Posing your subject provides you with the opportunity to tell a different story with every frame. At the same time, it helps improve the appearance of the subject (or subjects) in the photo while creating intimate, memorable moments that add emotion and depth to your overall composition.
In the advent of digital cameras and unlimited shooting, photographers and their subjects are able to go for more creative and less directed shots. Then again, you’ll find that there is still a need for posed moments in almost every photography style.
Photographing Posed Moments
Nowadays, both photographers and clients have been taking a lot of easy breezy, candid photos. After all, candids bring out the realness of the moment. Shooters often wait from a distance, often with a lens that provides a longer reach so you don’t disrupt your subjects, and click whenever you see fit.
However, even during formal occasions like weddings, you’ll find that people—especially the parents of the newlyweds—still expect to see beautiful shots that feature contrived poses. And when you’re photographing a model, you’ll find that you can’t expect the subject to come up with all of the poses on their own. As a pro photographer, you’ll need to be able to do candid shots and direct posed shots that won’t look boring, unnatural, or out of place.
Capturing posed moments and still making them look natural is actually easier than it seems. With some practice, any photographer will be able to direct his or her subjects in a lot of different ways while still making them look natural and effortless.
To learn more about how can improve your posed shots, check out our tips below:
How To Capture Natural Poses:
Making your subjects pose for a photograph is easy, but the challenge is in making the overall outcome look as natural as possible. Anybody, even your subjects, can tell if a photo is awkward or overly directed.
Fortunately, there are several ways that you can direct your subjects to pose while still making the entire shot look casual. Take these tips from professional studio photographers, event photographers, and wedding photographers to heart to achieve more natural-looking, posed shots.
Study different poses beforehand
Being able to come up with many different poses on the fly is an important skill that photographers develop through experience. In fact, it’s part of what clients pay good photographers for. If you’re a beginner or still practicing the art of directing your subjects, it helps to know that everybody starts off by studying (and memorizing) different poses.
You can simply go online and search for collections of poses for people subjects, and even animals. However, we find that the better way is to learn from the pros and search for video tutorials on how to make your subjects pose naturally in front of the camera. You can save the videos and photo samples (pegs) on your phone or tablet and review them while you’re shooting. As you go along, you’ll start memorizing the poses and would soon be able to come up with new poses on the spot.
Remember to avoid flat poses that are unattractive and awkward, such as the traditional ID picture pose or other “candid” shots that simply look too good to be true. Keep the poses simple and check to see if your subjects are comfortable before taking your shot. To ensure this, you may want to discuss and consider pose suggestions that will make your subject feel more confident.
Find the right light
For a more natural-looking photo, you’ll want to have light that looks natural as well. This means having well-distributed, diffused lighting around your subjects, even if you’re shooting inside a studio. Another advantage of having good lighting from all angles is that you can move and shoot around them instead of having to move them to chase the right lighting, which can be very disruptive for your subjects.
Get on their level
What makes a posed shot natural is its “snapshot” look, so you’ll want to make your photos look like they were taken on a more personal, eye-to-eye angle. While this is not a strict rule, you’ll need to keep your subjects in mind and shoot from an angle that is flattering and makes them feel comfortable.
When shooting children and pets, you’ll want to get down on their level and lower your camera angle. This ensures that you capture their faces and emotions well. For the guys, you can shoot from a slightly lower angle to make them look more powerful. For the ladies, you can shoot from a slightly higher angle to make them look dainty while adjusting their poses accordingly to avoid making them look plump.
Don’t count off
One of the best ways to get natural posed shots is to not count your subjects off when taking their photo. We know, it’s been a technique that’s been around for a very long time, but you’ll find that you can get the most relaxed and real shots when your subjects are unaware of when you’ll actually be clicking the shutter. After all, you’re the photographer. You’re the one who gets to decide which moments are worth preserving!
Make your subjects interact with each other
Perhaps one of the best-kept secrets of wedding photographers is asking the subjects to talk and laugh with each other about anything under the sun—in front of the camera. This is bound to get you some of the best, most natural-looking shots, even when caught in a pose that you’ve directed. Simply ask them to talk about the last thing that they argued about, like china patterns, and watch the magic unfold in front of your lens.
Add a little movement
Smiling and posing even for just five minutes straight can be tiring for your subject/s. Asking them to walk or move around a bit can help break the monotony and give you fresh new poses to work with. It also helps them relax a little bit and you get wonderful, natural-looking shots of them in movement.
Say cheese!
This probably goes without saying, but a happy posed moment would be incomplete without a smile. Even if your human subjects aren’t looking straight into the camera and are looking far off into the distance, smiles automatically draw viewers in and give the photo a cheerful and relaxed vibe.
Then again, we all know that not all smiles for a photo would look genuine. Try to have fun with your subjects and those smiles will instantly look real. Remember, genuine happy smiles include the elevation of cheeks and slight wrinkling of the corners of the eyes.
Here’s another pro tip: Once the smiles have started to look stiff and tired, you can ask your subjects to relax. Then, ask them to blink and smile when you’re ready to click the shutter (about two seconds early).
