"Honey, I’m a hairdresser not a magician."

[SirBrontes]

I think this topic is more relevant to portrait/model photography, but I also see that it can be applied in other areas of photography. I've seen some interesting results when comparing photos of the same person shot by different photographers. If a client looks better in real life than on photos for something like a senior portrait or maybe couples portraiture or model portfolio, does it mean that the photographer was bad or could it really be true that some people just don't look good on camera?

Maybe a person just isn’t photogenic. It could be like hairdressers say: "Honey, I’m a hairdresser not a magician." What do you think?

[philbyuk]

well although the lighting composure make-up etc are the main ingrediants for the picture some people do seem to have an inane knack of looking better than others whether this is their features or a natural flair for posing i dont know but if theyre uptight and not relaxed then the person will never be 'at there best' and will never take a brilliant photo.

personally all photos of me are bad...but im just ugly..thats why im on this end of the camers