Red Carpet Cat and Mouse: When Female Celebrities Play Hard to Photograph?

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Lily Collins playing hard to get on the Red Carpet?

 A behind the scenes look at what psychology is involved with photographing female celebrities at red carpet and other celebrity events and the techniques to get the best out of them. You are probably thinking BUT surely they just turn up, they stand in front of the camera with a big smile, you hit the button and it's job done. Surely it must be the easiest job imaginable.... a dream job in fact where everything goes to plan 24/7/365.? I think you had better read on to find out why it isn't like that at all and I have the photos to prove it"

PHOTO: Lily Allen playing hard to get at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards, London. I got her in the end with baby bump not really visible here.

This is a follow on article from the " The power of a natural smile and electric eye contact in celebrity event photography" which proved very popular and it all looks very easy like they are eating out of the palm of your hand. Loads of highly attractive women that are prominent in society giving you the eye and a big smile. There's the evidence again I hear the same person say, it's easy to get these shots. I'll use the same line again "I think you had better read on to find out why it isn't like that all and I have the photos to prove it!

The Game of "Cat and Mouse"

It's all a game of cat and mouse and these female stars love it. Here we will be looking at the female star who is there standing right in front of you, she is facing in your direction, she is aware that you are there with a press rig style camera BUT there annoyingly is no eye contact BUT it's quite clear something is going on.....what...that is the mystery.? It's all part of the game. It's what I call in the trade with these female celebrities the "playing hard to get" routine. Woman in all walks of life do this...... but these female stars they really do take it to another level especially as you would gather .......those incredibly good actresses. They are something else!

PHOTO: Jessica Alba all smiles facing in my direction looking incredibly good BUT the eyes are elsewhere. Playing hard to get? Never did get her in the end. My first ever event.

What sort of look are we talking about here?

This is not the full on sort of look but with a celebrity twist.......no.........this is more the eyes slightly to the left or right what is called the averted gaze. They know you are there but they are playing games. Sometimes they are smiling while they are doing it, they may even be facing in your direction BUT you are being denied eye contact but you are getting everything else???? These photos are sellers providing they are not completely looking in the other direction.

Myself I was always concerned in capturing what these women were all about and trying to get behind the manufactured smiles and how they want to appear in the media. Making them look even better than what you see standing in front of you would be the other aim. Female Beauty is a fragile thing and can quite easily be reduced to insignifance, if you are not aware how to capture beauty in the first place.

I have always likened photographing female celebrities like a game of cat and mouse. Problem is for me and probably many other celebrity photographers, we could never figure out whether the star was the cat and the photographer was the mouse or maybe it was more in reverse.???

Understanding Female Celebrity Psychology?

You have to understand female psychology and with a female star it will be on steroids. Only when you understand what the hell is going on, are you in with a chance of understanding what is going on in front of your camera. Then you can you decipher this what i call "cryptic messaging". It's like doing a tango with these women but without the tango bit......if that makes any sense. Oh, and you have to enjoy this process or game and they know the photographers that know what this game is all about and they will flock to your camera all the more for it BUT YOU HAVE TO ENJOY IT! It's a head scratcher BUT figure this out and you are 90% there with these female stars! The rest is just technicals, timing and hitting that shutter button. That last 10%, that is the easy part. You have got to enjoy the game and more importantly understand it?

PHOTO: Lily Collins at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards. Hand on hip. Check. Smiling. Check. Facing my direction. Check again. Looking my way. No...... playing hard to get again? Where she is looking there was nothing there at all apart from a few bollards..........but she seemed more interested in them??????

The Female Stars Perspective

From their perspective they have these things going on in their mind when being photographed as they are under the spotlight in many areas of society and under immense pressure.

