I have been learning more about the colors that fit a particular person. I think you are discovering what really works for you and this is great.

As far as the mirror, buy yourself a very good mirror and look to that mirror alone for your critique. There are a lot of cheap mirrors out there. A bad mirror can distort ones face in many ways and put flaws where none exist. One way to test a mirror is to put the end of a pencil or pen tip to the mirror. If the image is blurred at the tip or you see a double image or shadow then the mirror is not as good as it could be. The best mirrors, often used in astronomy are surface mirrors where the glass is actually behind the mirror for support only. A camera not only has a mirror which could be cheap, you are also dealing with a lens that is most likely bottom of the line. Good lenses are fairly expensive and excellent lenses cost a fortune. That is why you aren't liking your pictures as well. Lighting is absolutely crucial in picture taking and your best photos will be with balanced lighting with a little highlight to you face if you want. But don't use a flash. Flashes flatten the whole image and you are not able to see the dimension that you see when looking in the mirror. If you use flash at three points and not directly in front of your face then you would get more satisfactory results. But, in the absense of a professional flash unit, use the best digital camera you can find, Use the best lens you can afford, light your face evenly, stay away from the background to create depth and take more than one picture, compare and take some more until you see what you are looking for.

I hope that helps.

Amie

isn't it a nice change when some one that has some sort of expieriance with photography can honestly give great tips to enhance our photos , often times people simply wont tell you the whole story and hide tricks that enhance the expieriance for us , I never knew that such a simple trick could help with a mirror nor did I know about the mirrors within a camera neat stuff , I would agree with the multiple picture aspect I find that one picture might be ok but just by moving the camera slightly a great picture emerges ... You can get a good picture with lower priced cameras but there is a noticable difference with a top quality camera compared to a through away one ... sadly most of cant get the professional camera's and need to use those cheaper modles , Pixel definition has alot to do with the resalution quality as well , look for the most pixels for your dollar . If going with a digital camer that is ...

I like my hair to be long and since I am naturally a brownish red head I like that look the best but I love to change my hair color ( keep them on their toes LOL ) the one that I get the most compliments on is a bit Goth ( dark maroon , a hint of purple ) I love it but sadly it doesn't stay around long .... I prefer the Gothic look not to be confused with the Goth look , two seperate looks with hints of both ... I suppose in time I will have to tone it down but I am not 80 so I have some time to play LOL , I think what ever makes you smile you should go that route , you will be or not be approched varring on the mans taste and preferance , tonight a bit flirty and tomorrow a bit exotic , mood has everything to do with presentation and approchability , you know this I am preachin to the quire LOL...

I believe if you are going to use alot of makeup ( Goth look ) you should tone your wardrobe down to a more nutetral tone , then in its self toning down the makeup naturaly ... if you are ging to be flashy with dress then tone down the makeup , ( Gothic look often akin to that of strawberry short cake and much like the gal in Van Hellsing , flashy dress and a bit playful and with the makeup being defined but not heavy )Or if you are just going for the every day look emphasize your best features ( lips ) or (eyes) never both this creates a over done look and this is what you are after , if you wish to create a more exotic tone use a lipstick that is one to two shades lower then your complextion this will give you that look if using lip line then one shade lower then lipstick , green eyes use lavendar tones for your eye shadows this brings out your eyes and makes them pop , dark colored eyes mint tones will do the same as well , dont forget to use conceiler to cover any dark cyrcles and shades around your eyes use a white eye liner on under eye (tear line )with a 1/4 of bottom eye (outside curve) shaded as upper to define upper eye curve , use a cinnimon tone for upper eye line it will be less pronounced yet still defining ... Blush should be the same tone as the inner part of your bottom lip , pull it down and match will look more natural thus giving that natural glow ... I hope these tips help you .

Thanks girls! I love the tips!

Cyrsti