Trying to find that perfect pose for your headshot session? It’s harder than you think, isn’t it? Read this article for some essential posing tips, so you can crush your next session. I’m Slava Blazer, professional headshot and portrait photographer, based in San Francisco, and I’ve worked with countless professionals, just like you.

Thanks again for stopping by for the best headshot tips and tricks. So you thought, how hard could it be? Just a headshot session!

And then you started practicing different poses in front of the mirror. Not as easy as you thought. Most of my headshot clients aren’t models, in fact, they’re working professionals just like you. No matter your body type, I’ve probably worked with somebody like you. I’ve got you covered. After watching you’ll be much better prepared for your session, and you’ll know what to expect as your photographer guides you.

Posing is hard, and great models have had a lot of training and practice. Posing is also one of the hardest things for all photographers to master, it is also applied to a headshot.

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Stand Up & Lean In

Just shoulders up, there’s a lot more posing than you’d think. For starters, you’ll probably be standing. Posing is body language, and you’ll know that goal of a good headshot is to portray yourself with confidence while still being approachable. newfashionlamp

If you want to send a different message, that’s okay, just be sure to let your photographer know before getting shot. You’ll actually want to lean into the frame a bit, from your core.

You may even feel like you’re sticking your head through a hole, but this position puts you in a much better pose for the camera. Remember when your parents, or grandparents, told you to sit up straight?

Like that? Well, sitting up straight, like that, tends to actually overdo it. What happens when we do that is our shoulders go back, our chin comes up, and all we see are our chin and neck.  slowfoodmaresme

I would like to emphasize my facial features, my eyes, and my mouth. So the rule of thumb is to push your forehead out, let your chin come down, and that stretches your neck, hides those extra chins, then we’ll look at the head tilt.
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Head Positioning

Subtle variations will change up the look a lot more than you’d expect.

Some people might say that there are definite rules of thumb when posing men and women and that men should only be tilting back, women should be tilting forward. I don’t subscribe to that, I think there are so many other variations at play, that it’s best to just look at your body type

and we go from there. If it looks good & works, then we can use it, if we do not, we find something else. 

Shoulder Position

As we shift from a straight on the shot to more of an angled shot,

we’ll tend to have you lean and drop that front shoulder. It will give you a more approachable look. If you have longer hair, we’ll have you flip it off, typically your front shoulder, just gives you a cleaner jawline, and it also just gives you a cleaner shoulder too.

Posing hands

Posing hands is always tough, but a couple of rules apply here. First, relax. Now, I know I’ve said it a lot, but this is especially important. It’s real easy to find yourself clenching your fists as you’re standing there, ready for your session, and that immediately is gonna project the idea here that you might be ready for a fight. I don’t know about you, but most of us don’t wanna send that message. So a good photographer will be keeping an eye on that, and just reminding you to relax your hands, let them hang naturally.

Asymmetry is Key

A little asymmetry is important. Oh, and avoid projecting the crotch, yeah, don’t wanna do that. You put your hand in one pocket, leave the other one out, give it something to do, maybe hold a coffee mug, your phone, glasses, Just gives you a lot more natural feel and look at your image.

Mind The Gap

So if you’re doing a 3/4 or vertical portrait, we’re still gonna come back to that lean, again, it’s the same idea as just with the forehead out, chin down, but obviously full-length, kinda emphasize those facial features, de-emphasize the torso. It’s also a good trick for group snapshots too, so remember that next time you’re in a party photo with some friends.

To give your torso a little more shape, we may tend to put a little bit more of a gap between your arm and your side. It has a big slimming effect, no matter your body type, so it’s always important to wear fitted clothes so we can take advantage of that.

That’s it!

These posing tips will have you posing like a model in no time. How was the posing in your last session? 

Let me know in your comments.

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