Allix Ruby : Natural Posing

Can you guys believe we are in the last two weeks of Boho Blogtober?!

Man, this month is going fast!!

I hope you all have been enjoying this month's guest bloggers as much as I have..so good.

Today I am thrilled to have the fabulous Allix Ruby sharing some thoughts on posing.

I really love this girl (got to meet her in person a couple years back!) and she is super awesome,

and totally rocking her business.

Hey everyone! My name is Allix Ruby; I’m a nineteen-year-old wedding and portrait lifestyle photographer living in Northeast Texas with my beloved husband of almost six months! You can head here to learn a little bit more about me. :)

Today I’m going to give several tips on something I think we all struggle with - posing our clients...naturally. The whole idea of posing seems to signify stiffness and lack of reality but there is a way that you can work with your clients to capture their truest and best selves. Here are five things I try to keep in mind to help me while posing –

1. Stay Confident.

Let’s be honest, being a young photographer can be really intimidating. Sometimes we wonder why people even trust us to capture such monumental parts of their lives! But that’s just what you need them to do if you ever want natural looking pictures – trust you. And if you aren’t confident in what you are doing, that’s going to make it very hard on your client to do so. Confidence is an attitude and emotion that we can conjure up if we really try. Believe in your ability! Believe in your creativity! Believe in your own unique ideas! If you portray that you are clearly in charge, know what you’re doing, and are passionate about what you’re seeking to create you will often break down even the strongest wall of shyness on your clients’ part. But when you doubt yourself and act unsure you can make even the bubbliest, most natural and easy-going people clam up and feel uncomfortable.

2. Stay Assertive.

Once again, it can be very hard to take charge as a younger professional. But that’s what your clients want and need you to do! Be very clear with your instructions and directions, make sure you’re not keeping all your ideas in your head and just hoping they’ll magically do that naturally. Most likely, they won’t. Be prepared! Know what you want the end result to look like and then pose them accordingly. Give them actions to do to avoid stiffness and keep things full of true emotion. “Walk towards me!” “I want you to run toward each other and hug like you haven’t seen each other in ages!” If you notice something is out of place, don’t be afraid to tell them! “Move your chin down!” “Try putting your left hand in your pocket!” “Put your face closer to hers!” Keeping an open line of communication with your subject will ensure that they know exactly what you want them to do. Instead of, when you’re culling, wishing you would’ve been bold enough to ask them to reposition.

3. Stay Positive.

One of the best ways to get genuine expressions from your clients is to praise them! While I am shooting, I am almost constantly directing, joking about, encouraging, and egging on whatever my clients are doing. “Wow! You are stunning!” “This is great, guys! Perfect, keep going…perrrrfect!!” “Awesome! Now spin her around! Yessss! Love that! So good!” The last thing you need to say is, “I don’t really like that” or “Well, not quite…could you do something else?” Basically, if you want them to do something else, don’t tell them what they’re doing is wrong…just move into a different pose while still encouraging and praising them. They don’t need to know what they just did looks horrible…you can work around it, keep reposing them until they do something you love. Everyone likes to hear that they look good and so if you fervently tell them that, they will begin to believe it and feel it. That’s what you’re always looking for; your clients genuinely enjoying their time, feeling important, and being their own unique beautiful selves!

4. Stay Observant.

I used to be really jealous when I looked at other photographer’s work because I thought they must’ve hit the jackpot of photogenic clients. But when I started shooting weddings I realized how so many amazing, emotionally stirring, and memorable things can be happening around me. If I’m too busy stressing over the perfect pose and looking for the dreamiest location, I could easily miss the way the groom just gently kissed his new wife’s cheek. If I’m frustrated that the children at my family session aren’t all perfectly lined up smiling like on Pinterest, I might miss the beauty of them grasping onto their mother’s fingers or hiding behind their father’s legs. Life is made up of lots of real, raw, messy, and achingly beautiful moments…that means every life. My tagline or slogan, if you will, of my business is “I capture the life and love of weddings, couples, families, and people.” That’s something I can’t create alone. What my clients spontaneously bring to the table is something I’ve learned to appreciate and work with instead of against.

5. Stay Flexible.

If shooting weddings has taught me one thing, it is to stay flexible. I cannot stress this enough. Just like no two people are the same, you can’t treat all your sessions with a cookie cutter mentality. You will need varying degrees of each of these points depending on each person. Things will often go much differently than you anticipate before you begin shooting – either better or worse. But even the most difficult of clients can result in genuine heartfelt images when you do not let it defeat you. If a pose just really isn’t working, move on! If the lighting you’re in is bad, keep looking! If the clients are shy or disinterested or (let’s just say it) awkward, keep trying! The more I learn this, the more I am astonished to watch even the stiffest people slowly loosen up and help me create images I am proud of.

Thanks so much, Allix!! Please leave her some love in the comments below!

love,

~H. Elise

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