1. The photographer’s spotlight. How is he going to make me look?

2. The media industry’s and their expectations. What are they going to say?

3. Fan audiences will be watching closely. What will they be saying?

4. Social media communities in the millions are also watching and will react accordingly

5. Their own self-perception is also at stake.

Their is a lot going on in these women's minds and as you can imagine with these immense pressures, the job of a photographer is to put them at ease make it more one on one and you will get a more natural looking photograph that does justice to the woman concerned. Female celebrities are often expected to project confidence, elegance, but look approachable simultaneously. This expectation creates a complex psychological balancing act between authenticity and performance.

PHOTO: Tulisa Contostavlos Park Lane London. Smiling. Yes. Facing my Direction . Yes. Hand on Hip. Yes she is posing. Eyes... we are in the playing hard to get situation again.

Body Language and Psychological Signalling

Body language plays a crucial role in how female celebrities communicate psychological states during photographed events. Subtle signals—shoulder alignment, hand placement, facial expressions—convey confidence, openness, or emotional distance.

Common psychological cues include:

1. The Power Pose Standing tall with shoulders back and chin slightly elevated signals authority and self-assurance. This pose projects dominance and control within a crowded, competitive visual environment.

2. The Controlled Smile Unlike spontaneous smiles in casual photography, red carpet smiles are often carefully modulated. Celebrities may maintain a neutral yet warm expression to avoid appearing overly posed or insincere.

3. Eye Contact with Photographers Direct gaze toward cameras establishes engagement with the audience. Some celebrities deliberately alternate eye contact between different photographers to ensure balanced coverage. Some don't and just focus on a couple of photographers. It's just the way it is. You just have to be that one photogtrapher.

4. Micro-expressions Small changes in facial expression—raised eyebrows, subtle smirks—add personality to photographs. These micro-expressions help celebrities differentiate themselves from others on the carpet.

These signals are not accidental; many celebrities receive media training that includes psychological coaching on body language.

PHOTO: Ellie Goulding arriving at BBc Radio 1 Central London. Playing hard to get? Yes where she is looking there was no photographer not even any fans?

The key component in this head scratching game?

Body language and understanding it is important here, just as important as having eye contact or not. A key component is this. Is her body facing towards you or away. Shots where she is facing towards you but her eyes are left or right slightly we have a connection but she is doing the "playing hard to get" thing. Body angled away and we do not have a connection if there is no eye contact. There are exceptions such as the over the shoulder shot where they have their back to you and look over their shoulder, but again these work best when you have some sort of eye contact.

These playing hard to get shots can be nearly as good or maybe even better than the direct eye contact shots, they add a bit of mystery and tension and a sort of what's going on here. Shots where the female star concerned is clearly looking at another photographer and they have the connection and you do not and are just hopping along for the ride and snapping away, these do not make good shots and the difference is blatantly obvious. You get the feeling as a viewer of the photo that you are being left out in the cold and wish you could see the good shot from the other photographer.... which doesn't make for a compelling photo.

PHOTO: Naomi Watts close up at the Diana Premier, Leicester Square, London. Taken from the crowds. I would say she is not playing hard to get here but avoiding being blinded by my industrial flash at close quarters. Nice photo but in media terms a FAIL

Why they may be giving the "averted gaze"?

There can be reasons for why the gaze may to be averted at close quarters because of the risk of getting blinded by the flash such as Naomi Watts pictured above. If you are just a fan with a little compact...no problem but somebody with a huge press style rig with an industrial flash at close quarters say less then a metre/couple of feet distance and it's an entirely different ball game and the stars will react accordingly.

A few examples have been shown above on this phenomenon of the "playing hard to get" routine in action and some other examples where they are not playing hard to get but are simply just not interested in you and your camera or for whatever other reason. There is a difference and it is very subtle and it takes a lot of experience to tell the difference but the difference is there to be seen in the final result. See Gizzie Erskine below yet another FAIL!

PHOTO: Gizzie Erskine close up at London Fashion week. An example of she's there but she isn't. She is giving the shot to somebody else. Taken in my very early days as a Celebrity Photographer. Nice photo but a FAIL!

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This article originally appeared on Frank John London