Right, we need two pictures of you. A front view and a left side view. Here is the guide to help you get the type of picture we need and how to send them to us. It may seem complicated but we promise it isn’t. Take things step by step and you will quickly get there.

First comes taking the pictures.

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Instructions for you:

1. Remove any makeup you are already wearing.
2. Secure your hair back from your face using a hair band or clips.
3. Wear a light coloured top if possible.
4. If you wear glasses, take them off while having the photographs taken.
5. Your face should be relaxed, with eyes open, back teeth gently resting together and lips pressed lightly together without smiling.
6. Look straight into the camera lens for the full face shot.
7. Turn to your right and look straight ahead for the shot of the left side of your face.

Instructions for the photographer:

1. Take two shots, a full face shot and a left side shot as shown in the example photographs.
2. If you have a compact camera, use a portrait setting on your camera if it has one.
3. If you use a mobile phone camera, then you probably won’t be able to change any settings, just photograph the whole head with a small border all around it.
4. Stand approximately 2 metres away from the subject to ensure there is no distortion of the facial features.
5. If the camera has a zoom lens, use that to make the face nearly fill the frame with just a small border round each side.
6. If the camera doesn’t have a zoom lens (such as a mobile phone camera), you may need to stand a little closer to make the head almost fill the frame, but don’t stand closer than 1 metre as the camera may not focus properly.
7. Try to ensure your friend is standing in front of a light coloured wall or background.
8. Make sure that the head of the person being photographed is level and that the eyes are level with the middle of the ears.
9. Natural lighting is preferred as this gives the best skin tones, but ensure there are no harsh shadows across the face.
10. Flash is acceptable if you can’t use natural light, make sure the shadows from the flash don’t lie in front of the face on the side shot by turning the camera 90 degrees anticlockwise so that the flash is on the left side.
11. Before submitting the photographs, check they are in focus.

Now transfer the image files to your PC’s Desktop and submit them to our website using the competition entry form. If you are unsure how to do this, read the sections below for further details. Your job is now done. We will let you know if you have been successful by *********. It will change the way you look and feel about yourself, and the way others see you too.

If you have a digital camera or mobile phone camera

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to attach the camera or phone to your computer and save the files to the PC’s Desktop.

If you have a high resolution digital camera (10 Megapixels or greater), select a lower resolution in the camera before taking the photos, or reduce the file sizes once you have transferred them to your PC.

If you have a film camera

Get your film developed! The images from the negatives can be put onto CD when the film is processed, which you should do if you don’t have a scanner. Transfer the images from the CD to your Desktop and check the file sizes as described below.

If you don’t have the photos on CD, scan them and save the images to your PC’s Desktop. Ensure the size of each scanned image file is less than 3.5 MB or 3,500 KB and that they are in colour. If the files produced by the scanner are larger than this, e.g. you scanned a 5 by 7 inch photo at more than 300 dots per inch (dpi), then reduce the scanner’s resolution setting and try again.

Checking the file size and reducing if necessary

Check the size of each image file by right–clicking its icon on the Desktop, then selecting Properties. The file’s information will appear, including the size of the file in MB. Ensure the file size of the images is less than 3.5 MB or 3,500 KB.

If the file is too big, use photo editing software to reduce it. Alternatively, open it in the Windows Paint utility and press Ctrl+w to open up the Stretch and Skew dialog box. Enter 50% into the Horizontal and Vertical value boxes of the Stretch section and save the image.

OK, so you’ve taken the pictures. If you have a mobile telephone or digital camera you may already know how to transfer and store images on a PC, or know someone who can do this for you. If so, you can ignore the following instructions and simply email the pictures as an attachment to info@thebestyou.co.uk.

What to do if you have a digital camera or mobile phone camera

You will need to ensure that the size of the images for uploading is less than 3.5Mb. If you have a high resolution digital camera it should be possible to set the size of the image files in the camera before taking the pictures or else you will need to process the pictures to make the file size smaller once you have transferred them to your PC. You can either use the image editing software supplied with your camera or use software such as Photoshop to do this.

If you have not transferred pictures to a PC before don’t worry. It may seem complicated but it really is very straightforward. Your camera or mobile telephone will have been bought with a USB lead to connect to your PC. The socket looks exactly like the one that connects your PC to the Internet. There will be two or three USB sockets or ‘ports’ on you computer. Plug the lead into one of these and connect the PC to the camera.

The camera will also have come with a software disc that enables you to transfer pictures to a PC. If you have it installed already connecting your camera to the computer will automatically open a page that will tell you how to save the pictures on your computer. If you haven’t installed the camera software do so now.

Once you establish the connection between the camera and computer the relevant page on the computer screen should automatically open. It will tell you how to save your pictures, usually on your ‘My pictures’ file. If it asks you where you want to save images type in or click ‘My pictures’. All you have to do now is...

Once you have saved the pictures to 'My pictures' open a new email. Type in our email address xxxxxx. To attach your frontal and profile pictures click on the paperclip attachment image along the top bar of the email. You will then be asked where you want to go within your PC to select the attachments. Click on My Computer. You should then see My Pictures, which you should click on. You will then be presented with a selection of images to choose from. Click on one of the two pictures to be sent to us. Repeat the process with the second picture. You should now have two picture icons in the content bar below the email address line. All you have to do is click Send.

If you have a film camera

Right, you have got your film developed and chosen the pictures you wish to send. You will then need to scan them. For this you need a scanner. If you haven’t got a scanner you may know someone who has one, or be able to use one at work. If you do not know how a scanner works ask your friend who has one, or someone at work to scan the pictures for you and save them to ‘My picures’.

If you have a film camera’ section that you can get the images from the negatives put onto CD at the time of development.

Now open a new email on the computer. Type in our email address thebestyou@btconnect.com. To attach your frontal and profile pictures click on the paperclip attachment image along the top bar of the email. You will then be asked where you want to go within your PC to select the attachments. Click on My Computer. You should then see My Pictures, which you should click on. You will then be presented with a selection of images to choose from. Click on one of the two pictures to be sent to us. Repeat the process with the second picture. You should now have two picture icons in the content bar below the email address line. All you have to do is click Send.

Your job is now done. We will let you know if you have been successful by Wednesday, 6th February. It will change the way you look and feel about yourself, and the way others see you too.

How to submit your photographs

Submitting your photos is easy, just click on the Browse... buttons and select your files. If you are unsure how to do this, follow the detailed steps below, which assume that you've saved your files to the Desktop as described in the sections above.

Step 1: Ensure the files have recognisable names rather than the names your camera, phone, scanner or film processor gave them to make it easier to submit the correct files, Front and Side are good choices! A file name can be changed by selecting the file, pressing the F2 key, pressing the Backspace key and then typing the new name into the box.

Step 2: Ensure that the individual file sizes are smaller than 3,500 KB or 3.5 MB (files larger than this will only be produced by expensive cameras with sensors of 10 Megapixels or more, or by scanners set at very high resolution, so this will not be a problem for most people). Check the of each file by right–clicking the icon for the saved file on the Desktop and then selecting properties. The files' information will appear, including the size of the files in MB. If the file sizes are too big, see the sections above to find out how to reduce them.

Step 3: Click the Browse... button to the right of Upload your Photo (front). The Choose file dialog box will open, which looks similar to the picture below:

Step 4: If it is not already selected, click the Desktop icon on the left of the Choose file dialog box to see all items saved to the Desktop.

Step 5: Click on the file Front then click the Open button to select the file.

Step 6: Repeat this process for the side view. All you need to do now is click the SUBMIT button at the bottom of the form to send us all of your details including the pictures.

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