Whether you have a fabulous, unforgettable evening or prom ends up to being something you want to forget—maybe because you and your date break up afterward—the one thing you will want to have is beautiful photographs, especially of yourself and your best friends. There’s also a lot of pressure, not just for the formal portraits, but because you know for sure that a lot of shots will show up on Facebook and Instagram almost immediately. The trick to good pictures is to plan ahead—and practice—so we’ve collected the best tips we could find to help you look fabulous in photos with your group, your guy, and your BFFs.
1. Research How to Pose
Believe it or not, the difference between an awesome picture and one that’s just so-so is very simple. It all has to do with how you hold your head and turn your body. Here’s one of our favorites, full of super-simple tips that are easy to copy. Find it here:
2. Practice the Solo Poses
This is one time when you can not take too many selfies! Practice how to hold your head, how to stand—take selfies from all angles and use a full-length mirror.
3. Gather Your BFFs to Practice Group Shots
Your “research homework” for this one is to look at wedding party photos. Particularly useful are those in the category of “Offbeat Bride” because they usually mix up the outfits and don’t do formal, traditional poses.
The biggest tip here is to stagger how everybody stands. You don’t want to just line up people in a straight, stiff row, and for sure you don’t want anyone facing the camera head-on.
Here’s a blog with some truly creative DIY prom pictures: https://www.bustle.com/articles/78222-13-prom-poses-we-all-did-with-our-friends-because-no-photo-shoot-was-complete-without
4. Study Photos of Yourself
In addition to practicing selfies, dig up old (or newer) pix of yourself and see which ones you like best. How did you stand? Where were you looking? How did you wear your hair on that day? (And by the way, that’s one excellent tip for choosing your prom hairdo!)
Some poses look better on one person but not another, so pay attention to just yourself for this one, and then add those good poses to your selfies collection.
Take Candids Now
Come the big day, you won’t be formally posing all the time, and for sure you’ll be caught off guard at the prom itself. You won’t be able to control the angle when someone captures you off guard with their cell phone, but you can practice a little with your friends.
Get together with your group and ask everybody to snap photos of each other in the halls at school, hanging out in the cafeteria, and waiting around outside for the bus or your ride home.
Big Tip for Couples: Practice being affectionate with one another but not too intimate. (You know what we mean!) Rest your head on his chest, hold hands and look at each other, hug side to side—basically all the ways you show affection for each other that you wouldn’t mind at all if your parents saw you.
Speaking of Parents: Include Them in Prom Day Pix
You can do some of the sweet stuff like your mom fixing your hair if you want or your dad giving you a hug or the look on his face when he first sees you all dolled up. But also take some photos of them with you and your date.
Tip: Ask your folks to dress up just a little for these pictures. Nothing fancy—a nice shirt and trousers on your dad and a casual outfit that your mom feels good in. Don’t forget a little makeup on her, too, so she doesn’t look washed out.
For some excellent tips on how to do your makeup for prom, check this out: https://sparkleprom.com/blog/diy-prom-makeup-going-beyond-powder-and-lipstick/