8 Posing Guides to Inspire Your Portraiture

A Post By: Darren Rowse

0Comments

Among the most read posts on dPS in the last year was a series of posing guides written by Kaspars Grinvalds.

We published the first in the series not intending to do much more than that – but the response from readers was so overwhelming that we kept going back to Kaspars for more.

Here’s the full series – enjoy!

Posing Guide: Sample Poses for Photographing Women Part 1

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Posing Guide: Sample Poses for Photographing Women Part 2

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Posing Guide: Sample Poses for Photographing Men

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Posing Guide: Sample Poses for Photographing Children

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Posing Guide: Sample Poses for Photographing Couples

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Posing Guide: Sample Poses for Photographing Groups of People

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Posing Guide: Sample Poses for Photographing Weddings

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Posing Guide: Sample Poses to Get You Started with Glamour Photography

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Grab Our Guide to Portrait Posing

UPDATE

Kaspars has begun work on a followup series of posing guides – this time with some ‘real life’ example photos to illustrate how to build upon the poses in these guides. See the first of these at:

Read more from our category

Darren Rowse is the editor and founder of Digital Photography School and SnapnDeals. He lives in Melbourne Australia and is also the editor of the ProBlogger Blog Tips. Follow him on Instagram, on Twitter at @digitalPS or on Google+.

  • This was EASILY my favorite series of the year. I got your iPhone app with the guides. I haven’t used it all that much, because I don’t really photograph people all that often, but the descriptions are fabulous, and I always have it handy for the next time I do find myself needing to photograph a friend or small group.

    Thanks for all your help during the year, and most particularly for this posing series!

  • I truly love these guides. I really really do but can we PLEASE see some real people pose for these guides in 2013?

    As happy as the wedding couple stick figures in the next to last segment?

  • For me posing is the most difficult thing to remember and sometimes I run out of ideas in a shoot. Thanks for the “posing cheat sheet”!

  • Stephen

    I really love these poses and I love them the first time I sore them on the android app (posing app )

  • The idea of the simple line drawing catches the essentials of the pose without the distractions of a full colour pic. Makes a brilliant prompt card guide. Thank you

  • This is a treasure trove of information! I’m definitely going to be referencing this as I learn more about photographing people this year. Thanks for the ‘all-in-one’ post! Time to get the wife to pose for more photos. 🙂

  • Aly Whosane

    This is amazing……:)))

  • ccting

    Excellent , fabulous articles that have been guidance to billion of users in the world…

  • Leah Fayga

    The posing guides are helpful, but while I saw lots of suggestions on making women look sexy, there were none comparable for men. Also, I saw lots of suggestions on how to photograph men working at their desks, but none of working women. What is wrong with these pictures?

  • Leah,
    thanks for your comment.
    I see your point. I really do. But I would like to respond and state the obvious truth – women and men generally are being photographed differently. If you particularly don’t, nothing is wrong with that if it works for you. As nothing is wrong with women who want to look sexy in pictures. And all sample poses with men working at desk will work very good also for female models, why don’t you just try that?
    Best regards,
    Kaspars

  • I like the drawn poses. I can see it much more clearly. Sometimes I just want to look at something in particular without all the “other” stuff. In this case, I want to look at poses.

  • Very useful article to pose my subjects. Very often my subjects stand as of they are going to be photographed for a passport. This guide gives me a better way to handle the situation. Thanks a lot.

  • cathy nobrega

    Great very useful article to use, doing a shoot on Saturday and this will help a great deal. thanks

  • Esther

    Very useful article. I have been behind the camera only a couple of months and this article will help me to get the model and myself in a relaxed mood. Thank you

  • I would say it’s an interesting topic for someone starting out as a photographer. When you aren’t sure, you can always refer to one of these poses, but with experience you begin creating your own set of poses.

