Posing teens and seniors can often be tricky and the one thing that I get asked the most about “how do you know how to pose them?” I have several “rules” I make sure I always stick to when posing. There are the big things like creating an “s” curve, to make sure hands and body parts are not cut off, to pay attention to composition and to never shoot from below, but there are smaller “rules” that I keep in mind, that I think really help
- I access the client: I consider their height, their weight, their eyes, their hair etc these things all play a part. How? well if they tend to have squinty eyes (some people just naturally do) then I always pose them under me, so that their eyes look wider. If they are a big curvy, then they are never straight on to me. If they have long hair, then we make sure we use that when posing. All these things play a part, a critical part of having unique images.
- Pay attention to Hands: Its the one thing that most don’t know what to do with, their hands. Where do I put them? First thing is to keep them natural, second, to never have palms facing out and keep fingers together. I never want their hands smashing their cheeks or face.
- Push them a little outside of their comfort zone: While I want things to be natural, I also want there to be a bit of an “editorial” flair. So I will push just a bit in order to capture some amazing shots
- Eyes: Very rarely will you see a picture of mine where the focus is not on the eyes. So even if ask them to tilt, I will always have their eyes on me!
- Legs: Always having them spread just a bit, with angles, making sure knees are always together when sitting making sure legs are extended as you don’t want them to be in their chin.
These are simple tiny things, but they make the biggest difference in the shots.
This gorgeous…I mean stunning young lady was nothing less than a joy to work! Her “look” is a photographers dream and our hair and makeup team (led by Adrianne of the Loft Styling Studio) knocked it out of the park! Arianna, thank you so much for being so amazing to work with, and for being up to anything. We loved working with you!
BTW did you know that all our teen and senior sessions include complimentary hair and makeup? Want to schedule your teen or senior? email the studio at info@sara-annephotography.com
