We may live in a world of camera phones and selfie-sticks, but that doesn’t mean that the average person can stand in front of a camera and know how to look their best. That’s where WE come in. As professional photographers, making our clients feel comfortable and look amazing in front of our cameras is a HUGE part of our job. Posing couples is a skill that has taken years to master and we’re still perfecting it all the time. When we first started our business eight years ago, we would just ask people to “stand over there and snuggle” and hope that the images would be awesome. Sometimes we got lucky and they were, but other times the couple looked awkward and the photos we took of them weren’t as flattering as they could have been. The reality is, most people just don’t function that way. Our couples are real people, not models. They are like us and  get nervous and suddenly don’t know what to do with their hands when you point a “big camera” in their direction. And you know what? That’s totally ok. It’s our job to walk you through it.

Over the years, we’ve learned that directing our couples well, gives them confidence. They eventually get to a place where they can relax and have fun in front of the camera, but it takes a little work to get there. By giving clear instructions and explaining to them why we’re asking them to do certain things, they become our partners in creating awesome images. It makes the whole experience much more positive for all of us. (And it even ups their “selfie” game in the process. Ha ha!)

Today, we wanted to share a simple tip that will help you guide your clients and take your posing to the next level. It’s a little trick we like to call “The Lean.” For the image below, we directed our couple into a simple “prom pose” style set up. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this first image, but by applying a very small tweak we were able to make the pose just a little bit stronger.

Here’s where “The Lean” comes in. We asked them to lean slightly towards the camera at the waist. Huge difference, right? Our bride’s eyes pop, her smile looks bigger and her expression is much more engaged. Even the curve of her body looks more defined.

Now, here’s the thing about “The Lean”, it feels super weird when you’re doing it. So the key is to preface this direction by telling them that they will feel a little silly and explaining why you’re asking them to do it. Whatever part of you is closest to the camera will appear the largest. Our goal in asking for the lean is to make sure that our client’s eyes and face get the most focus. Our natural tendency when a camera is pointed at us is to lean away from it, which means that our body will look bigger. NOBODY, especially the ladies, wants that, right?

The lean comes with some other added benefits too, the act of leaning toward the camera usually means your couple will naturally stretch their faces in your direction, elongating the neck and defining the cheek bones. It’s a big help for those who suffer from the dreaded double chin. If needed, you can even suggest that they exaggerate the effect by asking them to stretch their face towards you a bit, like a turtle poking it’s head out of it’s shell.

Since the lean feels kinda silly, a lot of our couples end up laughing, which can also create more natural smiles and some cute interactions between them.

It’s a simple trick with big results! Hope you guys enjoyed today’s post! Feel free to comment with any questions you may have. We’d love to know if you want to see more content like this.