Preparing Poses for your Photoshoot!

Wondering what poses you are going to do? Read this for tips and tricks.

Prepare a list before you go

Write down a list of at least 20 different poses before you come to your photoshoot so you have an idea of what you want to do! This will save time during your shoot and allow you to get more photos!

Search for Inspiration Online!

If you are having a tough time coming up with your 20+ poses, Pinterest and Instagram are great resources for ideas. Take screenshots, save them to your own Pinterest board, and gather a mood board for your shoot. Check out my Pinterest board for some ideas:

https://www.pinterest.com/alexislundphotography/

Practice your Poses

Make sure your poses are something you can do! Practice them in front of a mirror or take a self timer image on your smart phone to visualize yourself doing them. Keep in mind that these poses don't have to be static. There will be poses that you see online that you might not be able to hold for a photo. That is probably because they did the pose dynamically and the photographer captured a split second of them doing the move! Don't do or try anything that you will hurt yourself doing.

Utilize your Environment

During your shoot, look around at your surroundings and see if you can use anything for your poses. Stairs, railings, light posts, trees, and walls are great ways to get creative!

Make It Unique

Find a pose that you really like? Try changing one element at a time to see if you can make it more unique. Change an arm placement, head focus direction, add a forced arch, or try it jumping in the air. Play around with the poses and don't be afraid to be unconventional!

On the Spot

When in doubt, improv it out! I genuinely enjoy having dancers bring some music and do a little improv sesh. It gets them comfortable and I can see the way they move! You can also capture those performative moments that you don't even realize that you did.

I hope you learned some things about posing! Whatever you do, don't be nervous coming to your shoot! If you don't have any ideas, I sure do! I'm a professional dancer, a dance teacher, and a dance photographer so I will be more than willing to help you look your best!

Best,

Alexis