1. Keep your client’s chin in mind. Having the chin be too high can create that “up the nose” look. Having the chin be too low can cause double chins.

2. When posing families or small groups using a pyramid shape with some people higher than others can create a shape that’s pleasing to the eye and pose people in a flattering way.

3. Paying attention to composition of the photo as a whole is very important. Rather than just posing someone and framing them in the middle of the photo, try putting them slightly off to one side or the other to add visual interest.

4. Avoid the prison mugshot look and shooting someone with a direct profile shot.

5. I keep the focus on the eyes of my subject. If I’m photographing one person I like to keep the main focal point on the eye that is closest to the camera. If I’m photographing a couple and using a lower aperture I’ll keep the focal point on the face that’s closest to the camera, although usually both people end up in focus.

6. When doing sitting poses with anyone it’s best to keep the knees closed instead of apart. It looks more appropriate and flattering.

7. Eyes don’t always have to be open to produce a good and thought-provoking image. Sometimes the best and most intimate images of a couple are ones where one person has their eyes closed and looks deep in love.

8. Keeping a space between the arm and the body will help your subject’s waist appear trimmer as well as their arms.

9. Have your client relax their shoulders. Sometimes they are nervous to have their photos taken and that can result in a kind of slouched look as the shoulders go up because of their tension.

10. Relax the fingers and hands. The last post I was talking about giving your clients something to do with their hands. Sometimes they start to “over focus” on their hands and the fingers can become kind of stiff. If you ask the bride to put her hand up on the groom’s cheek sometimes her hand looks like she’s trying to do jazz fingers. Reminding your clients to relax those hands and keep them natural is important.

11. Creating a gap between the arm and the waist can be a great way to slim the waist, but creating gaps in general, for example between the legs instead of having your client stand with her legs together can be a great way to make your client appear more narrow.

12. Avoid armpits. End of story.

13. Sometimes for us female photographers it’s hard to figure out how to pose a male in a masculine pose since we’re so used to photographing couples or females. If you need good male pose inspiration check out GQ magazine. Their fashion section for guys usually has some good masculine poses you can recreate.

14. Find all your pose inspiration in fashion magazines. This is a great way to keep up with styles and poses that are current and popular. You can stay ahead of the curve instead of being inspired by photographer XYZ who takes beautiful photos, but the poses are reminiscent of the 80s.

15. When doing group photos try to keep everyone’s heads at different levels to create more visual interest.

16. If you’re shooting large groups at a wedding it’s a great idea to bring a stool with you so you can be slightly elevated. When you shoot large groups straight on it’s often hard to see everyone’s faces and sometimes you have heads randomly placed between other people’s shoulders. Getting that above view will help every person look more flattering and you’ll be able to see everyone too.

17. If you do a pose with a hand in the pocket, have either the thumb or fingers left out so it appears more casual. Sometimes a hand in the pocket can also appear to look like a stump without a finger out to give the illusion that there are other fingers too.

18. Talk to your clients behind the camera, always have it up to your eye. When you take it down to crack a joke or explain something to them you could miss out on a natural opportunity for laugher and a great photo.

19. Have your clients tilt their head one way or another. This is a great way to define a relationship in engagement photos and make your clients feel relaxed. It’s also a great way to adjust the chin and make sure you are getting a flattering angle for the photograph.

20. Outline your expectations before your photo session with posing. I always give my clients a rundown of general rules and the most important one is always, “If I ask you to do something that seems awkward or uncomfortable please say no. If it feels awkward, it will probably look awkward.”

We have some great posing resources here too in the shop. We did a class on posing which you can watch the recording of >here< We also have a >Wedding Pose Guide< and a >Boudoir Pose Guide<

When I finally decided I wanted to try a boudoir shoot it was quite awhile into my business career. I asked around to a few friends, but it just wasn’t what they were looking for. I took the dive and put up an ad on craigslist (yes that was me!). I offered a free boudoir shoot to someone in trade for the ability to share them in my portfolio.

