How can I photograph myself so my skin doesn't look so pale?

Question

I have very fair skin, but the flash from a camera washes it out times ten! I look like a ghost in lots of pictures. Sometimes I get lucky and I get my normal skin color, but most of the time I look ugly and washed out.

Please help me.

Answer 1

The simple answer is to take a photo with the flash OFF. Most amateurs think the flash always HAS to be on inside, but it does not. Read your camera manual to learn how to turn it off on your camera. Then you will need to mount the camera on a tripod or other steady surface. Most likely your camera has a self timer. You will need to set this for at least 10 seconds. Position yourself in some good light that is not too harsh of direct. Then allow the camera to take a photo of you. This may take several attempts to get composition correct. If using digital, you will need to set the white balance to match the indoor lighting, tungsten if using normal indoor lights.

Conversely, take some shots outside on an overcast day, NOT out in direct sun around noon like most people think is a "good time" for photos... it is the WORSE. An overcast day will give very good, even, flattering light on your face.

steve

Answer 2

Turn the flash off, first of all, and also, take the picture in a bright room, maybe with a white background.      

Answer 3

take flash off and instead find a room with lots of light

natural light like outside or near a big window work best because sunlight usually shows like natural colours

but any other good lighting works good too :)

i never use flash when i take pictures of anything unless its at night

because i think flash kind of ruins the image :/

hah hope i helped a bit :)

Answer 4

First of all turn off the flash .. then have a friend shoot you in the shade with the white balance set on you guessed it, "shade".

Answer 5

A couple of ideas

1) use spot metering on the skin, set the exposure compensator  at +1 1/3, reduce the in-camera contrast to get an accurate histogram

2) bounce the light from the stobe off a wal, cieling or panel that is a warmer color but not colored stong enough to drastically change the color

3) tweek the white balance to be just a bit warmer than what the situation calles for

4) use the skin tone correction in photoshop

5) use indirect light and no flash