1. If standing, turn slightly and rest your weight on one foot. If sitting, angle to one side or the other. It may FEEL goofy, but you will LOOK better.
2. Lean slightly toward the camera – Adds interest, dimension, and a natural look. Think of creating a long neck like a gazelle, and tilt your chin down just a bit to avoid a double chin and an unwanted view of your nostrils.
3. Develop a ‘trigger’ – Models can “change state” by using “triggers.” Even if in a crummy mood, they can look ready for the shot in in a heart-beat by using a trigger or reminder to do what makes them look good. Most effective trigger: the rear cheek squeeze. It’s inconspicuous and works exactly like it sounds: squeeze rear butt cheeks together. Just ask someone to sitting on a chair to squeeze their cheeks together. Most will immediately smile and look better.
4. Learn to 3/4 smile – Most people don’t like pictures of themselves with a huge smile: it exposes the gums and causes eyes to turn into slits. A 3/4 smile solves the problem and looks more natural.
5. Look slightly ABOVE the lens – Never look directly at the lens.

Credit: I found this quote on my friend’s “Life After Divorce” Blog. The image is public domain, and is the last plane Amelia ever flew in.

Click here to view the embedded video.

To say that something or someone is “the bane of my existence” means that the person or thing is a constant irritant or source of misery. As a cliche, “bane of my existence” has lost its edge to a large degree over the years, and today is most often applied to something that may profoundly annoy us but is certainly bearable. Telemarketers, for instance, have become the “bane” of many folks’ existence, but few of us are sufficiently distressed to turn off our telephones, and while “spam” is a daily “bane,” not many of us would dream of giving up the Internet. “Bane of my existence” is now almost always used in a semi-jocular, “what are you gonna do?” sense.

But “bane” was once a very serious word. The Old English “bana” meant literally “slayer” in the sense we now use “killer” or “murderer.” Early on, the English “bane” was also used in the more general sense of “cause of death,” and by the 14th century “bane” was used in the specialized sense of “poison,” a sense which lives on in the names of various poisonous plants such as “henbane” and “wolfbane.”

From this very literal “something that kills you” usage, “bane” by the 16th century had broadened into its modern meaning of “something that makes life unpleasant, a curse.”