A few tips of how to pose!

I remember when one of my best friends got married, him and his wife were absolutely ecstatic when they had finally received their wedding photos.

As they pulled up their wedding photos to view the slideshow with their friends, he said he remember his wife having a huge smile, but suddenly the look on her face changed to disappointment as they got to the end of the preparation and portraits.

After the slideshow was finished, he asked why she had that look on her face, and she said, “You know… I honestly didn’t know at the time… but really thinking about it, I just didn’t like the way our photographer posed me for the portraits. I just don’t think I look very flattering or beautiful in those poses at all.”

What a disappointment.

To have that one day in your life in the most beautiful dress, but to not be happy with the way you are posed in the portraits. From that day on, I made sure it was my mission to be a master in the art of posing brides and couples.

Sadly, a lot of photographers don’t understand that it’s not just about the the beautiful compositions, backdrops, and even moments. Though those are all important, it is an absolute necessity to be a master in the art of posing to ensure the bride and the groom look absolutely dazzling on the best day of their life.

How to Look Your Best In Your Wedding Portraits

Posing is an ART. But understandably it's an art that a lot of couples are nervous about, and SADLY that a lot of so-called "professional" photographers actually don't know how to direct correctly.

So if you happen to have a photographer who doesn't know how to pose you with expertise and intention, what are a few things you should remember?

Here are a few pointers. I call these THE FOUNDATION of posing:

1. Imaginary String: 

First off you want to ensure that your spine is straight, but NOT stiff and unnatural. I often ask my couples to act as if there is a string on the back/top of their head pull up. Have a straight spine and natural curve in you lumbar (lower back).

2. Shoulders:

Push your shoulders 1 inch back. This will further bring confidence and beauty in your pose.

3. Weight Distribution:

You want your weight distribution to be uneven or else your pose will look unnatural. There are two ways to do this. Either cross one leg over the other or put more weight on your back leg. Look at the photo on the right. Each of these techniques were used on this photo of Kirsten.


How to NOT Have CHEESY and FAKE Wedding Portraits

Even though wedding portraits are posed... no one wants portraits that LOOK posed. The more candid and authentic your portraits look the BETTER.

Now there are tons of ways to ensure this... but just in case you have a photographer who doesn't know what he's doing, here's one of the MAIN tips you can do.

I call it the NOSE X-FACTOR.

So what is it? 

Imagine you have an imaginary line coming out of the tip of your nose and eyes.

Fake and Cheesy

First. I did not take this photo. Notice how the imaginary lines DO NOT cross and make an X. There is no "Nose X-Factor". 

The truth is couples don't actually do this which is why it makes the portraits "look" posed... but photographers make couples do this ALL THE TIME.

The Nose X-Factor

Gives the portrait a sense of candid. As if I caught them in a real beautiful moment.

So how about posing your hands, arms, and even your eyes?

Avoiding the "Floating Head”

Photographers who don't know how to pose the hands and arms often give brides and grooms what is called the floating head (what you don't want). It's when you have a close up shot of the face, but no hands and arms in the photo.

You can use hands and fingers to lead attention to where you want with a close up. In this portrait I wanted to lead attention to Jana's face . So I gently directed her hands naturally in this position. As you can see, this portrait does not look forced or rigid even though the hands are in a place that you would not expect. This can enhance a close up portrait in a really beautiful way.