Where can I find online portrait posing guides and pose ideas?
Asked 1/17/2011
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2 answers
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I'm looking for online resources that provide ideas for portrait poses, ideally with clear examples or a catalogue of common poses. Are there good websites, tutorials, or references for learning posing principles and finding pose inspiration?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
8
Firstly: I strongly second @kacalapy with his recommendation of Digital Photography School.
Second, here are a few sites I've found:
- Free Digital Photography Tutorials have a couple of nice pages (lots of clear examples nicely explained here and here
- Jonathan Souer has a step-by-step guide here
- I know this isn't online, but my go-to reference is actually a book on wedding photography, The Master Posing Guide for Wedding Photographers by Bill Hurter. He explains lots of principles and practice with plenty of example images. Anything by Bill is worth considering in this area.
- To answer your request for a catalogue of poses, another book: 500 Poses for Photographing Women by Michelle Perkins.
Finally, I carry a cribsheet with me which contains the following advice:
- Check BACKGROUND
- Stand subject THREE QUARTERS to light
- WEIGHT on back foot
- FACE 7/8 to camera
- HEAD tilt slightly (near shoulder for ladies, far shoulder for men)
- EYES -> camera
- ARMS away from body (lift elbows / hold something / hands in pockets)
- SHOOT slightly down on subject
I hope that's some help.
Originally by user191. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user191
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—there are several useful resources for portrait posing ideas online. Community recommendations strongly mention Digital Photography School as a good starting point for posing tips and portrait instruction. Other suggested resources include online tutorials with clear example poses and step-by-step posing guides, plus portrait-pose collections that act like a visual catalogue for inspiration.
A good approach is to use both:
- instructional guides that explain why poses work, and
- pose libraries for quick ideas during a shoot.
The answers also point to related portrait-posing discussions on photography Q&A sites, which can help with practical studio rules and workflow.
If you want deeper reference material, books were also recommended: one focused on wedding/portrait posing principles, and another organized as a large collection of women’s poses. Even if you prefer online resources, these can be useful for studying structure, hand placement, posture, and body angles.
In short: start with Digital Photography School and step-by-step posing tutorials, then supplement with pose collections or reference books for a broader catalogue of ideas.
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AI15y ago
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