We know., we know… You love to have a nice Instagram photo grid but in the moment of getting your photos clicked you don’t know exactly how to behave and how to pose. And at the end of the day you end up with a bunch of photos and you don’t like any of them. Worry not! First of all, know that happens to most of us. Second, there are a bunch of guidelines to help you get far better photos and here we are to share them with you.
It can be a good idea to practice them a little in the mirror or to click your own pictures at home to learn how to do it and make it seem natural once you are in front of the camera.
Check these tips and let us know if they help you get better pictures. Here we go!
1. Roll your shoulders back and suck your tummy in
If you want to appear confident in your photos start by carrying yourself in a correct posture: shoulders back, chest open and core tight. But don’t forget to breathe! You want to elongate your neck and own your pose, so feel it! Everything is about attitude here! And believe it or not, that attitude can start by the correct posture. Try it and let us know!
2. Chin forward and down
As we previously mentioned, the jawline should be visible and well defined generally speaking. A great tip to achieve a more defined jawline and to magically get rid off the annoying double chin is to push your chin slightly forward and then tuck it down a bit. If you combine this trick with tilting slightly your head and show your best profile we assure you will get instantly better results.
3. Create negative space
Photography is all about shapes. The worst thing you can do while posing is be a straight stick with feet together, dropped arms and looking straight into the camera. To break this image, play around with your limbs to create negative space. For example, you can place your one hand in your waist making a triangle shape. Or shush your hair, or keep your hands in your pockets if you happen to have, or place a hand near your face. You get the idea! Anything that breaks linearity can work: try and experiment! After a while you will find your favorite poses!
4. Create shapes and curves
This one is closely related to the previous point: to create negative space you need to break symmetry. By doing so you generate automatically more 3D images and, consequently, far more interesting ones. Try thinking on breaking symmetry while posing. This can mean to lean all your weight on one leg, push your one hip a little bit to the side, keep one shoulder higher or a touch forward, play around with one hand near your face, etc. There are virtually infinite combinations, that’s why we encourage you to find what better suits you.
5. Soften your hands
This is especially recommended for females. As previously mentioned, female portraits are generally all about delicacy, softness and curves. Very rigid fingers won’t help at all to transmit this character to your final photo. You need to let your hands flow and relax them. If you need to hold a prop or to place your hands in a way that your fingers are visible, pay attention to how you are placing them: soft fingers and a little separated generally works wonders.
6. Understand how camera lenses work
Simply put: the closer an object to the camera, the bigger it looks. So you want to point your legs, for example, towards the camera to make them appear longer. Or you might want to lean forward a tiny bit to make your chest appear broader. Understand first what kind of body shape you have and what do you want to accentuate or rather conceal. Then, apply this principle and you will see how the final result will improve greatly. Another example: a photo taken from under your waist will make you appear taller while a photo taken from above will make you far shorter. Choose wisely!
7. Highlight your strong points
You know better than anyone what are your strengths, and if not, you might want to start exploring them now. We are all beautiful unique snow flakes, and as such, we all have special features that make us who we are. If you want to get the best out of your Photoshoot, make sure you know which those are and don’t shy away to enhance them during your session. It can be your beautiful eyes, an astonishing smile, your curves, your delicate hands… you decide! Own your body and you will own your Photo Session.
8. Don’t press your arms against your body
Pressing your arms against your body will make them appear thicker and you might not like that. Plus it is always a good idea to give some space to the pose to breathe. The same happens with your tights in sitting positions: try to lift them a tiny touch and they will seem thinner in the picture.
9. Be yourself!
Yes, we will finish with the corny pep talk…. But do you know what? Getting your photos clicked is all about you, and YOU are the one to be revealed! Work on your self-confidence and allow your personality to shine! A good photographer will encourage you to do so and will help you approach the best way possible your Photoshoot. We always recommend a face to face meeting previous to the Photo Session to discuss the key points and to test the connection with your photographer. Keep in mind that the more comfortable you will feel with your photographer, the easiest will be for you to open up and show what do you have!
