Posing can be a challenge – with some exceptions. It should look natural, not forced, and flatter the subject. It’s an awkward experience to stand before someone who expects you to know how to tell them what to do and have to wing it, so knowing how to pose couples is a great valuable skill. But, there is help. Mango Street’s super short tutorial du jour comes with five tips for posing and directing and couples. While the video title says “posing,” they’re quick to say that “directing” is really more their style.
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1. Make The Subjects Comfortable
Easily overlooked in the fray of things that are going through a photographer’s mind is thinking about how your subject might be feeling. The more comfortable you can make them, the better your images will be.
2. Find The Best Light
Photography is just a record of light when you get right down to it, go for the best you can and it will enhance your images greatly.
3. Movement
Movement is an icebreaker as well as a posing tool. Getting your subject moving can loosen them up and help the session be more emotive and uninhibited. Plus, it invites the opportunity for candid moments to pop up for you to grab.
4. Emotion
Love and laughter can be elicited from couples with direction. Asking them to tell each other what they most love about one another can cause feelings to bubble to the surface where they can be captured. Laughter can be provoked by asking the couple to say silly things to each other.
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5. Intimacy
Intimacy can be shown by keeping couples literally connected. Tangled limbs and maintaining a point of contact are a couple ways to do this.
Check out more from Mango Street’s YouTube channel and our new Wedding Workshop which will cover wedding couples’ portraits and posing if you want to learn more.
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