I hate my face in pictures

You know what? I always think I look ugly in pictures, but I had an awesome photographer and I turned out beautiful!

Thanks Mrs Strong. I hope I'll feel the same way. Did you like your engagement shoot photos?

And you do look beautiful!!!

Mrs Strong you're so purty.

I can relate to that feeling. I actually didn't love a lot of our e-pics for that reason - I'm really shy and awkward in front of the camera and so is H. But we learned a lot from the shoot so we did things better at the wedding. Example - my hairstyle was really severe, no layers, so it was either all covering my face or pulled back and my profile or forehead looked strange. So I made sure I had a hairstyle with face framing layers for the wedding to tone that down. And also in some shots I posed my head or body in weird angles, so from that I learned how to cheat towards the camera and tip my chin up or down.

Mostly I think if you just try to relax and have fun with it you'll be fine. A good photographer is going to help you figure out how to get the best angles and shots of you. The e-pic session is a great test run for that before the wedding! Don't stress!

Example of my learning curve - first shot, not so bueno. Second shot - bueno!

Beautiful! Mrs. S.!

don't worry the photographer will know all the angles that work best for you.....I personally hate being in front of the camera and will feel totally uncomfortable for the engagement session but think of it as getting comfortable with your photographer so he/she knows what pics look best for your big day maybe candids will work best? you will never know until you try!

btw you are so beautiful! don't be afraid to let that beatuy shine

Honestly, I looked at your photos on your profile and you seem to wear a lot of makeup. I don't know if you wear that much because of the insecurities that you touch upon in this post or not, but I think you would be absolutely gorgeous with a more natural look and not such dramatic makeup. I also don't think the makeup in those photos photographs very well.

I felt absolutely beautiful on my wedding day. Prettier than I have ever felt in my life. So much was because of my makeup artist. I wanted my makeup really simple and natural, but my artist did such a great job finding the right balance in order to enhance what needed to be enhanced. I like my engagement session photos (where I did my own normal makeup), but looking on them, I love how I look in my wedding photos so much more.

Continued...

My husband and I are not photogenic at all and when I know a camera is on me, I pose. Lol. It's weird... I'm going to try to ignore the camera all day. My best pictures are candid ones.

My recommendation would be to maybe splurge and pamper yourself with having your makeup professionally done. Also, in your photos, I notice you tend to tilt your head up in a lot of photos. A good photographer will be able to photograph you at flattering angles and also let you know if you are posing awkward, whether it be how you are tilting your head or the way an arm or leg is sticking out.

When it all comes down to it though, professional makeup and a good photographer are great, but even that won't help you if you have such a low self-esteem and don't truly believe that you are beautiful, which you are.

Elisa, I do the same thing. That's one of the reasons I'm so glad we had an e-pic session, b/c we got to know our photographer and get used to having our photos taken. So on wedding day, we were able to ignore her/be really comfortable with her and kiss/cuddle/smooch on command for photos without thinking much about it. Whereas at the e-pic session, we got all embarrassed and froze and then overdid it.

Angela - girl you are gorgeous! I do understand how you feel. I'm not comfortable or happy with my body most of the time and I think I look funny in pictures. If you have a good photographer, they will help you look your best. I was so nervous that I would hate our pictures. I thought I was going to be that girl who can't like any of them because I look fat, my hair looks dumb, my face looks ugly, etc. When we got them back, I was pleasantly surprised. There were some awkward pics, but there were plenty of other pics that I actually thought I looked good in.

Don't stress! I am sure they will look beautiful. If anything, it just gives you a chance to learn how to pose and how to smile so your eyes don't get squinty

Uh-oh... Now I'm worried! We're not doing an engagement session since we're not technically engaged! We'll make it work though

Lol! Elisa you'll be fine. We were just SO nervous about having our pics taken, the practice was good for us. We needed a little extra help.

Thanks ladies. I'm hoping after the engagement shoot I'll know properly how I feel. I've never had pictures taken professionally before, you never know I might love them.

I'll have a glass of wine before I go and hopefully I'll relax and enjoy it

Boy do I know how you feel - can I just tell you how many unflattering photos I have thrown away of myself? Then, I went to a professional and had some done and boy what a difference! I think if you follow all the great advice above you will end up loving your pics!

Absolutely have a glass of wine first!

Also, make sure your photographer takes pics from a lot of angles. I have a lot of engagement photos that I LOVE because they are from angles that hide my 'trouble spots'

Ok you are beautiful and crazy! the photographer will help you find your best "angles"

and if i learned any thing from america's next top model its practice in a mirror lots!!! haha and smile with your eyes. what ever that means.

We actually splurged on our photographer for this very reason- we are both ridiculously non-photgenic and I HATE all pictures of myself. So I figured if I needed a million pictures taken- it was going to be the best ones I could afford!

Justine, it's funny that you say that cause I'm watching ANTM right now! Lol.

I am hoping the photographer can get our best sides and angles and make our phots look fabulous. I'm sure you will look gorgeous on your wedding day.

Mrs. Strong I love your dress and flowers they are both gorgeous..

Can I just say you are so stinkin' gorgeous, that I want to hate you for feeling insecure! haha Just kidding, but seriously, don't worry about it. I was really worried about mine as well, but photographers are amazing. They want you to look as beautiful as you want to, and they will find the poses that achieve that. I promise You are beautiful all around, you will have no problem.

A great tip that my photographer kept telling us: giggle. And make it genuine. Have your fi tickle you or make a face right before the pic or anything. Those are the most real smiles, and it makes all the difference. I hope this helps!