I encourage you to think about a branding photoshoot as a creative adventure and business investment. This way, you will create exciting and joyful vibes around your upcoming photoshoot and see it as an opportunity to elevate your personal brand. The ROI will be gratifying for your personal experience and the visual side of your brand.
In preparation for a photo shoot, you must consider many details, including your outfit, makeup, hairstyle, location, props, and mindset. And the last one includes understanding how to pose for photos with confidence and style.
HOW TO POSE FOR PHOTOS?
Throughout my career, I’ve done hundreds of photo sessions with people who never did a professional photo session before and thus didn’t know how to pose for photos. They needed guidance and professional advice, which I am always happy to provide. My photographer’s mission is to take technically correct and artistic photos. And my personal mission is to help women feel beautiful and empowered; stand up in front of the camera with confidence, joy and have an inspiring photo session experience.
When you think about how to pose for photos, the first thing that comes to your mind is positioning your body in front of the camera in the most flattering way. And you are right, but it’s only one aspect of posing. Of course, it’s important to know how to pose for photos, but another essential step is to prepare for posing, which is part of the preparation for a branding photoshoot.
I divide posing into two different aspects:
- Technical. It’s about how to stand in front of the camera, where to place your hand, how to position your legs, and so on. I will write about it in one of the next articles.
- Mood and Mindset. It’s about feelings and the emotional side of posing, which includes framing your mindset in the direction that guarantees a positive result. It’s essential for posing with confidence and style. And following are tips on how to achieve that.
HOW TO POSE FOR PHOTOS WITH CONFIDENCE AND STYLE
- Feeling of discomfort in front of the camera is normal
- Forget about perfection
- Hydrate
- Limit distractions
- Make sure you have time
- Dress to impress yourself
- Body language and posture
- Directions, know where to look
- Practice, practice, practice
- Pay attention to makeup and hairstyle
- Smile
- See posing as entertainment rather than a task
- Feeling of discomfort in front of the camera is normal
In general, the feeling of discomfort happens when you do something for the first time. Remember your first day at work, first presentation, or public speaking experience. Did you feel comfortable? I am happy for you if you answered yes, but according to much research, the majority of people respond negatively. The feeling of comfort comes with repetition. You will feel more comfortable doing presentations and public speaking in your second, third, and fourth year at work.
So, accept the feeling of discomfort on your first photo session and trust your photographer with all posing guidance and advice. Concentrate on human interaction, communicate with the photographer, discuss some fun stories, and talk about future vacations, about dream trips. Remember anything that makes you smile and inspired. Keep your mind busy with some positive images; follow the photographer’s instructions, and you will get wonderful branding photos where you look beautiful, relaxed, and comfortable.
- Forget about perfection
What is a perfect photo? If we take fashion photos as an example of perfection. Then it’s necessary to understand that behind every “perfect” photo is a team of makeup artists, hairstylists, assistants, a photographer, creative directors, and retouchers. Sometimes it takes hours to get just one good photo.
Perfection is subjective, unachievable, and illusional. So, I recommend you forget about perfection and have fun during a photoshoot. The more enjoyable the process is, the more you will love your photos. Great experiences bring the best results.
- Hydrate
Yes, drinking water during a photoshoot is important. It freshens up, hydrates your mind and body, and helps to relax.
- Limit distractions
It’s a good rule of thumb to turn off the phone or keep it in silent mode for a duration of a branding photoshoot. The less distraction around you, the more attention and time you will have for posing and enjoying the photo session.
- Make sure you have time
Photo session takes time, and photo sessions that result in great photos take more time. Let me explain this with numbers. A 30-minute photoshoot will result in two-five good business headshots. Two hours of photoshoots with one-two outfit changes will result in 30-40 lifestyle photos. If your goal is to have a diverse collection of photos that you can use on your website and social media for several months, then be ready to invest around 3-5 hours in a photo session. This timeframe includes makeup and hair styling.
- Dress to impress yourself
A personal branding photoshoot is about you and then your business. You will be posing in front of the camera; thus, you will be seen. Later these photos will be published on your website and social media. Your images will represent you, your personal brand, and your business mission. It seems appropriate for this purpose to pay extra attention to personal style and clothing. And the best way to create a collection of photoshoot outfits that will work magic is to follow the philosophy behind the phrase: “Dress to impress yourself!”
- Body language and posture
Ask yourself what vibes you want to project with your branding photos. Friendly and welcoming or serious and ambitious? Creative or conservative? Spiritual or business-focused? Your body language and posture need to show those vibes. Pose following the general mood of your personal brand.
- Directions, know where to look
I always advise my clients on how to pose for photos and where to look, and I also encourage them to be creative and trust their intuition. And by this, I mean trust their body movements. For example, if they feel like looking to the right and focusing their eyes on the painting hanging on the wall, they should do so. Such intuitive posing always results in candid, lifestyle photos.
- Practice, practice, practice
Yes, we all know that practice is a road to mastery. Try to practice posing at home a couple of days before the photoshoot day; it will have an amazing and comforting ROI during the photoshoot. Look for posing inspiration on Pinterest or ask me about my posing guide video.
- Pay attention to makeup and hairstyle
Having a professional makeup and hairstylist working with you will result in a tremendous add-on in confidence. It’s part of a self-care experience when you allow someone to take care of you. And in this case, these irreplaceable professionals will take care of your makeup and hairstyle. So, secure 2-3 hours for this purpose on a photoshoot day.
- Smile
Smiling opens many doors and is a sincere, nonverbal way of saying: “Welcome!” So remember to smile; it’s fun!
- See posing as entertainment rather than work
Consider your upcoming branding photo session as an exciting and interesting event. This way posing will turn into a fun and entertaining activity.
Confidence comes from doing something, being actively engaged in a process, staying open-minded, and being ready to learn and accept advice. I can talk more about how to pose for photos, but practicing it is the best way to get a result. So pay attention to the advice in this article, allocate time for preparation, and then enjoy the photoshoot process.
Sharing is caring
