3 Posing Tips for Couples

I am so excited to share my three go to tips for posing couples! Every time I book a client, I always aim to serve and love them the best that I can! This means that I want them to LOVE their photos as much as I do! The key to them loving their photos is getting them to relax in front of the camera! Your couples are relying on you to guide them through posing, because they (most likely!) are not used to being in front of the camera and may be feeling a little awkward! As a photographer it is my job to pose my clients in ways that are the most flattering and genuine! These three posing tips are things that I’m constantly watching for throughout my session to make sure my couples look their best!

Photography: Brianne Johnson Photography

1. Always give their hands something to do!

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You know when you get in front of the camera and suddenly all you can think is, what do I do with my hands?! We need to instruct our clients on this before they even ask! In the picture on the left I forgot to give Alec an instruction of what to do with his right hand! So naturally he just left it down by his side. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, but which picture do you like better? I still think it is a cute picture, but on the left they just look a little more posed and stiff. Typically in the pose that they’re in I would have told Alec to stick his free hand in his pocket or to put it on Jenny’s waist to give it something to do. In the next picture I changed up the pose a little bit so that Alec could wrap both of his hands around Jenny and just like that, they look so much more natural and relaxed!

2. Use up one pose as much as you can!

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I remember when I first started photographing couples I would pose them, take a few pictures, and then I felt like I had to immediately come up with a new pose. And I would do that the entire session, which meant I was blowing through poses way too fast and I was creating too much work for my couple as well! Now I direct my couple into a pose and then I get as much as I can out of that one pose! I get sweet moments, joyful moments, different angles and lengths, and give them just small varied directions so that they create several different moments within one pose. That way I can coach my couples into a pose and then when they know that they’ve mastered it, they can relax and create those candid moments, instead of immediately trying to instruct them in a new pose.

3. Create movement

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Capture candid moments for your couples by giving them poses that require movement! Walking and twirling shots are directions that are obviously going to create a lot of movement on camera. Even when I put my couples in more of the traditional standstill poses, I am still trying to create little movements for my couples to do so that they look natural and have candid expressions instead of looking stiff and posed.

Want to learn more?!
Click here to see 3 lighting tips for photographers!