How to Pose for Pictures: 10 Tricks Every Girl Should Know

1. Use your tongue. 

This is one of best tricks out there—and the weirdest. It might feel strange, but by pressing your tongue on the roof of your mouth while smiling is an effective way to help avoid the dreaded double chin, as it elongates your neck and your jawline. We’ve tried it, and it works! It also works for Heidi Klum and Renee Zellweger, who are fans of this trick.

2. Angle your face.

Unless you’re being snapped by a professional portait photographer, it’s key to avoid direct head-on shots. Why? Because there’ll be an absence of shadows, which could make your face look wider, larger, or slightly discolored. Instead, stand slightly sideways and tilt your chin a little bit upward or a tad downward. From there, be sure to look at something just above your natural line of sight.

When your head is tilted slightly up or down, it’s more flattering than getting snapped head-on.

3. Twist your body and position your arms

Ah, the old red carpet trick: Position your body 45 degrees and put the arm closest to the camera on your hip. Then plant one foot slightly in front of the other, point your toe to the camera and place your weight on your back leg.

Ever wonder why every celebrity poses with her camera-facing arm on her hip? It’s because that particular move ensures that her upper arm isn’t smooshed against her body making it look flattened (read: larger.) If you find the hand-on-hip pose to be a bit forced, try holding your arms out from your sides ever so slightly.

Love her or hate her, Paris Hilton’s a posing poster girl.

She looks a little less pose-y than Paris, but she’s still harnessing the power of the hand-on-hip move.

5. Cross your ankles.

If you’re being shot head-on (maybe for a street style snap?) cross your legs, starting at the calf. This stance will make your hips look narrower and your legs look longer, plus it looks a bit more casual. It’s worth noting that the pose also works when you’re sitting. Although it’s always preferable to stand in pictures, if you happen to be on a chair or a couch when someone comes at you with a camera, sit up straight and cross your legs at the ankles. It’ll be more flattering than not doing anything with those stems.

Cross those ankles for a more flattering shot.

6. Don’t follow the group.

The key to a stellar group shot? Not all doing the same pose. Not only is that hokey (hello, standing in height order on prom night) but everyone is shaped differently, so the viewer’s eye will naturally gravitate to who looks best in the pose, not the picture. Instead, be sure to stand comfortably without mimicking the people directly next to you.

7. Learn to smile for the camera.

Smiling is a tricky thing when it comes to photos. Too big, and you look silly, but none at all can make you look broody or angry. The solution? The ‘natural’ smile you so often do when the camera’s not on you.

Smiling too wide on purpose will cause your face to tense up, your eyes to squint, and your cheeks to puff out, which aren’t the benchmarks of an attractive photo. Instead, take a beat to relax your face and open your mouth  slightly, so that your lower lip matches the curve of your upper teeth. This is universally flattering, and allows you to decide how much teeth you want to show. Not a fan of smiling with teeth? Learn to smize (smile with your eyes, for the uninitiated.)

One thing to note: When you smile naturally, the area around your eyes tends to crease a bit, which reads as much more sincere than stiffly smiling just with your mouth.

A genuine smile can be spotted a mile away–and always makes for a more flattering photo.

8. Practice good posture.

You’ve heard it 1,000 times, but standing up straight really does make a difference. Not only will it elongate you in photos, but it gives you an aura of strength and confidence, which is naturally alluring.

9. Understand proportion. 

It’s a basic rule: Whatever is closer to the camera will appear larger.

10. Loosen up.

Unless you’re a professional model, odds are that most of the photos you find yourself in are fun, casual shots with friends. As much you think “posing” for these types of pictures will make you look better, the fact remains that loosing up and having a little fun will almost always make for a more flattering snap. Since you’re not trying as hard, there will be less room for error.

Beginner Tips for Posing People with Confidence

The reason posing can create problems is because inexperienced models will look to you for direction. If your model is waiting for you to tell her what to do and you freeze up or don’t have any decent ideas you will struggle to create good photos. It’s up to you to take charge and tell the model how to pose. The key is preparation – you need a set of poses you can suggest to the model.

