A lot of people fear having their pictures taken. How many times have you seen people run the other direction when someone pulls out a camera?

Most people aren’t afraid of the camera itself – but they do fear the results! Thanks to one too many disastrous photos, they may even consider themselves not very photogenic. But the truth is, that even the most attractive person can end up with less-than-flattering shots.

photo by Valentin Ottone

As the photographer, it’s your job to ensure your subjects look great. Helping them to pose is one of the best ways to do that. Posing shouldn’t be about creating staged, awkward photos, it should be about helping someone to feel relaxed and natural, which will help them to look their best.

Here are some techniques for bringing out the best in your subjects, helping them to feel confident, enabling you to capture their best angles, and leaving you both with amazing results.

Go Prepared

It’s important to go to your photoshoot prepared and armed with a few good ideas, techniques, and poses up your sleeve. During the shoot, your subjects will pick up on any awkwardness that you have. If you are feeling hesitant, frustrated, or stressed, your clients will feel the same way.

Being prepared can help you to feel more confident, enabling you to break the ice and create an atmosphere that’s laid-back and fun. It’s generally best to practice with your close friends and family first, and then branch out once you’ve had a chance to work through your first few photoshoots.

photo by Capture The Uncapturable

Posing Techniques

Ever wonder why you look better in some photos than others? It’s often a simple matter of a slight angle adjustment. It’s surprising how a small change in your camera angle or your subject’s posture can have a big impact on the resulting images.

Here are some posing techniques that will help you to get your subjects ready for lights, camera, action!

1. Turn the Shoulders Slightly

   While often considered a basic technique, it’s an important one. Since the shoulders are the widest part of the body, if you shoot them straight on, you will be left with a client who looks large and boxy. While this is ideal if you’re photographing an athlete, most people won’t be going for this look! A slight turn, or different camera angle will result in a slimmer profile, and help your subject to look more natural.

2. Shoot From Above

   Perspective, or the angle that you are shooting from is also important. Shooting from beneath can result in some unflattering images. Shooting from slightly above your subject, especially for close-ups, will have much more attractive results. This will help to slim the face, and when done outdoors it will fill the subject’s eyes with light, resulting in inspiring photos.

3. “If It Bends, Bend It!“

   This is a well-known saying for many portrait photographers, and for good reason. Straight and stiff is not a good look for anyone. Straight torso, legs, and arms will result in flat and unnatural photos. Regardless of if your subject is sitting, standing, or lying down; encourage them to bend. A slight bend in the arm, a tuck of the leg, a tilt of the head, and suddenly you will have a subject who feels great and looks better. For full-body shots, encourage your subject to lean – ever so slightly towards the camera.

4. Chin Out

   While it may feel unnatural and silly to clients, if you are shooting a front view of your subject, bringing their chin out is the best way to dismiss that little bit of extra skin. Even the most athletic person, if photographed in a relaxed, natural stance can end up with an unflattering double chin that they didn’t even know they had!

5. Angle the Arm

   When photographing a subject from a side angle, watch that their arm isn’t positioned flat against their side. This will result in their arm pressing into their torso and will cause it to look wider than it actually is – especially if they’re wearing a short sleeve shirt. Instead, encourage them to do something with their arm – even lifting it slightly away from their body so that it isn’t pressed up flat against them. You could also have them rest their hand on their hip, or hold something.

6. Watch the Eyes

   While encouraging your subjects to look out into the distance can result in dreamy and thoughtful portraits, you’ll want to avoid having them look too sharply to the side. The goal is to capture their eyes, including the irises – not just the whites of the eyes, which will result in unattractive images. Help to direct your subject’s eyes by having them look at something specific.

7. Watch the Nose

   Watch out for angles that are unflattering to your subject’s facial features. Photographing them from a slight angle is an attractive perspective, but watch out that their nose doesn’t extend beyond the profile of their face. Instead, have them move slightly so that their nose’s profile falls against the background of their face. This will prevent their nose from looking bigger.

8. Watch the Hair

   For your subjects who have their hair down, take care that their hair isn’t positioned sitting on their shoulders. This will photograph as messy and unkempt. Instead, consider having them put one side of their hair behind their shoulder and one side in front. Or even both sides in the front, or both behind. As long as it photographs well!

9. Be Encouraging

   Finally, be encouraging. It’s important to stay positive, friendly, and confident. Boost your subjects’ self-assurance by offering sincere encouragement throughout the photoshoot. If they look great in a shot, tell them! If you think that a specific angle is working for them, let them know. Since they will be the ones staring down the barrel of your lens, they’ll appreciate small but sincere tokens of encouragement. This will help to give them a good idea about which angles and poses work best, raising their confidence, and helping them to look their very best in photos.

photo by decar66

When it comes to helping people pose, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. After the first few shoots though, it will become second nature – and the results are more than worth it. You’ll have the tools, techniques, and confidence that you need to help empower your subjects, enabling them to look their very best, and allowing you to capture striking portraits.

What about you? Have you had practice staging friends, family, or even clients? We’d love to hear your tips and techniques for helping people to pose.