Ever since I became a photographer, I find myself busy with other people's faces, whether I am on walking through a city or browsing social media.

I try to imagine how I would take a picture, how I would set up my lights, how I would emphasize virtues and hide the flaws ... I try to understand what the person is like - in character, in temperament, in personality... All of these things play a huge role in shoot itself. After all, I don't usually shoot passport photos.

Everyone knows what photogenicity is, but few people know what it depends on. Natural physical traits? Photo quality? The mastery of the model or photographer? A high self-esteem? In fact, each of us can be photogenic - one just has to try. "I don't like to be photographed", "I'm bad at taking pictures", and "I'm not photogenic" are phrases I commonly hear when I talk via Linkedin.

"In my opinion, I'm hideous on the covers of magazines," admitted Charlotte Gainsbourg in an interview with Psychologies. "I do not consider myself photogenic; I prefer to see myself in motion, in a movie or in a video."

Even stars accustomed to professional shooting and tricks that "enhance" the image (from makeup to retouching) do not always like themselves in print. "I'm not very photogenic" - photographers hear the cliche phrase from celebrities at the beginning of almost every photo shoot.

With this in mind, let's try to figure out what a model's photogenicity depends on.

Are we all photogenic? I believe that each person has the capacity to be if they trust the photographer. When you relax and let the photographer guide you, they will be able to capture your uniqueness, that subtle moment when your personality meets your appearance, complimenting it and displaying who you are in the photograph. In order to have your photoshoot reach its full potential, however, a balance is needed between self-awareness, the self-respect of the model, and respect for others.e, some faces are easier to photograph, others more difficult, but my job is to see and perfect the features of all the faces I work with.

Lighting, angle, posture - the sight and skill of a professional photographer can produce a photo which conveys both your personality and appearance fairly. In some cases, a photographer might even unearth an element of your personality that you have not noticed or considered earlier.

So, then, this is what photogenicity it is! It's not looking as good as a blogger or Instagram model. In reality, when one puts together a selection of the most eye-catching or toughing portraits, one is likely to notice that they share a common trait: the best portrayals of people are not those that give their subjects the smallest nose, the brightest eyes, or the rosiest cheeks - they are the ones that show fear, determination, anger, happiness, or some other emotion or personality trait, the ones in which the subject's thoughts and singularity shine through their appearance and reach out to the viewer.

Photogenicity is the ability to be sincere and open, the ability to share your inner beliefs, values, and state of mind through your gaze or body language, allowing the photographer to understand (and therefore capture) his model better.

If you consider yourself unphotogenic (and therefore are afraid to be photographed) and want to chat on this topic, leave a comment - I would be glad to discuss and invite you to a shoot myself.