Whether you are a photographer, a model, or just someone who is getting there portrait done, you may feel awkward doing certain poses. You could be told/directing to do the "fake laugh," "tuck your hair behind your ear and look down, now do the same with your body in this direction," or maybe something else really specific that does not feel natural. We all have to admit we've been a victim of this. Lucky for you I have some poses that feel natural I can share.

1. The Walk Away

For this pose I genuinely just told the girl, "I want you to walk away from me," something about it feels very feminine yet at the same time mysterious. It feels natural and it still has a sense of motion to it with her touching her hair. I did ask her to touch with her hair but I didn't give super strict instructions with it. Even though it was one simple instruction, telling someone to walk in a specific direction doesn't require much thought or focus.

2. The Look Down

When I was taking this photo I crouched down and told him, "Look down and smile," I was really trying to focus on getting interesting shots with experimenting with angles for this one but it doesn't feel that way when you look at it. He is relaxed, smiling which wasn't hard because he was already enjoying himself. It isn't something you would try to do and think, "This is going to take ten minutes to achieve," it's relaxed and casual.

3. When They Don't Know

During this picture I didn't even let them know I was taking photos yet. I was adjusting my camera settings to match the lighting situation and I was ready while they were trying to get situated and I just started snapping shots. I love the way she is looking at him in this photo and saying "I want you to look at him in this specific way" definitely isn't natural and might be a little confusing for the subject trying to figure out whatever that stare you are trying to achieve is. When photos are truly candids it can turn into something magical.

4. A Single Action

As you will tell this photo is more specific to my specialty and style but regardless does not seem posed. I poured some of the color powder in her hands and simply told her to blow it on the count of 3. After I counted to three she blew the pink dust in the air and it captured the playful and fun affect of it dispersing. She looks calm in the photo and not like she is forcing herself in a position besides leaning a bit which still I did not instruct her to do. Telling your subject to do one specific action as long as it is simple.

5. The Turn Around

Maybe this pose is a bit debatable with if it feels posed or not but I think it depends how you go about instructing it. If you say turn away from me and look back and then decide they need to turn there body a little more, and then tell them to go back because they turned too much, and make a certain facial expression it can feel like a lot. I did not try to complicate it at all. I had her face away from me and had my camera ready and told her to look back at me and started snapping away. It feels so natural and the way her hair tosses which gives the photo a sense of movement and makes it a little more dramatic too which was great seeing that effect which I love. Her body is relaxed, her expression isn't forced, one simple twist of the body can really do a lot.

I feel like all these poses can really improve a photo session with making you and your client more comfortable. I don't think any of these are hard to instruct and I hope you feel the same when you try them out at your next photoshoot!