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How to pose for a photo – 5 really easy tips

Do you shy away from photos? Many women do but it’s a shame to not be a part of capturing precious memories. Or are you happy enough to get in the shot but would like some easy tips to achieve the best pose? Well, we’re spilling our secrets. Having been on photo shoots for nearly two decades we’ve been able to master some simple pointers that are most flattering for the majority of subjects. While we don’t suggest you try and do all of these at once, you’ll probably feel a little uncomfortable, perhaps keep one or two in mind if you tend to dislike being in photos.

  1. This first tip is probably the most commonly made mistake… putting your chin too high. Yes, we’re all worried about double chins but if the photo taker is below your eye level then ensure you look down to them, at least slightly. It does look better than a chin salute to the sun, even if you do need to contend with a double chin as it opens up your eyes. Many selfie-takers will put the camera quite high to naturally draw you to look up- that’s fine. But otherwise keep your eyes on the prize and that is the lens!
Left: Vivienne with her chin up. Right: Vivienne with her chin slightly down. The tiniest of angles make a HUGE difference in photos.

2. A really simple change up in your legs can have a massive effect on how you look in photos. A general rule in photography is to avoid symmetry. Instead of keeping your legs straight, ever-so-slightly bend one of your knees (if it’s comfortable enough) and the triangular nature of your body gives an hourglass effect. You can either bend one knee towards the other or simply shift your weight to one side. We can’t stress enough how a small movement can be amplified in shot so don’t overdo your pose.

Left: Vivienne with a straight stance. Right: Vivienne with a slight knee bend/weight shift.

 3. Shift your shoulders. It might seem strange but if you’re feeling self-conscious it will show up in a photo ten times as much. So, if you have a spare moment to yourself, give yourself a little shimmy and shake your shoulders. This will take all of that nervous tension away. Then, if the composition of people will allow, put your shoulders on a very small angle, one shoulder closer to the camera than the other. This will shed kilos through the lens! Repeat: keep the angles very small, everything looks a lot more exaggerated in a photo.

Left: Vivienne straight to camera. Right: Vivienne on an angle from the camera.

4. You’ve probably seen all the young girls put their hand on their hip for photos, right? They’re doing this to position their arm to look firm and also create a triangle-shaped gap from their body- it can be slimming. However many women don’t particularly wish to show their arms. If you’re in a long sleeve, this can work. But if you’re wearing something sleeveless and personally prefer not to make your arms stand out then slightly angle back your elbow so that your arm fades into the background a little and you don’t need to worry about exposing too much arm. It’s not foolproof but it’s worth a try we say. In the end, it’s all trial and error.

Left: Vivienne with her elbow in line to her body. Right: Vivienne with her elbow slightly back.

5. Last but not least, an old technique we’ve been using for ages is a sleight of hand trick. One arm with your hand on your hip or however you prefer to place it. But the other is softly hugging your thigh. This looks like a relaxed pose but has the added benefit of trimming down one side of your mid-section. You’re slightly covering your true silhouette at the widest part – therefore the brain is tricked into thinking its narrower than it is.

Here we’ve asked Vivienne to put her right arm and hand over her right thigh. She has her left elbow slightly back and shoulders just a touch uneven. She also has one leg bent and her chin is slightly down. The whole package! 

Now, we’d like to reiterate that we don’t expect anyone to be able to keep all of these in mind for your next pic. You might end up looking like a contortionist! But if you have a focus area that you’d like direction on then maybe keep a note for the next time someone asks to capture a memory.

Now, when it comes to photos, just say yes! Remember the people you’re in the photo with and they make you smile from the inside out and that will always look perfect.


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3 thoughts on “How to pose for a photo – 5 really easy tips”

  1. Great photo tips Rebecca! My sister introduced me to the slight angle, hand resting
    casually down thigh.
    Fi

    Reply

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