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Amongst other things, your posing techniques are the backbone of your wedding photography career. It’s not just the beautiful colors or locations or the awards that you’ve received that attract your clients to you, it’s also how you make them pose and feel while taking their photographs. But posing is no easy task either. Even if you get your couples to stand or sit a certain way for the photos, their expressions may not match the pose or vice versa. Every couple is different and each couple is going to need different posing cues depending on how comfortable they are with the camera. From kissing shots to capturing your couple in “action”, there’s something in this blog for every kind of couple. But before you get to the posing, we’d highly recommend that you spend some time getting to know them and then start with the poses list. 

5 Posing Techniques To Try With Your Couples

Image Credit: ShootDotEdit Customer @iqphoto

Camera-shy or not, the first rule of posing is to let your couple be themselves. Instead of just giving them a list of poses and robotically going through them, let your couple explore their chemistry and get comfortable with you and your camera. Whether it’s the wedding day or an engagement session, you are more likely to capture the real side of your couple when they don’t feel under pressure, especially if they feel awkward facing the camera. So give them time and photograph them as they gradually get more comfortable with being in front of the camera. If your couple is already familiar with posing and you’ve already had a discussion about the photos you will take of them, then you could just keep giving them posing cues and also let them improvise. 

Suggested Read: How To Pose An Awkward Couple For Wedding Photos

1. The Kissing Shot 

Image Credit: ShootDotEdit Customer @apollofields

A kissing shot of your bride and groom is a timeless classic. They will love it, their friends will love it, and their families will cherish it too! It’s hard not to love it. Most couples are probably going to be okay with the PDA, but if your couple isn’t exactly a fan of this pose, then you could also try for other posing cues that reflect the same level of romance and chemistry. You could ask your couple to pose forehead to forehead or nose to nose as well. As long as they are getting close to each other, you are going to be able to capture their love in that shot. The bride receiving a forehead kiss from the groom or the bride and groom just lovingly looking at each other could also replace the classic kissing shot. However, to get the most of it, we would suggest that you give your couple some time to warm up and try some other poses instead of getting right to the kissing pose. 

2. The Laughing Shot

Image Credit: ShootDotEdit Customer @brandiallysephoto

The photograph of the bride and groom laughing together is another classic. Additionally, the laughing shot is one of the best ways to get your couple to relax a little, and this is especially important if you want to get amazing photos of them on the wedding day. They are already stressed about so many things, and if you can get them to laugh a little and get stunning photos at the same time, they are going to remember that and thank you for the smile you brought on their lips! If your clients look visibly uncomfortable or awkward, your images may not be as romantic or fun as they could otherwise be. The more relaxed your couple is, the easier it will be for you to pose them and capture their genuine emotion and chemistry. And don’t worry if humor is not your strong suit either; you don’t have to be a comedian to lighten the mood and make your couple laugh. 

3. The Action Shot 

Image Credit: ShootDotEdit Customer @infiniteloopphoto

Capturing your couples in action is one the best ways to photograph a couple who is not a fan of posing in front of the camera. Whether you freeze action or capture a motion blur, photographing your brides and grooms in motion could not only help your couple pose more naturally but also help you take some amazing photos. Capturing action shots can also help you break the monotony of the more traditional shots and document moments as they unfold, giving you the chance to capture them in their natural form. If you want to keep it more simple, you could simply give your couples posing cues like asking them to walk toward or away from you, jumping in the air, dancing (slow and romantic or go goofy!), or you could also ask your groom to pick up the bride (and if your couple is into it, you could also suggest vice versa)! We have a whole blog dedicated to photographing your couples in motion, so if this is something you think your couples are going to like, then we’d highly recommend that you check it out. 

4. A Classic Sunset Silhouette

Image Credit: ShootDotEdit Customer @brianbossany

You can never go wrong with a romantic sunset silhouette of your couple. Sure, silhouettes can get tricky. The wedding could be running late, the sunset might not be as spectacular as it usually is, it might start to rain - there’s a lot that can go wrong. But when you’ve got everything going for you, a sunset silhouette can really help you deliver romance and drama in one shot. You can take silhouettes with off camera lighting too, but the one that the setting sun will allow you to take - with all the dramatic sunset colors and the surroundings - is certainly going to stand out. You could get close up with your couple or shoot from a distance, you could ask them to get into a romantic pose or simply let them watch the sunset together - whatever you decide to do with the pose, try to make sure that you get a clear outline of the couple. Time it right, shoot against the light, and find the best position to shoot from and voila! You might just add another masterpiece to your list. 

Suggested Read: Silhouette Wedding Photography Inspiration From ShootDotEdit Customers

5. The Classic Portrait

Image Credit: ShootDotEdit Customer @erinm_photography

Last but not the least, you can just keep posing simple by going with the classic couples portraits. This option is especially handy when you are photographing a couple that gets uncomfortable and stiff as soon as it’s time to pose for the camera. Moreover, while the classic couples portrait is a simple, no-frills way of photographing your bride and groom’s love and bond, it doesn’t mean that it’s boring or plain. A photograph of your couple standing together but looking in the opposite directions, or the groom hugging the bride from the back, or the bride and groom looking directly into the camera while holding hands are some of the ways to get this shot. You could also try a version of them sitting close to each other, talking or simply looking at the camera. 

Suggested Read: A Guide To Wedding Photography Poses

Experiment With Different Poses

An engagement session or the wedding day, there are many ways to photograph your couple. Out of all the different reasons why you should get to know your couple well before you photograph them, one of them is also the fact that it allows you to understand the kinds of poses they will or won’t be comfortable with. Posing your couples isn’t always easy, but it doesn’t have to be the most difficult part of your job either. Get to know them, discuss the different poses, ask them what they would like to see in the photos, get a little creative, and simply let your couples be their authentic selves. They are more likely to appreciate you and their photos more if they see the true reflection of their personalities and relationship in the photographs.

Further Read: Posing Techniques: Bridesmaids & Groomsmen

At ShootDotEdit, we are passionate about helping you grow as a wedding photographer. We also help lessen your post-production workload with our professional photo editing services. To learn more about how we can help, check out our pricing plans.