Before the shoot

Here are some points to think about before the shoot:

What kind of shoot is it? The posing requirements for a family portrait are very different than a fashion shoot. You can think about posing once you’ve decided what type of photo you are going to create.

Look for inspiration online. Chances are you have a few favourite photographers you follow on websites like Flickr and 500px. You will find some good poses in their portfolios. Download your favourites to your smartphone (or use Pinterest to create a mood board, covered in more detail in my article How to Plan the Perfect Portrait Shoot). Then you have something you can show to your model. Don’t try and commit the poses to memory – you will forget them under pressure.

Match the pose to your model. This is important. You’ll see some wonderful poses in fashion magazines. But many of them need a professional model to carry them off. Your model may not be able to do that, especially if she has a different body type than the people in the magazine.

Buy the Posing App. It gives you over 300 poses that you can access on your smartphone. The best way to use it is to select five to ten and make them your favourites. Then you can show them to your model so she understands the what you’d like her to do.

Screen shots from the Posing App. The line drawings are easy to understand and follow.

During the shoot

No matter how experienced or inexperienced your model is, here are some tips to help you find the perfect pose during the shoot:

Build rapport. This is essential. If your model likes you and sees what you are trying to achieve she will work harder. If you talk to her about things she likes you will see more life in her eyes and get better expressions, including natural smiles. She will be more relaxed. If your model is tense, you are going to struggle to get natural looking portraits. Take the pressure off her and bring it back on yourself. Assure her that if the photos don’t work out that it’s your fault, not hers. Build her confidence.

Look for natural expression. As you talk to your model you will notice natural expressions and mannerisms that you can use. Don’t be afraid to say “hold that pose” or “do what you did just now again”.

I noticed the model had a interesting mannerism so I asked her to repeat the gesture. This portrait is one of her favourites

Adapt poses. When you suggest a pose, such as one used in another photo or from the Posing App, treat it as a starting point, then adapt it to suit your model. If she looks unnatural in a certain pose, then adapt it so it suits her body and the clothes she’s wearing.

The pose on the left is one I found in the Posing App. For the second portrait I asked my model to drop her left arm so I couldn’t see it. Don’t be afraid to tweak poses, sometimes a small change makes a big difference.

Simplify. Keep everything as simple as possible. That applies to composition and the clothes and jewellery worn by your model. If she has too much jewellery on, ask her to remove some. It will improve the composition. If you’re struggling to find a good full-length pose, move in closer and shoot from the waist up, or do a head and shoulders portrait. The background will go more out of focus, and there will be less of the model in the photo.

Simplification in action. The closer you crop, the easier it is to pose your model. This is a good technique to use if you are struggling to make a certain pose work.

Pay attention to detail. Especially hands, which often look better side on to the camera. Look at photos where the model’s hands look elegant or are otherwise well posed, and ask your model to do the same. Check her hair to make sure stray strands aren’t blowing across her face or eyes. Look at her clothes to make sure they aren’t wrinkled or creased in a strange way.

Find something for your model to lean on. This makes it much easier to find a natural looking pose.

Two different ways to use a wall to give a model something to do. The Posing App has lots of poses for leaning.

Use props. If the model has something to hold or otherwise interact with, it gives her something to do. If she is having fun you’re more likely to get a great expression.

The model in this photo is into hooping. Using the hoop as a prop gave her something to hold and added interest to the portrait.

I suggested the model bring her horses along to the shoot. The horses are a natural prop and her interaction with them led to photos like this one.

Over to you

Do you have any tips for our readers about posing models? What has worked for you? Tell us about your experiences in the comments.

7 MAKEUP TIPS MODELS USE

Lets talk about beauty tips that models use today. Let me share with you 7 tips straight from the runway show:

1) Easy and unusual “defrizz”:
Here is the trick straight from a runway backstage. To tame unruly ends of your hair rub a pea-size amount of any hand cream in the palms of your hands and rub it onto the ends of your hair, then brush them. You will have a quick and easy fix.

