3 ways to improve posing during your session
“What do I do with my hands?”, is the most common question I get during a session. It isn’t natural to be in front of a professional camera, and it definitely isn’t expected for a client to know how to pose during a session either. That’s where a professional photographer comes in. I have studied posing, worked through different poses and angles to know what I would suggest for a client during a session. I am going to share 3 tips to help you pose yourself during a session which will make you feel more confident and comfortable during a session.
Use your outfits and accessories
Now this one isn’t just for the girls, this works with guys too! Whether you bring a pair of sunglasses, a football, a baseball glove, a purse, a hat, or anything that would help describe your personality and passions, you can use your accessories to keep your hands busy and looking natural. Having something to hold will give you a variety of posing options. You can also use your jackets, suits, and jean pockets to occupy your hands, such as placing your thumbs in your pockets, holding on to your coat or jackets, or using your back pockets to get more out of your posing.
Utilize your location
When you arrive to your location, I suggest you scan the area for places with walls, stairs, rails, or other things that could help you with posing. For example, finding a wall to lean on can give you a variety of poses, such as leaning your back on the wall, putting your shoulder on the wall in a sideway lean, having your body face the wall looking back, etc…, really, the possibilities are endless.
Learn the 3 base poses
Standing, leaning, and sitting, are the three poses I call my “base poses”. You can learn to get at least 5 poses out of each base pose by changing your hand placement, looking different directions, changing your angles, or even just changing your facial expressions. Once you learn the flow of posing from your 3 base poses, you will come up with at least 15 different posing options without hesitation.
Learning your best posing options for your body type and comfort takes practice. Don’t be afraid to take some photos of some practice poses and evaluate whether you think the pose compliments you and makes you feel confident. It’s always a plus to have at least 3 solid poses that you will feel good being in during your session.
Other things to keep in mind
- Your outfit can restrict some poses. For example, wearing a short, tight dress might only allow leaning and standing poses, therefore you may want to have a variety of outfit options.
- The weather can affect posing. Sometimes I have a million poses in mind, but when I arrive to the location, the ground is wet and muddy which means no sitting, or laying poses, or it’s just so windy that your arms may need to hold your dress down the entire time.
- Bring your hype person. A professional photoshoot is already overwhelming sometimes, so make sure and bring the person that will hype you up!
The rest is up to me, or your professional photographer, after all that’s why you hire us right? It’s also a nice experience to just relax and enjoy your session. I am always open to proving guidance with posing and bringing the right accessories to your session. If posing is something you are nervous about, make sure to share that with your photographer so that they can be ready with great posing options for your session. And as always, I am available for any questions along the way.
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