The Scenario
We all know the feeling. It’s been forever since you’ve had professional photos taken. You’re WAY overdue when you realize that you don’t even recognize the people in the most recent photos you have. FINALLY convince your husband that it’ll be worth the investment & that “it’ll be fun” (‘cause let’s be real … NO husband EVER looks forward to photo shoot day, am I right?!)
Since you know it will probably be awhile until your next photo session, you feel extra pressure for everyone to look their best. That’s where I come in. Today I’m giving you my top 3 posing tips to help you achieve the most flattering photos that you’ll all love for years to come.
The Tips
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POSTURE.
Posture is literally EVERYTHING when it comes to posing. I for one am a sloucher, so I get that maintaining proper posture isn’t the most comfortable position to hold. But I promise you’ll be SO much happier with your images if you stand up tall, elongate that spine, roll those shoulders back & suck it in for that hour & a half. It’ll be worth it, I swear.
2. STANCE.
The way you stand can make all the difference in how flattering an image is. Here’s a really important concept to keep in mind. Anything that is closer to the camera will appear larger.
So to all my ladies out there, if you’re getting lazy on maintaining that posture we just talked about & start to slouch, your hips are likely pushing forward toward the camera which is going to make your midsection look the largest since it’s the part of your body that is closet to the camera. I know you’re probably thinking this concept should have been discussed in the posture section, but your stance can help play a huge role in keeping this under control. You never want to stand with both feet on the same plane. Instead, you’ll ’ll either place one foot in front of the other as if you’re taking a step (it’s generally most flattering to transfer all of your weight to the front foot while the ball of the back foot remains in contact with the ground.) OR you’ll bring your feet close together with one foot slightly in front of the other. Then you’ll pop the heel of the foot that’s slightly in front, off the ground & bend your knee inward toward your other leg. This will help create that beautiful “S” curve which will show off your figure & accentuate all of your best angles. By combining the posture & stance tips, you’ll be in the perfect position to pop that booty & lean your head slightly toward the camera. Now that you’ve corrected your posture & stance, your face should now be closest to the camera & your hips should be furthest away, thus accentuating your figure to it’s maximum potential.
The same stance concept applies to walking shots, so ladies, when your photographer asks you to walk toward the camera, you want to pretend you’re on a balance beam by placing one foot in front of the other.
Okay now for all you husbands out there, your stance is important too! While I realize you’re not as paranoid about accentuating your figure, you do want to look comfortable, strong & confident. SO you’ll be standing with your feet shoulder width apart with one foot slightly in front of the other. Rather than having your weight evenly distributed between both feet, you’ll want to put most of your weight on one foot which will make the image feel less stiff & more relaxed.
3. THE DOUBLE CHIN DILEMMA.
Whether we’d like to admit it or not, we’ve basically all got a slight double chin & most of us a pretty self conscious about it. When we smile, we often tend to retract our neck thus creating a double chin even if we didn’t have one to begin with. The way to help minimize it is to extend your chin as far out as you can. While maintaining that extension, bring your chin down slightly. This will not only elongate your neck, but it will help smooth out that skin under your chin. This tip is VERY important for all of the men out there. I would love to know the real reason why this behavior exists, but for some reason when I’m photographing men, almost every single one of you tilt your chin upward. I don’t know if you’re thinking this will make you look more tough, but in reality, it will just put all of the emphasis on your chin & nostrils. Since I’m shorter than most men out there, I’m already shooting from a lower angle & then with this head up maneuver, all I’ll see is your nose hairs. Finally, if you stick your tongue to the roof of your mouth, it will also help suck that chin in.
Hopefully you’re all prepared now for your upcoming photo shoot. Any questions or other tips you’d like to hear?
Comment below & let me know!
