12 Ways to Acheive a Perfect Glamour Shot

Some of you have seen this hilarious article re-posted by one of my absolute favorite photographic sites, F-Stoppers, poking fun at the old Glamour Shots poses and the “rules” you have to follow to get the perfect glamour shot. I’m not at all ashamed to say that I, too, had a session at Glamour Shots (actually Olan Mills, but the concept is the same) when I was 12 (they totally dressed me up like a 30 year-old) and then again at 15 (again, dressed me up and posed me like a 30 year-old). And the photos were fabulously hilarious in retrospect. At the time, they were adored, but the amount of “90s trend” they stamped on each photo really created an unfortunate situation – in about 5 short years, these photos would be practically worthless for hanging on a wall for any lengthy amount of time (unless you’re looking for a conversation piece).

I have taken the challenge to use the same rules dictated by the article and create slightly more modern, timeless portraits. I genuinely think these photos are classic enough to stand the test of time. We shall see!

You should open up the original article (link above) and do a side-by-side comparison to see where my inspiration came from 🙂

Rule 1. Hold on to your collar

2. Wear Silk Gloves (I modified my material just a touch)

3. Wear a feather boa (how about a feather dress to change it up a bit?)

4. Play up your hands

5. Expose your shoulder

6. Make sure your hair is awesome (this one is my favorite category)

7. Combine as many options as possible (I actually struggled with this one – I don’t like to “over-stuff” my photos. But here we have some sexy skin, awesome hair, and hands in play at least)