When it comes to portrait and fashion photography, posing a someone who isn't a model can be one of the hardest things to learn. How do you succinctly tell someone to move how you want them to in order to get the shot?
In this video by Jessica Kobeissi, she runs through some fantastic tips for posing people that aren't professional models. Everything from building a rapport to shooting between motions. My personal key takeaway from this video is simplicity and comfort.
While Jessica goes over a plethora of ways to achieve these two things in your subjects but she hammers home the point that, when posing non-models, the keys are to keep things simple, and to make sure that someone is comfortable. Just the simple act of spending your first ten minutes or so of a photo shoot building a rapport with the subject is so important, it cannot be understated. It helps the subject relax, feel comfortable, and also builds all-important trust with you.
Have you tried any of these tips and tricks before? Sound off below! I know I've definitely shown a photo on my phone and used it to tell the model how to pose.
The tips were generalized and they are good ones. I'd like to see Jessica Kobeissi walk through poses with a model and explain why they work with her photography style. What she wanted to convey in the images and how the model was positioned to achieve it. I enjoy all the pictures in this Instagram post B8exiJEH7kK with 3, 4, and 5 standing out for me. Demonstrating a similar series would be great, not so people can copy Jessica but to watch the process and how she thinks while shooting. Viewers can choose what elements are useful for them and maybe try shooting from a different perspective.
Btw, her use of wide-angle lenses to give models crazy long legs for leading lines is aces.