I admit it, I used to be picture-phobic. As a teenager I was the kid in all the pictures that had hands in my face, or face turned to the side–poses that would invariably make me look more ridiculous then had I simply turned my pubescent face towards the camera and smiled. If only I knew then what I know now, right?

If you’re of the same persuasion when it comes to photographs and tend to mock those who take good ones remember this:
Don’t hate on people who snap into picture mode every time they smell a camera–copy them.

These people have obviously studied and found their tried and true best look for the lens, therefore take a cue from them and stand in front of a tri pod trying out your own pose.

If you have a wider face, for example, always turn your face to the side so that your cheeks don’t over take the wide-angle lens.
Or if you have one side of your face that you like better, make sure you position yourself so that it’s the side that gets photographed.

If you’re at all like Chandler (hilarious Friends episode where Monica realizes he has the cheesiest picture smile) then have something on the tip of your brain that always makes you laugh and think of it the minute you see the black eye of the camera lurking about.

It’s really simple to take good pictures, you’ve just got to work at it a little.
And trust me a nicely posed picture is miles better then the shocked-hands-to-face pose. Someone, somewhere has the pictures of me to prove it.