Here is my secret. I do pluck them but not to the point that they would look feminine while I am in boy mode. How does it work then? Well, I have very long hairs in my eyebrows and as a man they look stray and male friends tease me about that rather than having feminine brows. When I dress, I glue them together using dark fake-lashes glue giving my brows a thin and arched form. I also glue them in place so that there is no gap between the brows and my skin, allowing the arch to remain in place.
More next Monday and by the way…you are welcome!
10 Responses
Thanks for the pointers Christy! Your pictures are always amazing. I also adore your style!!
Thank you, Lauren 🙂
Hi Christi,
You look flawless as usual and thanks for teaching an old dog a new trick. I will use your eyebrow trick as my wife is always worried about how they look when I am dressed as Duke.
Best,
Micki Finn
VC 632
We can always learn something from others, Micki. Out of necessity we get creative and find ways to compromise 😉
I used to have eyebrows that bordered on the 2-inch length. However, I have glaucoma and the eye drops I take make your eye lashes get long (what a great side effect). My eyelashes catch my eyebrows and then poke me in the eye. When that happens, I go get them trimmed and the edges waxed. About 3 – 4 times a year.
Do you know that there are small hairs on the top of your eye lids?
Have you tried brow gel and brow liners?
Hi Cali,
I tried brow gel and liners but did not work too good. I usually apply eye shadow to further shape them.
Thanks Christy , I think you look amazing in that photo. I still have so much to learn, but I’m in the right place to learn off of all of you beautiful girls 🥰
Hi Christy , you look amazing in this photo, thanks for sharing your tips and advice. I have so much still to learn and I’m in the right place to learn off of all you beautiful girls. 🥰
Cristy,
As a professional photographer ( now retired ) knowledge of good posing was essential but it’s knowledege many don’t have . A slight turn of the body and a shift in weight can be so flattering , I enjoyed the challenges when taking portraits and wedding shots .
The sitting pose is a nice shot , one aspect you need to be careful of is the difference in height between the seat of the chair and the arm , it can force the shoulder too high and make it look bigger . As a studio shot I would have reduced the lighting on the arm and shoulder so the attention was drawn to the face and it would always be taken at eye level as the eyes are the most important feature . A good pose should allow the eye to travel round the subject using arms and possibly legs .
Teresa. It makes great sense. That particular photo was taken with timer and tripod so I had no means to check the pose before the shot was taken. However, your pointers are something I would have never thought off before. Thanks for the valuable tips.
Cristy