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Generally, goals for posing men include expanding their presence and accentuating their masculinity. In 60 seconds, we’re going to share five simple posing tips for men to meet these goals and make sure the guys you photograph always look their best.

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STEP #1: START WITH THE STANCE

Direct your male subjects to open their stance so that their feet are shoulder-width apart. It’s also important to point the toes slightly out for a more confident look. When the toes are pointed inward, subjects tend to look timid and sometimes even childish.

STEP #2: SHIFT THE HIP TO ONE SIDE

Next, ask your male subject to shift his hips to one side. When the hips are shifted to one side or the other, as opposed to placing equal weight on both feet, subjects look more relaxed and the pose feels more natural.

STEP #3: TAKE in A BREATH

When we inhale, our chest expands and our stomach contracts, making our chest appear broader and our stomach appear leaner. It also tends to straighten posture, so ask your subject to take in a breath before you snap the shot.

STEP #4: RELAX THE SHOULDERS

While we generally want to make our male subjects look more masculine, we don’t want them to appear stiff, so ask them to relax their shoulders.

STEP #5: GIVE THE HANDS SOMETHING TO DO

Simply placing your subject’s hands into his pocket, or leaving one at rest while the other is placed into a pocket, will help eliminate the awkwardness of your subject looking like he doesn’t know what to do with his hands while posing for a photo.

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BEFORE AND AFTER

By making these simple posing adjustments, we can clearly see that we’ve accomplished our goals of expanding our subject’s presence and boosting his masculinity.

EXPRESSIONS AND CROPS FOR STORYTELLING

With additional adjustments of facial expressions and direction, as well as multiple crops to focus on different parts of your subject’s story, you can create cohesive, impactful images that will look great in an album spread or as part of a wall art cluster.

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Stay tuned for more simple & effective photography tips & tricks in our Minute Photography series, and don’t forget that you can find more of the best education in photography, from mastering manual mode to lighting and posing your subjects, at SLR Lounge Premium.