Of course, I had to be careful. There were certain emails I didn’t respond to and I’ll leave you to fill in the details. I required that before the boudoir shoot everyone interested in scheduling one would have to meet me at a Starbucks. Public place, safety and I also wanted them to get comfortable with me before they made the choice to do it.

Thankfully my caution paid off and that one free client turned out to be a great referral and things grew from there. I wouldn’t recommend this method of getting into boudoir photography for everyone. It was a bit risky for some, but it worked for me.

If you guys are interested in getting into boudoir photography start with the clients you’ve already had and see if they’ll come back and do a trial boudoir session for you. Ask your friends, ask your booked brides…eventually if you keep asking around you’ll meet that one gal who has always wanted to do it and it’ll happen. It might take awhile. If you decide to go the Craigslist route – please use caution and be safe!

The hardest thing I hear about getting into boudoir photography is trying to find poses that are classy. Look up boudoir photographers and take some images with you. I used to load up image pose ideas into my iPad and bring that along to fish through if I got stumped. The more you get used to it the more natural it will become. If you would like a boudoir posing guide we have one >in the shop<.

Once you start boudoir photography know that your clients are going to need a lot of attention to detail in preparing. Help them figure out what to wear, put a limit on outfits (some clients come overwhelmed with ideas), pick a location that’s out of their norm. Boudoir shoots at home work for some ladies who can do the mind over matter thing, but it doesn’t work for everyone. It’s easier to feel sexy in an environment that’s new to you. Sometimes it’s hard to picture classy, sexy images done in your own home, but it can be done if you bring a few clever props. Not only do we discuss the location heavily, but we also discuss a lot about what to wear and how to relax. Some clients practice poses in the mirror. I encourage my clients to get their hair and makeup done. While I don’t offer those services as part of a package I do recommend places and people they can go to who I have worked with before. Have your clients really get ready so they feel sexy and special. Compliment them, have fun and laugh! I always bring a cheap bottle of wine and some chocolate for those who want that help relaxing.

Carrie Swails Photography 

2. WB or White Balance is a setting used to ensure you have even white and grey tones in your photos. Different kind of lights can make the whites in a photo appear to have a color to them. Fluorescent lights can make white sheets appear bluish. Tungsten lights (like a lamp) can make things appear yellow. Cameras have many settings for White Balance, but learning to use custom white balance is a great tool. Check out my blog about white balance to learn more about how to use the custom setting.

3. Aperture controls how much light is allowed through your lens by setting the f-stop. A lower f-stop (like 1.4) will let in a lot of light and a higher f-stop (like 16) will let in less light.

4. Shutter speed controls how long the image sensor is exposed to light. A lower shutter speed will let in more light, but may give your subjects motion blur if they are moving in the photo.

5. You don’t need to use manual focus to photograph in manual mode. Manual mode means you’ll have more control over how your camera reads the light, but manual focus will entail a few extra seconds to use the focusing ring in order to capture a sharp image. Many photographers auto focus so they can photograph and capture moments quicker and ensure they are tack sharp.

6. A great camera does not make a great photographer, but a great photographer can make any camera (even that iPhone) great! By learning how to photograph in manual you can become an expert on what your camera is capable of.

7. Every camera has a ‘sweet spot.’ Even when you’re photographing in manual and you’re looking through the viewfinder and the line is right in the very center of your light meter it may still be too bright or too dark in your camera. My camera’s sweet spot is just one line over toward underexposed from that center spot on my light meter.

8. When photographing in manual there are no ‘go to’ settings for shutter speed, aperture, or anything else. You photograph and set your camera up for what’s best in that light or for whatever it is you want to achieve.

9. The higher your ISO is the more ‘noisy’ or grainy your photos will be. Know that there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s a style choice. I love grainy black and white images from wedding receptions, but it’s not everyone’s style. If you have to push your ISO up higher you’re not doing anything wrong.

