Tina Abeysekara is the creator behind blog, Instagram account and LTK shopfront Trash to Treasured. With an ethos of finding affordable, yet stylish fashion all under $150, Abeysekara has now gained a loyal following of 156k on Instagram and 1.3k on LTK.
She posts content daily and in our opinion, always looks incredible, so we thought it was worth asking her what her tips are for finding the best lighting, poses and camera angles. Oh, and photographers, too. Ahead, Abeysekara spills her behind-the-scenes secrets.
Finding a Photographer
“My husband takes my street style shots, and I must say he’s gotten quite good after nine years of it,” says Abeysekara. ‘Now that Reels are trending on Instagram, I use a trusty old Kmart tripod to film and shoot.”
Photo-Taking Process
“I take a few snaps to test the light and get the frame right (and make sure there are no stray garbage bins or debris in the shot!), but once that’s sorted, we snap away. I try to keep moving (within frame!) so the image looks more candid and effortless than posed. Thanks to digital photography there’s no limit to how many we take.”
Most Flattering Lighting
“I prefer natural light and around 2-3pm in the afternoon you get a lovely soft and even light. Golden hour (1-2 hours before sunset) is also popular with wedding and landscape photographers but I prefer earlier in the afternoon so the colours of clothes I’m shooting look most true to real life.”
Most Flattering Angles
“Walking towards the camera while looking down or to the side helps give that candid/effortless look! Also, standing with one leg/foot in front or to the side while placing most of your weight on the back leg helps elongate. Most people that meet me in real life are surprised I’m shorter than they thought.”
Most Unflattering Angles
“I’d say standing front-on to the camera and/or having it too low.”
Favourite Go-To Poses
“My go-to poses are definitely having my hand on my sunglasses or in my hair, and also the walking shots. For the walking shots, I just rock back and forth in place so I don’t actually walk out of frame. Bonus tip: I wear sunglasses in most of my photos, so I don’t ruin them by blinking.”
Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.
