Three Tips to Pose Your Subjects Better

Photography Tips

Lighting and camera settings aside, posing plays a huge role in adding life to a portrait. However, many photographers really struggle when it comes to posing their subjects. Good poses shape the subjects better and add value to the image. It thus becomes quite essential for photographers to be able to pose their subjects better and take good photos. Portrait photographer Eli Infante shares three simple tips and tricks to help you better pose your subjects and improve your portraits:

Posing becomes difficult when the subjects in front of the camera become too conscious of themselves. The awkward feeling translates into an awkward pose and makes the image unappealing. Like Infante shares in the video, it’s important that you get them to do something and keep them occupied.

Giving them a jacket is a simple yet effective way to do this. A jacket can be easily slipped over the wardrobe they’re wearing and the subject can hold and wear it differently for varied styling and poses. Similarly, using props gives something to the subject to keep their hands busy and do something. Some examples of props include umbrellas, chairs, hats, and sunglasses. Such props can make the subjects feel more comfortable and even inspire them to do some great looking poses.

And finally, look around to get inspiration from your environment to pose your subjects. There can be structures where the subject can lean, sit, or take support. Use the environment as a base and pose your subjects to make the best use of the available resources.

“Look around in your environment and figure out if there’s any area you can use to set the base for your pose.”

Spend time looking at the work of other good fashion and portrait photographers. This can give you loads of ideas to pose your subjects. And since the same pose may not work equally well for everyone, be sure to evaluate if a pose is doing justice to the subject. Do not just try and force a pose. A good pose should seem effortless and make the subject appear elegant.