How to Pose for Photos: Tips for the Camera-Shy

How do you want to look in your photos? Look at portraits of people that express different emotions like power, masculinity, femininity, joy, vulnerability and sensuality, Suh says. Then pick three to channel during your photo session.

I like this exercise because it prompts people to think more deeply about their own self-perception, says Suh. “Who do I want to be? Have I been limited by my past experiences?”

Find your balance

Posing requires a lot of balance. You need to hold your pose long enough for the camera to snap the photo. To help you ease into these postures, Suh shares a few warm-up exercises.

Stand at attention. Straighten your legs, lock your knees and keep your body firm. This military position is not comfortable, says Suh, but it can help center your balance.

Act like you’re casually waiting for the bus. “Allow your body to rest on one foot,” says Suh. Then begin to shift your weight around — maybe put a little more weight on the back or front leg to feel where you’re most centered.

Loosen up. “When we’re nervous, we tend to curl up into a ball,” says Suh. “Our shoulders go up and our knees lock.” Relaxing our joints makes us look and feel more comfortable in our poses.

Try these classic poses

The hand-on-hip pose: If you just want a good, no-frills picture of yourself, Yeboah recommends this pose. Start by crossing your legs. “Then, instead of putting your hand on your hip, put your hand at the top of your butt” so that you’re stretching your arm a bit more, she says. That’ll open your chest up and lift your neck up, “so that you have that authoritative stance.”
The magazine model pose: Models often contort their bodies in unique ways to add a feeling of movement and visual interest – and you can steal inspiration from those looks too. “Distort and contort your face to look unique and weird and cool,” says Yeboah. Use your body to “replicate symbols.” Move your body in peculiar shapes, bring your arms above your head or twist at odd degrees.
The power pose: If your expressions for this shoot are “fearless” or “bold,” try standing with your “legs wide open as if you’re going into a split,” says Yeboah. Taking up lots of space in the frame and spreading your limbs wide creates a powerful disposition.
The catch-me-in-action pose: You can also be dynamic: crouch or jump, lean on chairs or beams or get low to the ground. “If I want to be a baddie, I am squatting down to the floor in a good Lil’ Kim squat,” says Yeboah.

Play around with your facial expressions

When it comes to closeups, don’t be afraid to show different sides of your face or exaggerate your emotions. “We often look dead straight at the camera” when we take photos, says Suh. “We tend to forget so many other angles.”

Tilt your head up, down and side to side: By changing those three angles alone, “we’ve just hit three different poses,” says Suh. “We’re expressing something emotional too.” A tilt up of the chin can connote power, a tilt down sweetness. See what emotions come to the surface when you rotate your features around.
For a “cool girl vibe,” look down at the camera: says Yeboah. Tilt your head slightly up, gaze down past your nose and slightly part your lips.
For a cute, demure look, softly cup or graze your hands around your face: Yeboah uses this pose to model jewelry or beauty products.
Close your eyes and grin with all your teeth: “Just give the biggest joker smile you can and shut your eyes really tight,” says Yeboah. “It gives off that essence of innocence and joy.”
Try not to stare at the camera: “That can be quite intimidating,” says Yeboah. Instead, pick a nearby target: someone standing next to the photographer or a light fixture, for example. These photos always come out lovely. “It’s like, ‘Oh – this person is in their own world, but they look so content.’ “

If this is your first time trying these tips, you might feel a bit awkward or conspicuous. But Suh says to view posing as a muscle you can train. “Have patience with yourself and practice that creative mind and muscle. That’s how you start getting funky.”

In moments when you feel unnatural, talk to yourself, says Suh. Say: “this feels a little foreign, but I’m OK with that. I’m exploring.”

Learning requires strengths is like training a muscle, for me the secret is about the mood that you choose and how you balance your body to feel more comfortable. Don´t be afraid to experiment with different expression and angles. In the beginning results strange, but after if you still exploring poses, you will find that confidence and you photo will be incredible.

Book your session and discover how easy it can be to look and feel your best in photos!