We love mirrors because they respond to us in real time. You tilt your chin, adjust your shoulder, and immediately see the change. The camera does something different: it takes one flat fraction of a moving, three-dimensional person.
Practice transitions, not statues.
Instead of finding one pose and holding it, move slowly between three related shapes. Shift your weight. Exhale. Let the hands land instead of placing them. The strongest frame is often the moment between the poses you planned.
Try this: Record a one-minute video instead of taking photos. Move at half speed, then pause the video on frames that feel natural and powerful. Recreate those moments.
Your face changes with the lens.
Distance, camera height, focal length, and light all affect how your features read. That does not mean you are “not photogenic.” It means photogenicity is a relationship between you, the camera, and the person using it.