2) Fuller looking lips:
To achieve fuller looking lips fill them in with the pencil of similar to your lips colour, trace just a little bit outside your natural lip line and then apply a lip gloss with shimmer on top of it, it reflects light and gives the illusion of fuller looking lips.

3) Smoky eyes made easy:
To create a very simple and easy smoky eyes makeup dab a little bit of foundation on your lids (to create a base) and then, apply a soft grey pencil on top of it, blend it gently to create “smudged and smoky” effect. Finish up with great mascara and you are done!

4) High-drama red lips: 
To achieve the high-drama, seductive deep red lips, apply concealer all over your lips prior to applying your lipstick. Then trace the contour of your lips with red pencil. Finish it all up by applying 2 red lipsticks – one darker and another lighter. Use darker red all over your lips and apply the lighter red in the middle of your lips. For more precise result use a lip brush.

5) Perfect face with no effort: 
To create “perfect face” models often use a concealer. To be more precise, they use two concealers – one lighter (for around eyes area) and another slightly darker colour for the areas of the face where they need it. Often the makeup artists apply and blend concealer with their fingers. After this “camouflage”, you don’t even need a foundation on top and it looks very natural.

6) How to look amazing and fresh on pictures?
Models often wear bright red lipstick living the rest of the face bare (or they use just a little bit of concealer to cover spots). It looks amazing on pictures!

7) Make it “pop”:
To achieve a very bright eyes’ makeup apply your eyeshadow with a damp brush, like this the colour of your eyeshadow will really pop. Leave your lips bare or use a neutral lipstick to get balanced and cute makeup.

I hope you found it useful. Please share some more tips from models in the comment’s section below.
Stay beautiful and happy!

Dear Model: Posing Tips for How to Look Your Best in Photographs

Published on May 24, 2013 by Jen Brook

Dear (new’ish) Model,

My name is Other Model. I have spent the last couple of years finding out a few things that I wish I’d known from the start. Please don’t think I’m patronising as I mean this only in goodwill, as there is absolutely no gain for me by sharing these cheats. Not all of my points will be valid for you as posing varies in each genre. Just take what you can and ignore the rest. If only one suggestion helps your future career then my time has been well spent…

Rule one, the mirror is your BFF. Stand there, perfect your poses and learn how your body shapes. The mirror is a perfect tool to show you what the camera can see – try to imagine it behind your photographers head when shooting and always consider what can be seen from that angle. For example, if your foot is closest to the lens, it is worth remembering that your foot is going to the largest thing in the picture….and nobody wants to be remembered as Bigfoot…

Create separation between your limbs from your body. Not only does it prevent the arm/leg from being squashed against you spreading out any fat, it is also an optical illusion for a slimmer appearance in terms of overall width. A basic cheat that makes a massive difference.

Fat arm to thin arm

Body width shrunk by optical illusion

Have a basic understanding of light. For example, if you raise an arm to the light, it could be a whole F-stop brighter in camera than your face (being the object closest to the source of light according to the inverse square law). It will also cast a shadow across you. You can counteract this by using your other arm (!)…or, move your arm a fraction backwards, away from the direct beam of light. Learning how lighting falls is invaluable. Ask which is your key light and then work towards it.

Be aware of ‘mothing’. If the light has been metered to an exact spot, try to stick to it, or at least notice when you’ve crept closer to the light so you can rectify it if required.

No harry, don’t fly into the light!”…”I can’t help it, it’s so beeeeautiful… (A Bug’s Life)

Recognise when your eyes are over-rotating. It is always advisable to follow the line of your nose to keep your sight central. This stops you from looking bog eyed from too much white of the eye showing.

Know how far you can turn your head before your nose ‘breaks your cheek’. Go back to the mirror to see what angle becomes too far. This is perhaps a dying rule, but one that many competition judges still take into account so worth being aware of.

Elongate your neck to simulate height and poise. Possibly one of the hardest things to remember because it genuinely feels unnatural. Stand in front of the mirror and look at yourself…stand normally, then roll your shoulders back allowing your face to come forward…notice the difference in the width of your neck? An instant slimming trick.

