I’m gonna let you in on a little secret: NOBODY feels comfortable and confident when they first step in front of the camera 🫢. I’ve been a senior photographer for 8 years and I’ve always been type A when it comes to posing my clients, but last year I started regularly taking my own self portraits and it hit me like a truck how incredibly awkward it can feel to be staring down the other side of that camera lens. I felt like a complete deer in the headlights and my brain just froze up trying to think of how I should pose. Even though I was by myself, I felt stiff and awkward and my photos showed it. It gave me a crystal clear new perspective and insight on how important it is to help guide my clients, how my first priority needs to be making you feel COMFORTABLE and relaxed when you first step in front of the camera, and it helped me think intentionally about how I can help my clients relax.
Finding a photographer that makes you feel comfortable and confident in front of the camera is the KEY to great results. One thing I hear from senior moms all the time is how I captured their child’s personality so well, how their senior photos just RADIATE with their true self (talk about the biggest compliment EVER as a senior photographer). But the thing is, photos like that don’t happen unless you feel safe and relaxed enough in front of the camera to let the real you SHINE through. So here’s some tricks I use at every senior session to help you feel confident in your posing:
- Model the poses- I always model the poses or act out the prompts I’m asking you to do, so you can see exactly what I’m saying and not feel insecure or unsure.
- I give you something to do- some type of action to perform takes your mind off the camera and helps you to relax! It also infuses movement into your poses and makes you look very natural and effortless.
- Show you the back of the camera- my favorite part of every session is turning my camera around and showing my senior how drop. dead. gorgeous. she looks in her photographs! (Or if it’s a guy, how very GQ he looks). Nothing like seeing a stunning image of yourself to give you the confidence boost to OWN the rest of your session!
BONUS TIP* I love to ask for a playlist from my seniors of their favorite hype songs. I save it to my Spotify and blast it on my little portable speaker all through their session to help them stay hyped up and feeling themselves!
Want more tips like this? Click here to grab out freebie session guide to help you ROCK your senior session.
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