Out of ideas for posing your models? These quick poses should give you some ideas, whether you’re shooting with male or female models.
Whether it’s a fashion shoot or a creative portrait session, it’s often part of the photographer’s job to properly pose the model. If you feel the poses often get a little too common or uninteresting, it’s time to experiment with some unique ones, starting with these quick and on-point suggestions by Mango Street.
One of the most common setbacks that portrait photographers encounter is posing their models in such a way that they catch attention and fit the vision or theme of the shoot. This can even be more challenging for budding portrait photographers who don’t have the access to experienced models or budget for modelling agencies. If you’re looking for ways to spice up your portrait photography — especially if you’re aiming to build a fashion photography portfolio, these quick suggestions by Mango Street should give you some ideas and inspiration.
Mango Street initially made this video as a suggestion for posing male models, and it’s easy to see why. It’s often easier to get female models to get into an eye-catching pose, or even have them switching into several variations at a snap. With male models, it’s often difficult to think of interesting poses that complement the style or mood, and that’s what this video tackled. Many of the suggested poses effectively accentuate male features, like broad shoulders, long legs, the torso, and expressions. They also play a lot with the angles, often shooting from below to create an impression of strength or bigness.
However, Mango Street also noted in the description that these poses will work just as good with female models. You can simply try working with variations that are more feminine, or highlight certain features like the shape of their face, or the elements of what they’re wearing. It all depends on the style, look, or persona that you want your models to take on with your shoot.
Looking for more photography tips and tricks to try for your next portrait shoot? You can go check out what we’ve found so far about posing models (friends or otherwise), or you can head to Mango Street’s channel for more of their video tutorials.
Screenshot image from the video by Mango Street