Go one step further by popping your jaw towards camera if you want a strong line created by the shadow.

If the photographer is at a 12 o’clock angle, then standing angled at 1:30 rather than 3 o’clock will lose inches to your overall width. When you do, make sure it is shadow you are turning into and not the light. Always one rule: hide what you don’t want seen in shadow. Forget Weight Watchers, it’s all about tactical posing!

If you want to appear slimmer you can create a ‘false waist’. You can do this by positioning yourself to camera, then creating the waist you want seen with the positioning of your hands on your ‘hips’. See…crafty huh :)

If you’re like me and you don’t have natural curves, then fake them! And I don’t mean plastic surgery. As shown above, learning how to pop your hip is not something everyone can do but can be a big advantage if you can for great shape. Allowing your knees to cross slightly will emphasise that ‘S’ figure with it.

Keep your hands loose and fluid. The term ‘ballet hands’ is often thrown around…but if you’re like me and the only dancing you do well is the truffle shuffle, then keep your middle finger lower than the others whilst relaxing them with a slight curve. Don’t clump your fingers together and avoid showing the back of your hand. Why? Because backs of hands are big and ugly…sides of hands are small and dainty. This was drilled into me from the start of my career by friend and photographer Gary Hill.

See how much longer and larger my hands look when left straight:

Play with what is available. If you are wearing a flowing dress, play with it by tossing it into the air or working the movement in the bottom. Remember if you are wearing trousers then your legs don’t need to be so clamped together.

Putting theory into practice in Paris, photograph by Andrew Appleton (MUA Donna Graham & assistant Vicki Head)

You should have knowledge of what you are wearing and why. If you have been hired to sell a specific product, make sure you are pulling poses that are commercially complimentary and not hiding the product.

Own a ‘modelling kit’ and take it on all shoots. These are the things you will need, but may not be directly mentioned in pre-shoot communications. They are; outdoor/studio shoes, nude/black underwear, face wipes, moisturiser/oil for your legs, a plain vest top, safety pins/clamps, a straw for drinks (as not to ruin your lipstick), your own water with a sugary snack to keep you going (your shoot location may be far away from shops), spare stockings for lingerie shoots….and also hairspray, a top up lipstick, hair grips, brush and eyelash glue (in case the MUA can’t stay). If you have been booked for a specific job such as bridal, it is also well received if you bring appropriate accessories i.e. a pretend wedding ring.

Please be honest about your size and measurements. Nobody minds how tall or small, big or slim you are…but they do need to know in advance for obvious reasons. You may be sent home unpaid if you have exaggerated the truth and wasted time by not fitting the casting criteria. Save yourself and others the embarrassment.

Talk to other models, check references and don’t ever assume anything. Despite many people thinking models are the bitchy ones, it’s actually very untrue most of the time. We look after each other and the best out there are very supportive. I was terrified to talk to the people I admired, but then I realised they’re only human, we are all the same…and they’re pretty damn awesome guys and girls when it comes to helping you out.

Most of all be fun, easy going and willing to go that extra mile! If you are genuinely a delight to be around, you are 100% more likely to be rebooked. You are part of a team so pull your weight, diva’s are so 2010.

Fun times to get the shot despite being in the cold rain, creating ‘I bleed colours’ from my personal Dreamcatcher Project with Richard Powazynski, Lauri Laukkanen and Donna Graham

I hope this letter has been of some use to you and that you can take something from it. As I said, not all of this will work for you, it’s just tricks I wish I’d known when I began modelling. But then again look at Kate Moss, she breaks all of the ‘rules’…and still looks amazing – that’s fashion darling.

The day you stop enjoying your job is the day you need a new one. Work hard and love your life!

Kindest regards,

Other Model.

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P.S. All pose examples are unedited for a true representation – taken by Jon Brook

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P.P.S. If you found this helpful I’d really appreciate it if you ‘like’ my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter. Thank you!

