Posing Wedding Couples: Things to Know

Photography Tips  •  Wedding Photography

How you pose your subjects plays a very important role when photographing portraits. This importance is amplified when it comes to wedding photography. It’s an extremely important day for your subjects after all. The catch with posing however is that not all poses work well with every individual or couple. You thus need to be very wary of what you’re asking your subjects to do. To help you out, wedding photographer Taylor Jackson takes you through how he works with couples for their wedding shoot and talks about what you should and shouldn’t do:

The key to successful posing is that your subjects don’t appear “artificial”. You want the images to look as spontaneous as possible. Candid shots can thus be your best bet, but it’s not a bad idea to try out some trusted go-to poses that rarely fail to impress.

“I never want my couple to feel like they’re in a school photo.”

Jackson shares a ton of useful tips on how you can make the couples give you their best pose. Remember, you don’t always want to be telling them what to do and where to look. Yes, there can be moments when you need to be assertive. But mostly, it’s about making the couple feel comfortable with you and the camera. Throw in some lame jokes if you need to, and even act stupid (while remaining confident) if you need to. First, break that invisible barrier and the rest will all follow. Try to take your couples from the point where they’re feeling uncomfortable, to where they forget that there’s even a camera pointing at them.

Once you’re through the first hurdle, it’s all about maintaining the energy and keeping the mood light. Learn to coach your subjects into moments. This will unlock romance and expressions that no posing can bring out.

“By not over posing in the very beginning, you give your couple a lot more power just to actually be themselves.”

If you really struggle with how to pose your subjects for wedding photography, don’t miss this video. Towards the end, Jackson also shows you how he works with actual clients. Don’t miss your chance to see a real-life example of working with a wedding couple.