Photo Posing

Standing and sitting postures
First of all, there are some general rules for commonly adopting postures regardless of the group size and the photo composition. Here we introduce you these:

Standing pose
Formal standing pose:
1. Back straight, shoulders down and back, face the front
2. Legs and feet together
3. Upper arms along the body or put together in front

Side pose:
1. Chin parallel to the ground
2. Back straight, shoulders back and down
3. Turn your body 45 degrees either front or back
4. Legs and feet together

Seated
Formal pose:
1. Back straight, shoulders back and down
2. Upper arms along the body, hands together
in front
3. Feet together, knees slightly apart but preferably together
4. Never lean on the back of the chair

Crossed calves:
1. Body straight, open shoulders
2. Knees slightly apart(with long dress)
3. Legs extended and cross the calves
4. One feet in front of the other
5. Hands together in front of the laps

Composition
Before taking the pose, you should first know the composition of the photo and where is your spot.
In formal occasions, people usually stand or sit in a row. When it is more casual, you can stand in more layered ways to achieve a better visual effect.

Triangle rule is commonly used in group photos. It can be either pyramid, with the tallest in the middle, or the V shape as the inverse version. The composition can be extended to an M or a W shape depending on the number of people.

Pyramid Composition
The Three Eldest Princesses, Charlotte, Princess Royal, Augusta and Elizabeth – Gainsborough 1784

The French and US presidential couples
The pyramid is taken in formal group photo

The V shape is often adopted when ladies or children are the focus, you can also add a seated row in the front which attracts most of the attention.

The British Royal Family
Focus is led on the seated couple and children

Position
In most cases, people in the middle usually face front while the ones on the side should face towards the centre.

Centre
If you are in the centre, turn your head towards the camera, however you don’t need to look straight into it.

Keeping shoulders parallel to the camera makes your body look bigger, it will show your strength and authority. That’s one reason why male leaders usually take this posture when taking a group photo.

However, if you want to appear more elegant and natural in the photo, rotate your shoulders 15 degrees.

Side
Standing on the side doesn’t necessarily mean that you lose all the attention. In fact, taking the right posture can make you look even better.

Slightly incline towards the centre and keep the waist straight. By doing this, ladies can show the charming line of their neck, shoulder or back.

Incline a little to show side body curve

Group Size
Small group
When in a small group, it is easier to find the composition and the right position so you can quickly decide your posture. But fewer people also means each can get more attention. If you want the photo to look more natural and vivid, you can add more interactions, either with other people in the photo or with the environment.

Use an object to make the photo more interesting

Make eye contacts with others

Large group
When there are many people in the photo, one way to be more visible is to get more exposed to the light, especially your face should not be in the dark. Standing straight with chin up a little can make you look more confident and outstanding.

Ladies on the left adopting over the shoulder pose, facing the light
The Family of Queen Victoria in 1887 – Tuxen

The lady in the right backside also draws attention with her elegant side posing, facing the light
The Du Cane and Boehm Family Group – Gawen Hamilton 1734

Another way to be more visible on the photo is to visually enlarge your space on the photo. You can simply reach your arms to the side on the back of a chair or else. Another way is to put your hands on the waist and use elbows to reach a similar visual effect.

The lady in the middle stretching her arms
Family of Felipe V de Borbón

Extending your arms or elbows

Dear ladies, after going through these beautiful paintings, do you have ideas about how to pose in your next group photo? Does any other problem bother you when taking a group photo? What is your most used posture? Please leave a comment below!

Avoid too low angle
Many people know that lower angles would show a slimmer figure. But be aware that shooting from a too low angle wouldn’t make a flattering photo, as the body figure may look unreasonable.

Angle is too low.

Avoid bulking cloth
Bulky clothing will make you look heavier than you really are, so stick to lightweight, thin fabrics if possible. Be your most slenderised self by dressing in darker tones. Wearing all black or head-to-toe dark colours will make you appear smaller in photos.

Sit/Stand up straight
Different postures during photo shooting will make a big difference. Hunched shoulders and dropping spines will downsize your figure and ruin your image. Pushing your shoulders back and leaning a bit backward will work well on camera.

Twist a bit towards the camera lens
A straight-on body shot shows you at your widest. If slight twist a little bit, you’ll look slimmer right away. Especially when you twist your head to the camera, you’ll have a slimmer face on the photo.

She looks slimmer on the left photo.

Keep your chin up and downward
This will stretch your neck and help to avoid any unpleasant chin angles.

Good chin position on the left photo.

Pull shoulders back
Not only will this accentuate your collarbone and slim your arms, it will also make you look more polished and put together, which is always a good thing.

Put a hand on the hip
Don’t press arms tightly to the body, posing with hand on hip will help slenderise arm and keep it looking long and lean. Anytime your arm is slightly away from the rest of your body, it creates a more pleasant effect. Brush your hand through your hair or try keeping your elbow slightly out to keep your upper arm looking lean.

She looks slimmer on the left photo.

Hide weight centre behind
By tilting pelvis back, one can easily move the weight centre behind the camera, thus create a slimmer body shape. To accentuate this effect, one can even stand on tiptoes or wear high heels, which would widen the thigh gap and extend the body shape.

Cross ankles
This works better when sitting in a skirt or dress. By crossing your legs at the ankle instead of at the knee, you’ll never expose too much thigh and will look leaner.

Thigh on the right photo looks too big.

Dear all, there’re many skills we can adopt during photo posing to achieve a more flattering scene. Which is your favourite one? Welcome to share with us your ideas too.