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About the author: Jen Brook is a creative fine art, conceptual and fashion model from UK. You can find her on Facebook and on Twitter. She also blogs over on Tumblr. This article originally appeared here.

Model Posing Tips from a Professional Photographer

Whether you are searching for a career in fashion modeling or glamour modeling, it is very important for you to realize that there is more to becoming a model than just standing there looking beautiful.

One very important factor in becoming a good model is posing, and in order for you to learn the different poses needed for the type of modeling career you are seeking it will take practice, practice, practice.

Make Your Posing Look Natural
When preparing for your photo shoot, there are numerous steps you can take to ensure you are comfortable while posing and your photos will look more natural.

Get Posing Ideas
Before you head to your photo shoot, pick at least ten poses you really like from fashion or glamour magazines, or poses you've learned from previous photo shoots. Take time to practice each pose in front of a mirror until you feel comfortable and have the confidence of knowing you look great doing these poses.

Hands and Facial Expression
Also, focus on what to do with your hands and pay attention to facial expressions. A pose is virtually dead and unimaginative without a "look". You should be able to close your eyes, imagine a thought, open your eyes and sell that thought. Practice this technique and your photos will come alive.

Become an Idea Factory
Unless you are shooting for an advertising agency or some other type of special interest session many photographers recommend that you bring some of your own posing ideas to the shoot. In addition to your
ideas, the photographer may have his or her own idea of how the session should go.

Rapport with Your Photographer
Always work with a photographer you feel you can trust. This will make communication between the two of you easier and give you the confidence to express your own ideas.

Always listen to what the photographer tells you. If you are really uncomfortable with the pose, let your photographer know how you feel, in a nice way.
Remember, he is looking through the camera lens and might see something you don't.

If the photographer says she wants something different in the pose, try looking away from the camera or giving a unique facial expression. This is where your practice in front of the mirror really pays.

Posture
When posing you should always keep good posture unless the photographer instructs you to do otherwise.
Hold your stomach in to give your abdomen a more toned appearance. If you have gained a few pounds stick out your chin a little to avoid the appearance of a double chin in your photos.

Keep your fingers slightly apart and pointed away from the lens. Let your hands fall naturally into position
whenever possible. Remember, you want to be
yourself - on purpose.

Now that you have learned what to do, consider these things you should try to avoid while posing.

Things to Avoid when Posing for a Photographer

Misplaced Body Language
Body language and expressions come naturally but the language you are projecting might not be what your photographer wants in a particular pose. You need to consciously focus on ways to prevent these habits while posing.

Don't hold your breath during a pose. Stay relaxed and your photos will look as if you just happened to be
sitting this way when the photographer walked up.

In most pose situations you want your arms, legs, wrists, etc. slightly bent unless you are directed to do otherwise Most people don't stand or sit with their arms and legs completely stiff. A good point to
remember is, if it will bend, bend it.

Mona Lisa Smile?
Another posing tip to remember is that you don't always have to smile. You should have a good variety of smiling and serious looks. But, sometimes you will want to give a large, open-mouthed laugh. If you are    supposed to be happy, look the part!

Your Eyes are the Windows to Your Soul
Don't always look straight into the camera. When you cut your eyes to the left or right, you create an air of mystery. When you look up and away, you are annoyed. Tilt your chin slightly down and look straight ahead for a sexy look.

About Blinking
Beware of the Blink! If you have to blink, try to blink between exposures. This is not always easy,
especially if you are working in a photography studio. Some models get into a habit of anticipating the strobes and start to close their eyes when the picture is about to be snapped.

Get into the habit of not paying attention to the flash and concentrate wholy on the pose, your body
language, hand position, etc. and your images will come out as you expect.

Be Bold!!
Never be afraid to try out some of your own poses in front of your photographer. Most photographers are glad to hear suggestions from you.

How do You See Yourself?
When you look at your final images don't be critical of yourself. Find positive ways to improve your posing.
Discover your strengths and weaknesses and shoot for the stars.

(Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/630600)