  • David Watson

    Looks like these are the exact same images available in the apple store posing app

  • Andrew

    A shot from today 🙂
    Check more of my work here: http://mallemuck-castle.tumblr.com/

  • Geoffn

    What I’ve always noticed is that subjects move in a very personal way. Biting a lip, looking back, hands on hips, lots of gesturing. Inflicting a prearranged pose on someone who doesn’t feel comfortable with it therefore seems counterproductive to me. What you’re trying to capture is the personality of that individual; you want them to be themselves with their own mannerisms, not a person copying standard model or film star postures.
    Take your time, get the character to relax, and trust your instincts.

  • Cuero Leathers

    Thanks for all the hard work. Appreciate the brushes, which are very well done. Keep up the good work.

    Candid Wedding Photographers In Delhi

  • Chris Johnson

    There used to be a posing guide that was line drawings of poses on index cards. I had bought mine from Porter’s (though they are no longer with us). Any idea where we may be able to find those again? Believe me, when I was shooting portraits long ago, I had the cards and when I would “experiment” with some of the poses, our sales would increase. Man I loved those posing cards, when you’re making commission, they sure came in handy!

  • Thank you so much for these posing guides. I’ve printed them all off for duo-tang insertion to bring on my shoots as cheat sheets. Posing people was my weakest ability…I think those days are over.

Some Older Comments

  • Esther April 26, 2013 05:38 pm

    Very useful article. I have been behind the camera only a couple of months and this article will help me to get the model and myself in a relaxed mood. Thank you

  • cathy nobrega April 16, 2013 01:06 am

    Great very useful article to use, doing a shoot on Saturday and this will help a great deal. thanks

  • Soumen Nath January 19, 2013 05:19 am

    Very useful article to pose my subjects. Very often my subjects stand as of they are going to be photographed for a passport. This guide gives me a better way to handle the situation. Thanks a lot.

  • Melissa January 12, 2013 02:51 am

    I like the drawn poses. I can see it much more clearly. Sometimes I just want to look at something in particular without all the "other" stuff. In this case, I want to look at poses.

  • Kaspars Grinvalds January 9, 2013 09:02 pm

    Leah,
    thanks for your comment.
    I see your point. I really do. But I would like to respond and state the obvious truth - women and men generally are being photographed differently. If you particularly don't, nothing is wrong with that if it works for you. As nothing is wrong with women who want to look sexy in pictures. And all sample poses with men working at desk will work very good also for female models, why don't you just try that?
    Best regards,
    Kaspars

  • Leah Fayga January 8, 2013 08:00 am

    The posing guides are helpful, but while I saw lots of suggestions on making women look sexy, there were none comparable for men. Also, I saw lots of suggestions on how to photograph men working at their desks, but none of working women. What is wrong with these pictures?

  • ccting January 7, 2013 07:13 pm

    Excellent , fabulous articles that have been guidance to billion of users in the world...

  • Aly Whosane January 6, 2013 09:40 pm

    This is amazing......:)))

  • Stephen Emlund January 6, 2013 04:30 pm

    This is a treasure trove of information! I'm definitely going to be referencing this as I learn more about photographing people this year. Thanks for the 'all-in-one' post! Time to get the wife to pose for more photos. :-)

  • Tony January 4, 2013 03:18 am

    The idea of the simple line drawing catches the essentials of the pose without the distractions of a full colour pic. Makes a brilliant prompt card guide. Thank you

  • Stephen January 3, 2013 07:34 am

    I really love these poses and I love them the first time I sore them on the android app (posing app )

  • Fabio January 1, 2013 11:29 am

    For me posing is the most difficult thing to remember and sometimes I run out of ideas in a shoot. Thanks for the “posing cheat sheet”!

  • Jai Catalano January 1, 2013 05:30 am

    I truly love these guides. I really really do but can we PLEASE see some real people pose for these guides in 2013?

    As happy as the wedding couple stick figures in the next to last segment?

  • Burt January 1, 2013 03:22 am

    This was EASILY my favorite series of the year. I got your iPhone app with the guides. I haven't used it all that much, because I don't really photograph people all that often, but the descriptions are fabulous, and I always have it handy for the next time I do find myself needing to photograph a friend or small group.

    Thanks for all your help during the year, and most particularly for this posing series!

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