Tera Leigh

My clients often tell me they are nervous before the photo session! That amazes me – being in front of the camera is the easy part, right? Well, maybe not . ..  here are some tips I give my clients on how to pose for the camera. It doesn’t matter if you are posing in front of a camera phone with your friends, or at the royal wedding, the basics for looking good in front of the camera are pretty much the same.

There are a lot of tips that I share with my clients . . . in fact, I may over-share, but I want you to feel great in front of the camera.  Whether you are working with me, or another photographer, they should walk you through perfecting your pose, but knowing the basics should increase your confidence.

Women & Posing

1.  In general, you ALWAYS want to turn your body so that you have a 45 degree angle to the camera. Think about women who pose on a red carpet. One leg is forward, one leg is slightly back with the weight on the back leg. Let the front foot turn outwards slightly away from your body.  That is not to say that you NEVER pose with your body straight to the camera, but it is a rare thing, and usually, the photographer will step to the side to photograph you at an angle.

2. Legs: t here are two variations for your leg positions:  again with the red carpet analogy, bring the front leg out to your side and then softly slide it back until your knees are touching, keeping that front leg just slightly bent, with your toe resting slightly on the ground. This creates a beautiful frame for the rest of your body. This puts your feet parallel, but the front leg is bent. The alternative pose is a slightly wider stance (again, the weight is on the back leg) and point your front toes away from your body so that your feet are in ten and twelve o’clock positions. In the variation, your front leg is still bent.

3. Lower your chin SLIGHTLY so that the focus goes to your eyes and not your chin. This also helps to keep your eyes look more alert and open. Also, this creates a shadow under your chin. A common mistake that women make when they are conscious of their jaw line is to raise their chin, thinking that stretches and firms the skin. Instead, what it does is to expose that skin to more light, and so you can make yourself look like you have a double chin when you don’t! Concentrate on lifting your head up, slightly out away from your body, and then point your chin down, and you’ll be happier with the result.

4. Keep a small amount of space between your arms and your body. This keeps your arms from being pressed against your body and thereby looking fuller, and it shows your curves. Men look great with their arms folded, because it makes their chest look big and their arms look bulkier. Women, however, don’t want to look bulkier. If you hold your arms down at your side, with no separation between the arm and the body, you look as wide as you are from the outside edge of each arm to the other. With just a slight bit of separation between the arms and the body, your wides part is only the width of your waist. This is why you see women on the red carpet posed this way! Instant weight loss, and you look curvy and sexy! This also applies when seated!

5. When seated on a chair or the ground . . . sit on your hips, not your bum! By holding your body up on your hip, rather than your bum, your body looks thinner, and it shows off your curves. When laying down in this position, your legs will look longer, too! (The exception to this would be if you were in a pose where you were hugging your knees, for example.)

 

6. DON’T slouch. Remember your posture. Take a deep breath, stand tall and then exhale and relax your shoulders. The inhalation lifts the body, the exhalation relaxes your stance, and the breathing in general will help you focus and feel calm.

7. Relax the hands, and try to position them so that the camera sees the side of the hand, rather than the full back side of the palm. When a person is not relaxed, you can usually see it in their smile and hands, so try to relax both!

The biggest key to getting great portraits is finding a photographer that you trust, and relaxing enough to enjoy the process. I’m always happy, when an appointment ends, to hear many of my clients say that the session was so much more fun than they expected! That’s what I want for you – great fun, and amazing portraits that will last a lifetime.