Senior Picture Posing

The girl in the video below is ridiculously skinny but there’s still some information you might find of interest in this video when you’re getting ready for your senior pictures.  She talks about body angles, energy, dynamics and other things that I always go through with seniors before we start photographing.

But since I look rather silly demonstrating the basics of female posing, I thought this video might be of interest.

I think Senior Pictures should be NATURAL – should represent the real YOU

But, like our directions on clothing for senior pictures, what she suggests in this video should only be background information, used to give you some basic ideas.  It’s by far MOST important that what we have you doing in your senior pictures represent YOU, your natural body language, expressions, energy etc.

My favorite thing is to watch for the things you do naturally; the way you hold your hands, or position your feet, or always play with your hair. Maybe it’s the way you tilt your head, or expressions that really define you.

Frequently, we find what I call a “DON’T MOVE” moment – one where I see you do something that’s totally natural to you, but also makes for a fantastic pose for a senior picture. And when I say DON’T MOVE, I really mean DON’T MOVE. Don’t change anything. I may tweak a bit to get exactly what I want, but these are generally things you do so automatically that you can’t recreate it when you’re thinking about it.

We want your family and friends to say “WOW, THAT’S SO YOU” not “Nice Picture, and it kind of looks like you, but I’ve never seen you do THAT!” And it’s your natural body language that will cause them to do that.

As an example, look at the senior picture on the left.

I saw her do this as we were talking about what we’d do next, and immediately told her “DON’T MOVE.

Notice how Karlee is holding her hands in this photograph. Notice how she has her legs positioned.   Even the position of her feet  – it was all her.

Then I turned her head just a little bit to get the best light, and had her tip it for just a little more energy in the picture.  I probably said something goofy, which I’m known for – but it worked.  Her expression was all her.

I’m sure her friends recognize this body language instantly, but it also made for a GREAT photograph of Karlee, done during her Surfin’ Safari – Senior Pictures at the Beach session. 

There’s no way I could have created this pose for her out of some pose book.  But what I was able to do was tweak it slightly to make it look even better on a two dimensional print.

So, take what she says in the video as simply some ideas on what tends to look best in senior pictures, but don’t let it change who you are or what you do.  The camera can spot fake a mile away,  and fake or contrived just doesn’t look as good as natural when you’re creating your senior pictures, or any other kind of portrait.