How I Direct and Pose Studio Portraits and Outdoor Lifestyle Photography

With this blog, I want to give you insight into what to expect when working with me. How do I direct posing clients? Yes, every session is unique, so your session may be slightly different, but this is generally how I pose and direct Studio vs Lifestyle sessions.

This isn’t Merriam-Webster dictionary, but I am going to give you my definitions of posing vs. directing.

Posing - Guiding you with detailed instructions and positioning your body to flatter your body the most. Stationary, placing hands and feet where needed to make the photo look as appealing as possible.  

Directing - Giving you verbal instructions and then giving you the freedom to create movement with the directions I gave.

I want to add a quick note: whether I am posing or directing, there will be a moment when I can’t find the words, and I will ask for your permission to gently touch you to move you into place. Some clients are willing for me to physically move them where they need to go, and say, "Yes, please place me wherever I need to go." There was one client who politely replied, "No, please don’t touch me," and I responded, "No worries." Then I will say step to the left a hair, a hair more, a hair more until they are where they need to be.

In the majority of my Maternity Studio sessions, I am posing. I will guide you and pose your body to help show off your belly and emphasize that you’re glowing and keeping you modest, even with some of the risque poses. Maternity Studio sessions are almost exclusively photographed with studio lights, so most portraits are tack sharp and capture so much detail. For that reason, I will instruct you on how to point your toes, where to put your hands, and where to look.  

In my Studio Family Sessions, I use a combination of natural and studio lighting to create more movement and tell a different story. My background is simple, so that way the focus can be on your family.  So, after we get the perfectly posed photo, we move on to directing with more movement and storytelling.

The majority of my Outdoor sessions are directed with minimal posing. So we always start with the picture-perfect photo with everyone smiling and looking at the camera. They immediately go on to the fun part. To help your photos look more natural and organic, I direct your family with games and instructions. Your family is perfect just the way they are, so I strive to get their personalities as natural as possible. After the one photo of everyone smiling, I will not ask your kid to smile again. That doesn’t mean they won't smile. I will just work differently to help it come out naturally. Here is an example of one of my favorite directions to give. I usually talk to the kids first, give them instructions, and then quickly move on to the parents. I ask the kids if they are up for a race (most kids are, and they don’t want their siblings to win, so they’re excited). So I will direct the kids and ask them to start about five feet from the parents. As the kids are getting to their marks, I tell the parents I want you to stand right here, and they’re going to run to you. I want you to give them the biggest hug and pick them up if you want. This is one of my favorites because you get the movement of the kids, you will see who chooses what parent to run to, it causes natural smiles, and sometimes that one cooperative kid gives a frown, but that’s their personality, so it goes with who your family is.

Now, I want to know what your preference is. Do you want to be posed, told exactly what to do, and moved around, or do you prefer some freedom with direction?