Glamour Photography Portrait Poses and Tips

By FreeDPT

Posted on July 19, 2014

10 min read

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If you want to capture great glamour photography you’ll first need to know how to properly pose a model.

In this post, we’re going to share with you some glamour photography portrait poses and tips that you can instantly use to spice up your shots.

Just remember that you’re working with the human body, so you don’t want the models to try poses that are hard to achieve and/or are uncomfortable because these won’t seem natural.

In fact, a good pose shouldn’t really look like the person is posing at all. It doesn’t matter how beautiful the person may be, if the poses and angles aren’t right the photos won’t be flattering!

Photo by Erica Hampton

Free Guides for Glamour Photography Portrait Poses

Before we move on to the glamour photography tips, we wanted you to have access to these two free glamour posing guides.

To download, just right click on the link and choose “Save As” to save them to your computer.

Now, onto the tips!

Be up-to-date

Unfortunately for some, we’re not living in the Swinging Sixties anymore.

Portrait photography poses that were common decades ago might not be in vogue in today’s era. It’s true that some things are cyclical, but you can usually spot an out-of-date hairstyle and outfit and the same can be said for glamour photography poses.

These can be ideal though if you’re trying to create a retro or historical feel to the shoot, but if you’re aiming for something more modern, think natural, provocative, and sensual.

Use props

Using props is usually a good idea as it will make it easier for the model to pose.

It can be pretty hard for some models to try and pose without a prop in their hands or something to lean, sit, or climb on etc. This is especially true for beginners.

If you provide your model with a prop of any kind you can also see how they interact naturally with it.

Ideas for types of props you can use include a scarf, a rose with a long stem, flower petals, a sleek black walking cane, large necklaces, a fedora style hat, a chair, etc.

Photos by Thomas Böcker and Konstantin Lazorkin

Accentuate the positives

While some people sure may look it, nobody’s perfect though.

If your model happens to have any visible flaws you can always try to hide them with the poses you suggest. For example, if the glamour model is a little on the heavier side you should shoot that person at angles instead of straight on.

Portrait photos with a straight on pose accentuates the broad shoulders, which you do not want to do. Having the person turn at an angle to the camera can instantly shed a few pounds!

Also, make sure the shoulder facing the camera is tilted slightly lower. That helps thin a person out visually as well.

Finally, never shoot from a low angle. Low angle photography portraits will make the person look heavier. If possible, always shoot from a higher than eye level angle as this tends to make a person look leaner.

On the other side of the coin, if the model is quite thin you may want to do the opposite.

Having that person shift their weight to the foot furthest from the camera will make the image more interesting as the model won’t appear to be flat footed.

If the model has obvious strong points you should emphasize them in the poses. With thinner models, mostly any type of angle goes, as you don’t have to hide many physical flaws.

Show, don’t tell

If you want to communicate properly with your model it’s a lot better to show them exactly what you mean instead of telling them.

This will eliminate many wasted minutes, or even hours!

Don’t be afraid to show them how to pose by doing it yourself. They will pick up on this and then interpret the pose in their own unique style.

Also, don’t take the shots from one position. Move around your model and shoot from different angles until you find the perfect shot.

Photo by Konstantin Lazorkin

Be complimentary

When the model poses exactly the way you’re looking for and the image is perfect, show it to them to boost up their confidence and motivate them.

In a way it’s similar to giving an athlete a pat on the back after coming up with a big play. You’ll be amazed at how much this simple trick will work wonders for the rest of your shoot. A confident model always makes for a better photographed model!

Keeping it clean

If you’re interested in tasteful nude portrait photography you can try it in a non-suggestive way if you want to stay away from x-rated shots.

Just make sure that your model knows what they are getting themselves into beforehand. Ask them up front if they are comfortable with this type of photography. Some people are and some are not.

We hope you enjoyed this article on glamour photography portrait poses and tips. Leave a comment telling which was your favorite and why. And, if you have any personal tips from your own shoots, feel free to leave a comment about those too!