There’s an infinite number of poses the human body can do.

Whether you’re a model, or a pro photographer, thus guide will help with learning how to pose, or teaching someone how to pose.

Different photography niches and the many jobs you’ll take on as a new model will make things even more complicated. We know the pressure of landing on one pose that works can be overwhelming.

I started as a studio photographer (headshots/portraits), where you’d often want to land on a few perfect shots so posing was very important. Here’s a self-portrait:

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But since I’ve moved to Hawaii that market calls for more family photos, elopements (related: Elopement Photographer Pricing Guide) and such. Couples involve a little more posing, but my style is more candid and photo journalistic, which calls for more “prompts” that elicit candid moments:

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Before we dive into tips from other pros, I’ll start with a few of mine:

• If you’re new to photography, I’d start with a book specific on posing. Because you can draw from Instagram for inspo, but you’ll soon find out what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another. I’m a fan of Lindsay Adler, so I bought her book on posing and liked it because it address posing for everyone; men, women, groups, curvy, etc.
• Reading (and watching YouTube videos) will help you understand the basics and theory of posing, then you can draw from Instagram and Pinterest for inspiration, the more you start replicating shots you like, the more comfortable you’ll be with posing. Comfortable to the point where, for me, I’m mostly posing on the fly and based on experience of what works.
• Get the must have shots first. It’s different for different photographers, but have an idea of your must have photos and execute on those first. Realistically, if a client walks away with a few good shots – they’re happy.

Now let’s get the opinions of other pros, we’ve put together this little guide as a do-it-all, jump-off point for most people starting in the modeling industry with the help of people from the other side of the camera.

Here are some of the best posing tips and advice for models, from professional photographers.

Create Mood Boards – Lara Jade

Good photos start with good research. Fashion photographer Lara Jade has this advice for both new and veteran models alike: find inspiration from Pinterest and put together a mood board.

Run searches for keywords that you’re interested in. For a fashion photographer like Lara, running searches for spring-summer, or fall-winter, helps her come up with “stories” around the seasons.

Lara explains:

“The designers create these trends every season, and then we look at those trends for inspiration for what story ideas we can come up with.”

This is just as beneficial for models since they’ll be responsible for half of the photograph, so put together a mood board using Pinterest before getting into the set.

Cover Basic Poses – Mark Fitzgerald

There are three standard fashion poses, according to Mark. While these looks won’t be winning you any awards, Mark thinks these poses are classics and are therefore expected by many clients.

Simple, Standing and Relaxed Poses – These simple poses can be modified by simply turning your body or your eye line in different directions such as into the lens, 45 degrees on either side of the camera, or directly into the key light.

Seated Poses – You can say a lot with a seated pose. Mark says it can be even just as or more versatile than the basic standing pose. You can play a lot with a seated pose by just adjusting the direction of the knees and feet, adjusting either the height of the camera or the seat height.

Beauty Poses – The success of a beauty shoot depends heavily on a lot of details like makeup or lighting. While you normally don’t have control over those, you have full control of your expressions — whether that’s neutral, happy, intense or whatever the scene calls for.

5 Go-to Poses for Female Models – Pye Jirsa

From more general pointers, let’s talk about specific poses every female model can pull from their back pockets by Pye Jirsa:

1. The Standing “Hourglass” Pose
   • To bring out the “hourglass” pose, kick the hip to one side then bring the opposite knee forward to overlap with the other knee.
   • Lift the heel of the foot in front then rest it on the ball and toes.
   • Bend the elbows slightly to create some space between your arms and your sides.
   • Chin down.
2. The S-Curve
   • Follow the same steps above, only you’ll be angling your body so that your hips and sides are facing the camera.
   • If you want to minimize curves, cross your feet and put your weight on the back foot.
   • To accentuate curves, follow the steps above but put your weight on the front leg this time.
3. The Triangles in Action
   • Spring into action from the standing pose. Walking straight to the camera is a popular shot so we’ll work with that.
   • To add some dynamism and direct the viewer into you, create raise both arms over your head and bend both elbows, creating “triangles”.
4. The Headshot
   • Flex your “best side”.
   • Push the chin down and accentuate your jawline.
5. The Sitting Pretty
   • You can do a million variations of a seated pose, but here are some’s pointers:
   • Scoot over to the edge of the seat so your legs won’t be “hanging off” the seat which can be unflattering.
   • Narrow the legs if you want a more feminine look.
   • Opening the legs more gives off a more masculine vibe.
   • Don’t hide your hands. Give them something to do like propping it up on a nearby prop or have it rest on a thigh.

5 Go-to Poses for Male Models – Jeff Rojas

Jeff Rojas goes into five, back-pocket poses any male model can pull off. Like the female model poses above, these go-to poses for men should also be seen as “springboards” into other poses.

1. The Sitting Down on a Flight of Stairs
   • This works even if you’re not sitting down on a flight of stairs.
   • Find a comfortable spot.
   • Extend one leg out and put one elbow back on top of a prop
   • Create triangles with your arms for variation.
2. The James Dean Lean
   • While standing, lean one elbow on a prop and look cool… think James Dean-cool.
3. The Lean Against the Wall
   • Put the Sitting pose and James Dean Lean together and you get this look.
   • Lean your back against the wall or any prop.
   • Create triangles by rolling back one knee and resting the foot on the wall.
4. The Walk
   • If you have something to throw over your shoulder, do it.
   • Make sure you have some space between your arms and your sides.
   • Walk confidently in front of the camera.
5. The Hands in your Pockets
   • Even non-models have mastered this pose.
   • Bend your elbows a little to create a bit of space between your arms and body.
   • Spread the legs into a mini “power stance”.

Understanding Lighting and Being a “Moth” – Jen Brook

While Jen Brook isn’t technically a photographer and is more of a fashion model, Jen has spent a lot of time behind the lens conceptualizing new projects and being a creative director.

She drops over a dozen modeling tips and “cheats” in this PetaPixel piece so I suggest reading through it if you have the time. For now, take home these two gold nuggets that stood out to me in the write-up:

First, get a basic understanding of light. Read up on the inverse square law (it’s not as technical as it sounds) which means objects closer to the light source will be a degree brighter than objects further away from it.

Jen says: “Learning how lighting falls is invaluable. Ask which is your key light and then work towards it”

The second is “being aware of ‘mothing’”. Take note of the spot where the photographer meters their light and be aware of it for the duration of the scene. This will help you plan out and correct your poses if you do stray away from the key light.

Move! – Richard Avedon

Not so long ago, fashion publications were brimming with photos of living mannequins and statues wearing expensive garments, until Avedon came into the picture.

His work is characterized by energetic photos of models leaping, running, and frolicking in the frame, and you should experiment with movement as well even as a beginning model.

Avedon says: “One of the most powerful parts of movement is that it is a constant surprise. You don’t know what the fabric is going to do, what the hair is going to do, you can control it to a certain degree— and there is a surprise.”

Of course, we’re a few decades away from when Avedon revolutionized fashion photography and you should always work inside the context of the job at hand. But once you’ve covered the basics and have secured most of what you need, try working in dynamism and motion into your shots.