5 Wicked Poses That Every Model Can Rock

In my initial days of modeling, I didn’t even know the P of posing. It was a whole new area to me.
Where do I put my arms? Which angle of my face should I turn to the photographer?

I’ve spent years (not exaggerating much) of finding out a a thing or two about posing.
I wish I had known everything from the beginning of my career. Which is the sole reason why this blog is dedicated to all the starting models!

Rule No.1

First and foremost, practice, practice, practice – and make the mirror your best friend.

Try to imagine that the mirror is the photographers’ lens. Dare yourself to pose less ‘mainstream’. Don’t place your hands on your waist, but throw them in the air. You will see it’s a more exciting image instead of using the basic modeling poses. You can also practice by imitating poses from fashion magazines. Like ID-magazine, LOVE or Purple. Those magazines are more high fashion focused, so the poses are also a bit more extravagant.

Rule No.2

Have a very clear idea of what you’re promoting.

Some jobs are more commercial and others more high fashion. For commercial jobs the photographer often wants to work with the girl-next-door type with a smiling face and ordinary poses. Make sure you are pulling poses, which are suitable for the job.

Rule No.3

Create separation between your limbs from your body.

When you have a beauty shot (a face-shot), don’t clamp your hands on your cheeks. On the image it will look like you’re pressing your face together. When you create a small space between your hands and your cheeks it will look more elegant and less convulsive. It also prevents showing any fat. We all know that when you squash your arm against your body, your arm will look like a chubby meat block. So create separation for a slimmer appearance.

Rule No.4

Have a basic understanding of light.

Learning how lighting falls is a piece of cake. Here are my two light rules. First of all, don’t raise your arm or hand towards the light. It may look a lot brighter in the camera than you think. You don’t want to put focus on your bony hand or hairy arm. It will also cast a shadow on your body or face. Second, always turn your face towards the light source. You will catch the light in the right angle and your eyes will sparkle.

Rule No.5

Keep your hands loose.

Hands look awful on pictures. Yes, I’m sorry. I really like hands; they can be elegant, beautiful and sexy.
But on images they sometimes look very unnatural. Some models stick them to their body and clump their fingers together, or they only show the back of their hands. A big no-go! Sides of hands, on the contrary, are small and graceful. So just try to look natural and don’t show the whole of your hand.

Here you go guys. My set of posing rule that I think can easily improve any picture. What do you think?

Sound off in the comments 😉