Let's Talk Posing!!

EW posing... I used to be allergic I swear. Posing has to be the HARDEST part about photography. The hands, WHY MUST PEOPLE HAVE HANDS?? What do you do with those things? The honest truth is that posing can't be learned by looking at pinterest. Yes, you might be able to recreate a pose once based off that picture you saw, but that doesn't mean you know what you're doing. The trick to nailing posing is PRACTICE. You have to get comfortable directing your model and be confident in it. Recently I just started noticing how much more confident I was in this compared to the past. Here are some tips and tricks that may help you:

1. Confidence is #1. Your model is more than likely not going to know what to do in front of the camera, and they will look to you for direction. You have to take this opportunity and run. Even if you don't know what to say, just be confident in what you say and how you say it. If you reflect confidence, that's how your client will feel. Boom, that's what you want your client experience to be like.

2. The dreaded hands. Can't we just cut them off already???? No!! The hands are perfect for framing the face. They add a certain dimension/drama to your photo, and we want that eye-catching look. You want your model to standout, so with their hands being around their face, you make that happen. Take this picture for example:

Take a second and think about what it would look like if Jamiah had her arms down by her sides or in her pockets. Now pockets are fine don't get me wrong. But here...because this is a full length shot, you want to really make her stand out. Because of her arm/hand placement, that's where we look first instead of getting lost in all the other aspects of the photo like the doorway. Let's look at another:

My go-to pose is one with one arm up around the face and the other grasping the elbow OBVIOUSLY lol. The neck is always a great place or resting a hand on the shoulder/collarbone area. In this photo, we are immediately drawn to Patrice's face because she has her hand right there. Not to mention the fact that her hand placement makes the photo look 100x more composed.

3. Crossing the legs/ankles. This produces the same affect. Instead of having your model's legs just side-by-side, make them look a little more appealing by crossing them. Instant composition points!

4. Standing, Propping, Squatting, Sitting. The 4 basics of posing. If you remember these, that's most of the hassle. All you have left to do is deal with the hands and feet! Easy-peasy. Haha I know, easier said than done.

Like I said before, posing isn't something you can just read about or look at to master. You really have to practice the photographer-to-client interaction. Because honestly all it takes is for you to turn your camera on and freeze. Poof, there goes the stuff you read and the pose you wanted to recreate. But if you take nothing else from this, just know that: In a nutshell, arms and legs are leading lines that you can use to your advantage. Place them so that your eyes will follow them to the part of the picture that you want to draw attention to.

**Keep in mind that guys are more limited.