<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  Q: I&amp;#039;m seriously the least photogenic person ever. How can I look better in pictures without appearing like I&amp;#039;m posing for a glamour shot?  A: Hey, we&amp;#039;re no supermodels either, so we asked REDBOOK portrait photographer David Turner how to work the camera like Gisele. Here&amp;#039;s his checklist for looking stunning in every snapshot.   Never let your hips face the camera straight on. Instead, pose sideways and turn your shoulders and head toward the camera. If you&amp;#039;re standing, shift your weight onto your back foot. Voil: You&amp;#039;ve dropped 10 pounds!   Ask the photographer to shoot at eye level or from above, never from below -- that angle would give even Victoria Beckham neck rolls. Hold your head high and jut it forward slightly to eliminate the possibility of a double chin. It may feel unnatural, but it will look beautiful.   Straighten your spine. Pretend there&amp;#039;s a string attached to your head that&amp;#039;s pulling you up. Then, cross your arms at your chest or rest your hands on your lap or in your pockets. You&amp;#039;ll look poised but comfortable.   Smile like you mean it -- not like your life depends on it. Grinning too broadly can make your eyes seem squinty. If you visualize something you love (like your pet schnauzer or coffee ice cream), your smile will look natural.Q: I love to cook, but I hate the onion and garlic smells that stick to my fingers -- and last for days. How can I get rid of the odor?  A: There are nearly as many tricks and tips for getting garlic and onion odors off your hands as there are for getting the smell off your breath. But many of them -- like washing your hands with toothpaste -- just don&amp;#039;t work. For real results, we consulted Italian chef Lidia Bastianich, host of American Public Television&amp;#039;s Lidia&amp;#039;s Family Table. Her two favorite solutions: Rub your fingers with crushed fresh parsley or wash hands with lemon juice, then rinse under cold water. And she&amp;#039;s got science to back them up: &amp;quot;The garlic enzymes stay on your fingers and continue to release flavors until they&amp;#039;re neutralized by an acid, like the lemon juice,&amp;quot; Bastianich explains. And parsley causes a similar chemical reaction to knock out the smell. We also like the old flatware trick: Rub a stainless steel spoon on your fingers under cold water. The stainless steel is thought to neutralize the sulfuric compounds in the onions and garlic, which cause the smell. You can also keep Stainless Steel Soap, $10 (wishingfish.com), by your kitchen sink for odor emergencies. Q: My sweetie and I are taking a mini-vacation this weekend and we&amp;#039;re on a tight budget. Is there a way to upgrade our hotel room without paying extra?  A: Peter Greenberg, author of Hotel Secrets From the Travel Detective, suggests following this golden rule when trying to upgrade from a standard to a suite: Ask to see the room you&amp;#039;ve reserved before you take it. If you&amp;#039;re hoping for a king-size bed and they show you a queen, ask (politely!) if there is anything else available. Factors that may increase your chances: if it&amp;#039;s a short stay (one to two nights) or if you check in after 10 p.m. When you check out, be sure to swing by the management office and introduce yourself to the manager -- and thank him for a pleasant stay. Next time, you can call him directly to book your reservation. You can also follow the advice of one REDBOOK staffer&amp;#039;s dad: When you check in, tell the front desk clerk that you&amp;#039;re celebrating a special occasion. In your case, you could say, &amp;quot;My husband and I don&amp;#039;t get away too often, so this is such a treat. Do you have any better rooms available?&amp;quot; It won&amp;#039;t work every time, but when it does, you&amp;#039;ll be happy you asked.   "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/beauty/q-and-a/a1683/5-minute-fixes/>