Posing tips - A more flattering pose for full length female photos

Unless they're given instruction or are well-practised, it's quite difficult for someone to just stand in an open space and look perfectly relaxed. So when you ask anyone to stand a few feet away so that you can take a photo of them, quite often they'll stand as you see in the above left-side photo, a bit tense and flat-footed.

In this posing tip, I'll show you a pose for women that you will have seen many times before, I call it the Model Pose, as you see it all the time when models stop to have their photos taken, for example, on the red carpet at awards ceremonies etc...

Here's how it looks:-

Model21

Standing in this way puts the body into a lovely shape, for example notice that one shoulder is higher than the other, so even if you're just taking a 3/4 length photo, it's still a good pose to use as the upper body will still look much nicer than when standing flat footed straight on to the camera. It's a perfect natural pose for most women as it doesn't look forced or un-natural.

Here's how to do it, oh and by the way, this is strictly for women. Men, don't try standing like this unless you particularly want to look effeminate!

GRichardson-055
  • Turn your subject to the side about 30-45 degrees, this will immediately slim her down as her hips will look narrower. By the way if there is better light in one direction or the other, turn her towards that light.
  • Tell her to put nearly all her weight on the leg furthest from the camera.
  • Point the foot of the nearest leg towards the camera.
  • Once in that position she should be able to bring the leg nearest the camera slightly across the other one (this will taper the legs a little)

... and that's it!

In order to exaggerate the effect slightly and to make her look even more curvy, ask your subject to push her bum back (which she will be able to do if she is standing as described), and to tilt her head very slightly in the same direction as her hip.

See more great female posing tips at the PhotoWhoa photography site