Photography Tips - Make Couples Look Natural
Photographing couples is always an interesting experience. If you’re meeting them for the first time, it can be uncomfortable for couples to feel natural posing in front of you since they don’t know you well yet. Since every couple has their own style and way of interacting with each other – certain poses look great for some couples, while other couples may look uncomfortable in the same pose.
While I’ve written about how to build rapport with couples, this article will cover more in-depth into how to make couples look natural for your photos. A photographer needs to be versatile. Every photo shoot is unique – some couples require a lot of detail and attention to poses while other couples prefer to be spontaneous and do their own thing. Both of these can produce excellent results, however, it’s great to know how to make couples that need assistance with poses look natural.
Paying attention to how couples interact is vital to understand which poses will work well. When you’re about to shoot, tell the couple to pose without giving them specific directions. Photograph how they initially pose and make adjustments if necessary. This is a great way to begin because you don’t know which poses they may or may not feel comfortable with yet. You initially focus the attention on them being comfortable posing how they feel most natural.
As the photo shoot progresses, you’ll want to offer guidance to produce variety. If the couple falls into the same poses naturally, you’ll want to avoid being redundant and elicit more diversity in posing. It’s great to do a variation from poses they are most comfortable with. Simply changing the arms, position of head, legs, or hands can be effective enough to create a new feel from a similar pose.
The best photos come from moments of spontaneity. Building up rapport with the couple as essential to make any photos look great. Couples need to feel comfortable and confident with you. You can turn an otherwise cheesy-looking photo into a fun and creative looking pose if you are able to catch the right mood. The more comfortable the couple gets with you, the further you can start experimenting farther away from traditional photo poses.
While it’s great to have traditional looking photos, it’s great to catch the unique energy and relationship of the couple. The art of photography is not accomplished by posing everyone the same because it’s aesthetically safe and proven to work. The beauty of photography is being able to catch moments that are genuine. The photographer provides his/her own unique perspective, while the couple produces brings their own energy - all to produce a unique set of photos which tells a story without words.
Photography is about the emotional appeal. Life is unique and your photos should be, too. For further reading on building rapport with couples, read: Getting Couples Comfortable With Being Photographed.
