5 Things To Remember When Posing a Bride
I just wanted to hop on here real quick to talk about posing, and specially- posing your BRIDE. When you’re photographing your bride, it is so important to first create a relaxed and fun atmosphere. They are expecting this day to be THE BEST DAY OF THEIR LIVES. They are expecting to look their absolute best. They have handpicked and paid professionals to make sure that is the case. So, you better deliver for them as their photographer. Here are 5 quick tips for posing them for some killer photos they will LOVE.
1. SOFT HANDS
The biggest question I get when photographing people is “what should I do with my hands”. I get it though- hands want to have something to do. They get confused when they’re just hanging there without purpose. One way around this is to give them a cue of movement
Touch the lace on your left hip
Tuck your hair behind your right ear
Reach up and wrap your arms around his neck
But what if you’re not doing a movement based pose? The biggest thing here is to remind them to keep their hands SOFT and RELAXED. Cue deep breaths, cue finger stretches, cue “softness”.
2. BOUQUET PLACEMENT
Most brides get their bouquet on their wedding day and have literally never held one in a photo. And the truth is, while they’re incredible beautiful, bouquet can be kind of awkward to hold. Most brides hold them too high- often blocking their neckline of their dress. Continue to remind them to hold their bouquet low (think belly button) and off to the side just a little bit. The pins should be in the BACK of the bouquet, not facing outward.
3. SHOULDERS BACK
The biggest concern a lot of my brides (and bridesmaids, and family members, and every person in front of my camera) mentions to me is their posture. I think every mother of the bride has said to me before photos to make sure they are standing up tall. We as humans, have terrible posture (I’m guilty of it too) I LOVE (no, literally LOVE) when I’m shooting the bridesmaids, and right before the photo, I will say “Deep breath, smile, and stand up tall” and they all grow about 2 inches taller. Then they all laugh because they all felt each other grow too. Posture is something you will continuously have to remind people of- stand tall, pull your shoulders back just a bit, good posture!
4. ANGLES + MOVEMENT
The most flattering angle is NOT straight on. There is a science behind it- but the most flattering position is going to almost always be at a slight angle. For a headshot, turn their body just slightly. I do a lot of movement in my posing so they are generally not straight on anyways and I’m getting all of the angles. For headshots or anything static though, slight angle to the body, head towards you, chin up just a little bit to catch the light!
5. CUES
The most important thing in my opinion- cues. I don’t even mean that you need to be barking poses at them. But you should be continuously talking to them, reinforcing what they are doing good and encouraging them into anything they need to fix. It is HARD to be on that side of the camera (if you haven’t spent time getting your photo taken, its time to book yourself a session as a refresher on this) It’s even harder if you’re constantly wondering what you should be doing. Ease their mind, let them know how they are doing, encourage them, make them laugh, stay extremely positive with everything you say.
That’s it- easy right?! The more time you spend photographing brides (especially brides who are self conscious or nervous) the better you will become with all of this and won’t have to remind yourself of these things. The bottom line is to create a relaxed and fun atmosphere for your clients (always) and find the right lighting (photo 101, yall) Any questions, as always, I’m here to help!
