Creative and Editorial Posing with Elaine Torres

At FD photo studio we are happy to see many new faces visiting our stages. Up and coming photographers, models, make up artists and other industry involved individuals are constantly honing their craft and pushing the bar on a daily basis. For very fresh newcomers it sometimes might seem intimidating and frightening to look up to already developed professionals and try to chase their craft level as if you were to have to climb  Mt. Everest after just learning to walk. Do not be discouraged. Start slow. Conquer each step, each technique one by one and celebrate the achievement. You will get to the top. Today we are going to help up and coming models who want to get into the fashion scene, yet have not mastered their posing game still. Here are a few tips from Elaine Torres on how to pose for fashion photoshoots, shot for Adorama TV. In this video Elaine explains that selling fashion is not just selling clothing and accessories but you would also have to sell a culture. And even though the posing trends are changing, the fashion posing always seems to be more dramatic. Let’s take a look at few variations of poses that you might try out at your next photoshoot.

Posing and looking straight onto the camera.

Let’s start with the simplest first. You, as a model, have your self positioned and looking straight onto the camera. Try not to smile at the camera. Instead, for this pose to look more editorial use neutral and relaxed expression. Focus your eyes and part your lips. You should see the difference on the photos right away. Let’s incorporate the varian of this pose. Slightly tilt the head to the side.

Adding arms

Let’s add arms to the frame. Keep in mind that adding arms should always be in symmetry to the frame. Some of variations here: the overhead folded arms. or the X shape. or variations of hands around the face area. Remember to maintain both arms inside the frame for closer shots.

The side pose.

Now let’s do the side pose. You can shoot this common side pose but it wouldn’t look as interesting. Let’s elevate the pose by using the neutral expression and raising the chin up a bit. With side poses like this one a way to incorporate the arms is by raising the elbows back. In addition to raising the chin hunching is also a popular technique in editorial posing.

Full body poses.

Let’s now shoot full body. A common pose for full body is this one. Start by standing straight in front of the camera and with unusual expression. Elaine calls it a “ghost pose”. Let’s experiment with the leg triangle. … or the leg extension … or the fake walk … and the separation of both legs. Here are just a few of simple yet powerful and useful you can try out next time on the set and build your pose repertoire from there. Watch the full tutorial video of Elaine Torres for Adorama TV here: