Flattering, candid photos are a surefire way to make you feel good about yourself, and getting those pictures requires having a friend who is good at taking them. Unfortunately for you, that friend is Natalie, who sure is a lot. Like, a LOT. Here’s how to put up with Natalie’s bullshit because she takes really good candid photos and you really need that right now.
Invite Her to Group Events
Natalie really does a lot of fucked up shit, and that can be hard to deal with one-on-one. Get around this by only inviting her to events that have 2-100 other people that can act as buffers. Not only do you not have to listen her tell you about the really mean thing she said to her boyfriend as if she’s not in the wrong, but large groups of people create the perfect scenario for adorable candid photos. Even though she’s not good at listening, boy can she take a super cute photo of you genuinely laughing with a red solo cup in your hand in a way that really encapsulates this period of your life.
Stay Calm
You’d be lying if you said you didn’t get frustrated while hanging out with Natalie. She sure is the worst! However, it’s important not to get too riled up so you’ll still have that casual glow of genuine joy when she decides to snap a few pics! Make sure to play it cool when she tells you she spilled red wine all over the dress she borrowed from you and hasn’t “gotten around to” cleaning it yet. Otherwise you’ll look all mad and blotchy and won’t have a new pic for your Tinder profile! Hanging out with her will have been for nothing!
Compliment Her Photography Skills
Natalie’s usually in a bad mood, and there’s no better way to put someone in a better mood than to compliment them! This might be hard, though, because she sucks, but just return to basics: her photography skills. Tell her how good she is at capturing the small beautiful moments of life with her inexplicably large and fancy camera. She’ll probably stop making weird comments about your outfit and start taking pics to prove your point, which is good because it’s the sole reason you keep her around!
Natalie sucks, but candid pictures don’t! All this emotional labor will be worth the many beautiful photos of yourself that you didn’t have to put any work into. That is, until you look up her Instagram handle to give her picture credit and fall down a dark rabbit hole of rage-looking at her feed and remembering just how annoying she is!