10. Shooting in RAW mode instead of JPEG will help Manual photographers in case they get the exposure or white balance a bit off. A RAW photo holds all of your camera information in the file and can be easily fixed later in Photoshop without ruining the photo.

11. Practice! Photographing in manual is hard, but it will force you to learn your camera inside and out and you’ll be a better photographer for it. It takes practice so don’t expect everything to come naturally the first time out.

12. Don’t believe the myth that all professional photographers photograph in aperture priority or some other mode. Believing that is an excuse to not learn your camera’s capabilities. All pro photographers have a favorite mode they photograph in, but you can guarantee all of them also know how to photograph in manual and that learning experience helped them decide their choices later.

13. If you’re not getting tack sharp images it’s unlikely to be your camera’s fault (although it could be because your shutter speed is low). It’s most likely the lack of a sharp lens. Tomorrow I’ll be blogging a lens tutorial to discuss the differences between lenses and how they can affect your photos.

14. Many portrait and wedding photographers photograph with their aperture wide open, meaning on the lowest f-stop their lens will allow so they get portraits with background bokeh (blur) and sharp subjects in the foreground. To achieve that look try to keep your f-stop at 2.8 or lower.

15. Steps to setting up in manual: First set white balance, second set ISO, then set aperture, and finally your shutter speed.

16. Scott Kelby’s digital photography books are great for showing you photos and the settings recipe. His recipes may not be right for everyone’s styles, but I learned a lot by looking through his books and trying some of the shots for myself.

17.  It’s okay to ask for help. If you need help shooting manual start a thread in our free forum and our community would be glad to help you!

18. Do some test shots. Your camera records its settings in the image file so you don’t have to write them down separately. You can test your camera, test settings, and see the difference in how manual feels and looks by going back later and looking through your images and seeing what the settings are that helped you achieve a certain look.

19. You won’t get things right every shot. There will be lots of over exposed and underexposed shots when you photograph manual and you’re learning your settings.

20. Once you’ve mastered your manual settings in your DSLR camera, you can purchase an external flash and start learning about setting your flash manually to perfect your settings with that. Using a flash will affect how your settings look completely differently so if you’re into flash photography you’ll want to learn what settings mean with and without your flash.

These tips are not by any means rules to follow. These are tips that made learning photography easier for me, and there are more tips out there I’m sure. There is no wrong or right way to learn to photograph in manual mode and everyone has their own style and ways of doing things that work best for them. If you have a question, feel free to ask me a question or ask a question in our free forum. If you need further help with photography check out my posing guides in the shop.

Are you signed up for tonight’s live online class about wedding photography from 6pm-7pm Mountain Time? $15! >Sign up<

Carrie Swails Photography

*November 2012 Update* Check out the sequel to this article >here< to get 20 additional posing tips!

These tips are not intended to be any sort of official rules. These are things I’ve learned as I grew into a photographer. I can only speak to my own knowledge, experience, and style. Not all of them will fit everyone’s style and some of them might work or not work depending on what type of photography you are focusing on or how your photoshoot is going. These are tips I merely use as a “general rule of thumb” set of tips.

1. Don’t shoot shoulders square on. Shoulders are the widest part of a body and as a photographer it is our job to flatter the least flattering parts of our bodies. Shooting straight on is not flattering. Angle the shoulders slightly to lead the viewer into the photo.

2. If it bends, then bend it. Don’t let your clients have straight joints. It looks stiff and unrelaxed. Asking your client instead to slightly bend an arm or walk as they have their photo taken will help your client look relaxed and naturally posed. This rule also applies to the neck. If the neck looks stiff, ask your client to tilt their head slightly.

3. Shoot straight on, or better from above. Shooting from below a person makes even the most gorgeous subject look awkward. Shooting from above can make someone appear slimmer, eliminates double chins, and can provide a beautiful look into your subjects eyes. Shooting from below can make someone’s hips appear wider than they are or any other body part and this is generally unflattering.

