5 Easy Poses That Will Flatter Your Body Type
One of the biggest fears that I hear from women entrepreneurs who decide to “postpone” or knock hiring a branding (& lifestyle) photographer towards the bottom of their business priority list is that they don’t know how to pose in front of the camera.
I’m sure you’ve felt or are currently feeling this way. Even if your branding photographer has assured you that they will pose you and give you direction, you’re still worried. Maybe you feel awkward and have no idea what you are doing. Maybe you are concerned that it’s not worth the investment if you don’t know for sure that you’re going to look great. And you’re right - the worst thing you can do is spend the money to hire a branding photographer and end up with photos that you are never going to use. What’s the point in that?
That’s why I’ve come up with a list of 5 easy poses that will flatter your body type (no matter your body type) for you to use at your next branding & lifestyle photo shoot. I’m confident that by the end of this read, you will feel a sense of relief because these poses are so easy! Anyone can do them and you don’t have to be a professional model.
Here they are!
1) Walking towards the camera.
Yes, you read that right! Walking towards the camera is a super easy pose to start off with. Intuitively, walking toward the camera doesn’t sound like a pose because it’s more of an action. However, if you love candid shots, this is a great one. All you have to do is walk slowly towards the camera and alternate crossing each leg in front of the other, while either looking directly at the camera and smiling, or looking side to side, up or down. I like to have my clients try all of these variations so that they can choose which ones they like the best.
2) Lifting your shoulder towards your chin and smiling.
This is another super easy pose that requires zero past experience. It’s a really great pose to emphasize your feminine side. To complete, angle your torso so that it is 90 degrees from the camera, gently grab your front arm, and slightly lift your shoulder towards your chin and smile. Make sure to leave some space between your front arm and your body so that you do not make your arm appear larger. Your branding photographer can help you with this if you are unsure as to what this means.
3) Crossing your arms and leaning your weight to one side.
If you’re not a big fan of angles or your profile, fear not! I love this pose for the woman entrepreneur who wants to show off a more serious and bad-ass side of themselves to their audience. You can either gently smile, or put on a more serious face, depending on the look that you are going for. All you have to do is cross your arms (like so below) and lean all of your weight onto one leg. This helps add more dimension to the pose and actually makes you look less tense if you’re nervous.
4) Leaning your torso forward and laughing.
Want to add some cheer and playfulness to your branding photos?! Then this is an excellent pose for you! This pose works best when you have a wall directly behind you to lean on, or a background that is not super distracting (as below). To execute this pose, lean your lower body against the wall (or just ground your feet if there is no wall to lean against), and bring your torso and head forward towards the camera while placing your hands on your hips. You can either look and laugh towards the camera, or smile to either side of you for a more candid appearance.
5) Leaning your weight to one leg and holding your elbow.
This is a super easy pose for a blogger (or any woman entrepreneur) that is going for a candid and lifestyle-type look. The best part of it is that anyone can pull off this look. And when I say anyone, I mean YOU! All you have to do is lean your weight onto one leg, and grab the elbow of the opposite arm to the leg that you are leaning on. Smile and look in the same direction as arm that you are holding. If this sounds confusing, see below.
There you have it! - 5 easy poses that will flatter any body type to get you feeling more confident and ready for your branding photo shoot. Remember that a good branding & lifestyle photographer will direct you with posing on the day of your shoot.