Amanda Herbert

Portrait Photography, Isle of Wight

How to pose hands – Part 2

Appley Park pictures girl laughing

How to pose hands without making people feel stupid :: Part 2

In order to pose hands gracefully, you’ll need to have a plan. A roadmap to generating natural poses that don’t feel staged. You could start by reading part 1 and use my tried and test methods.
They work. They work with non-models. They work because I’ve trialed, tested, and tweaked them myself. I honestly use these games to perfect the appearance of my clients.   JUMP TO PART 1 HERE

Some photographers might call out “like this or move your arm”, some get hands-on tweaking your hands themselves whilst others wait and wait and wait silently for their client to fall into a pose. When their model adapts a stance, the photographer snaps away furiously anxious to snatch a picture that might look OK. Without genuine guidance, the photographs always look staged.

# 4 Hair pull

This is nice and easy. Your friend needs to carefully tease out a tendril slowly. No corny jokes are required for this movement as a wistful gaze, out of frame, is best here. Angling the head to one side is important as it will ensure a different energy to the final image. Explore either way to see what looks best. A little-known tip is to also raise or lower the shoulders on a diagonal. Try it, it makes all the difference.

Amanda Herbert Photography

# 5 Shoulder

This is a beautiful pose. It makes your friend look very elegant. One tip photographers use is to move sideways so the shoulder is closest to the camera, this will help avoid ‘wide’ look. I move through four variations:
  • shoulder down to elongate the neck
  • shoulder towards the chin for a powerful look
  • shoulders rounded to pop the collar bones
  • shoulders back to arch the neckline
Playing with the hair, resting a finger on the lip or gentling swaying the hand will create a wide variety of looks simply and easily.
 Amanda Herbert Isle of Wight Photographer

# 6 Earring

Tweaking an imaginary earring, holding a phone to your ear, scratching an itch on your neck. During a photoshoot, I offer these suggestions to act our whilst I prepare to take the photograph. The trick is to catch the movement mid-flow rather than planting a hand on an ear or neck as this is when the movements look staged.
 Happy model in Sandown

A simple one to make your friend relax at the start of the shoot. This is important. People lead busy lives. They haven’t spent time with their family. Or are feeling guilty for not going to the gym. There are errands to run and housework to finish. Make life simple and start with a natural movement. Share the fabulous image with your friend and let them feed off your enthusiasm.

Want to join in? Check out the helpful posts below:  

For more advice on natural portrait sessions or to book a natural portrait by an Isle of Wight photographer, get in touch and I’ll be happy to help.

Request a call back by using the contact form below.

Amanda Herbert | Isle of Wight
Email: [email protected]

 

     

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