Best friend or fierce enemy - Posing for Photos - Part 1

Has this ever happened to you:

You are at a family or social function and all of a sudden its picture time - say ‘Cheeeese’!....- and you have no clue what to do with all these arms and legs, and what about my hips…urgh.

There is a good chance that you are your own worst critic. Most people are much harsher in critiquing themselves in pictures than other people look at them in those.

No matter if you have that natural model-body everyone thinks they should have, or if you are a curvy woman - a few simple #posing #tricks help to find a place for your arms and legs and look awesome in a #picture.

We had the pleasure to work with Jacqueline, a wife, mom and entrepreneur to help us take a few sample images to help us to show better what little changes in posing can do (...and since we are #photographers, we figured we better incorporate some pictures… 😉 )

Here are a few simple tips and tricks to follow and to make you look better in pictures:

Example 1

the good and the bad

LEFT:

· Right hand hidden behind body

· Left upper arm against body – makes the upper

arm and body look wider/bigger

· Left hand ‘dangling’ alone, ’lost’

RIGHT:

· Both arms/hands visible

· Arms in hips, define waistline

· open space between arm and body("negative space" in photo-lingo)

· left hand in waist emphasizes body curve

posing for straight on pictures

Example 2:

LEFT:

· hands ‘hidden’ behind body

· elbows pointing backwards, little space between arms

and body

· chin is up, head is backwards

RIGHT:

· Hands on hips, defining waist

· Elbows sideways, space between body and arms

· head slightly forward

· chin slightly down

woman showing side-poses do's and don'ts

Example 3- lets see if you recognize a pattern! :

LEFT:

· Arm ‘dangling, lost’

· Elbow/arm hiding waist/curves

· Fingers closed, almost fist like

· Left arm hidden behind head, hand weighing down hair

RIGHT:

· Arm on hip, accentuating curves

· Elbow away from body, space between arm and body, allowing to show waist

· Open/soft fingers, relaxed · Arm away from head,

Model showing different stance options

Example 4:

LEFT:

• Right hand too far down on thigh, ‘slipping’

• Right shoulder looks ‘weight bearing’

• Left arm ‘widens’ upper body and hips, hiding waistline

RIGHT:

• Right hand higher on thigh, makes thigh look longer

• Left arm away from body, showing space between arm and body

• Left hand on hip, emphasizing hip/body shape

A quick recap of general rules:

Body:

· Create an ‘S’ curve with your body, put weight on one hip, emphasize that with arm and hand positioning, don’t stand straight like a soldier

Arms/hands:

· Have hands and arms showing, do not hide (parts of) them behind the body

· Create open space (photographers call this ‘negative space’ ) between arms and body, arms close/along the body ‘add up’ to perceived width of the body, open spaces break that up.

Don’t squeeze your arms against the body, that makes them look wider

· Give your hand something to do, don’t let them ‘hang’ in the empty

· Relax your hands, don’t make a fist or have the fingers too straight/stiff

Head:

· Head slightly forward and chin down, helps define your jaw lines and tightens up loose skin on the neck

These are just some very basic tips for 'starter'. We will release a couple more blog-posts related to posing soon and show a few more #tipsandtricks to make posing for photos more fun! And no worries guys - we will 'deal' with you too ;-) !

We hope these simple tricks help you enjoy seeing yourself in pictures more! Now go and practice in front of a mirror - and have fun with it!

Happy posing

Julie and Wolfgang

#julieandwolfgangphotography