4. No up the nose. Sometimes we forget our perspective and as moms when we photograph newborns we look at them the way a mom would holding them and take a photo. Anytime you are shooting a face from below or at an angle, be careful you are not doing ‘up the nose’ shots where you can see up your client’s nostrils. This can happen during any type of photography, so it’s good to be aware.

5. Sharkeyes. Sharkeyes are when someone’s eyes in a photo are black and have no light or color to them. Ensure that the eyes of your clients have good catchlights or sparkle to them by asking them to tilt their head or turn slightly one way or another. These small movements can give that sparkle to a client’s eye that can make or break a photo.

6. Put weight on the back leg. Have clients angle their shoulders so they’re not square to your camera and put their weight on their back leg. This automatically makes them relax.

7. Give your clients lots of direction. Most people are uncomfortable in front of the camera and you have to direct them. Giving them direction will help them feel confident and that confidence will show up in the photos.

8. Let one pose become many. You can move your own feet, or zoom in or zoom out or move slightly to the side and take photos from different angles.

9. Have your clients look places other than your camera. You can tell them to look away, look down over their shoulder, look past your camera to provide a different emotion to your photos.

10. Give your clients encouragement. When they’re in front of the camera they can’t see what they look like and they need to know if they look good. When they hit a good pose or you’re taking photos that you know have hit the mark, let them know how good they look.

11. Portraits are traditionally shot a few degrees above the eyes.

12. Bring a stepstool with you to all your photography shoots and weddings.

13. Talk to your clients. Getting to know them gives them a sense of trust with you. You want your subject to trust that you know what you’re doing and can make them look good.

14. Sometimes people’s faces get stiff. Ask your clients to take a deep breath and breath out with their lips slightly open. The few moments after this your clients face will be relaxed and natural – so snap a few. If that doesn’t work, ask them to do the “pufferfish” face where they blow up their cheeks and then let it all out. That helps their face to relax too. If you do it with them, they won’t feel as silly.

15. Give them something to do with their hands. They can touch their cheek, run their hands through their hair, put their hands on a nearby object…something.

16. Show them what you mean. Instead of trying to tell your client how to pose, get in the pose to show them how you want it to look. You’re a photographer right? You are visual and probably learn visually and it’s likely that your clients are visual learners too!

17. Be aware of ears. Shooting people straight on can make their ears appear large. With women if they are tucking their hair behind their ear or if their ear sticks out just slightly it can be one of those things that will bother them later in photos and can sometimes look distorted when in 2-dimensional photography form.

18. Get close. One of the biggest newbie mistakes is to shoot from far away and get lots of the background or landscape in the photo. This happens a lot when we’re not confident with posing. If you force yourself to get close the photo becomes more about the clients and their interactions with each other or with you than about the background.

19. Limbs. If you are cropping out anyone’s body ensure that your crop lines do not fall at the joints (wrists, knees, elbows, etc.). When this happens it gives the appearance that the subject’s body does not continue past the frame of the photo. Instead if you have to crop, do it where there isn’t a join and this will give the impression that the rest of their arm, leg, etc. continues beyond the photo.

20. Watch for shadows and light. There’s a reason a lot of photographers like to shoot in that ‘golden hour’ either in the wee hours in the morning or just before sunset. The light is even and not harsh and it prevents you from having strange shadows on your clients faces. Shadows below the nose or below the eyes can give your client the appearance of not being as good looking as they truly are. Whatever time of day you are shooting aim to ensure that your clients faces are in perfectly even light where there are no harsh shadows. If you have to shoot in the middle of the day, shoot in the shade.

The shop has posing guides in our ebooks section. We have a posing guide for weddings and a posing guide for boudoir currently, but I’m working on putting together a portrait posing guide as well. Get over and purchase a posing guide and print it out and take it with you to your photo sessions!

New news – yesterday I released an awesome tool that will help you do marketing for free. It’s an SEO guide to help you format your website and blogging so you can be found better in search results. Make sure you get it!

http://carrieswailsphotography.com