A Variety of Poses in Just 10 Minutes...A Glimpse into EK's Posing Flow

Hi, friends! Today, I’d like to give you a look into the inner workings of my photography brain! I so often share with clients that I can capture a variety of poses in just minutes and it’s true! After years of working with hundreds of families and children of all ages, I’ve perfected my posing flow to get you the photos you’re dreaming of in the shortest amount of time possible. Curious how it’s done? Follow along for my posing workflow secrets!

Meet the S family! I’ve been photographing this group for years and they are the perfect example client to use for this blog because they have three young children (hint: young kiddos are the biggest challenge for a photographer to pose!). The photos shown here are from their 10-minute fall mini session with me last year. I delivered 23 photos in their final gallery. When she completed the questionnaire, mom said she wanted to focus on images of the whole family and three children together. Knowing this information is super important because it allows me to plan a mini session specifically meeting the wants and needs of the client.

The Walking Pose

I always like to begin with a walking pose because it gets everyone a little looser and more comfortable in front of the camera. For this family, I asked little lady to stand between mom and dad because, being the youngest, she was most likely to stray from the group plan. I asked the family to do the walking pose twice just to be sure I captured smiles and looking at the camera for each member of the group.

Standing Pose / The “Toddler Trapper”

Next, we moved into a standing pose. I asked dad to do the “toddler trapper” and hold little lady on his shoulders. Then, I posed mom and the boys next to them. I asked everyone to do a “smile for the camera” and then look at each other. A variation on this pose would be asking mom to hold the youngest boy and positioning the oldest boy next to mom hugging her around the waist. This creates a completely different look in just seconds of position changes.

Sitting Poses

The final set of family poses for this group was on my blanket. I always position mom and dad first when sitting. Whenever possible, I ask mom to “sit like a mermaid” with her legs wrapped behind her for a flattering look and then ask dad to sit as close to her touching hips as possible. My next step is always finding out who the youngest child is happiest with, mom or dad. On this particular day, it was mom so we posed little lady in her lap. I then asked the oldest brother to sit next to dad and the littlest brother to sit on his lap. We got the traditional “smile at the camera” photo and then I prompted them to look at each other, tickle, and laugh. This prompt always creates some great, genuine smile images!

There are SO many variations to choose from with sitting poses. For this family, I may have asked the oldest brother to kneel behind mom and dad in the window between their shoulders and place his hands on both shoulders and hug them in. I could’ve also asked the oldest brother to sit between mom and dad and then move each of the younger siblings to the outside lap of their parents. Finally, I might have asked mom and dad to share little lady in the middle of their laps and pose each brother at the hip of one parent. The possibilities are truly endless!

Next, we moved on to photos of just the kiddos. I posed the big brothers on either side of little lady on my box to keep her in place and to create a visually appealing boy/girl/boy look. A variation on this pose would be asking the kiddos to gather in the middle of a blanket on their bellies facing me, heads close together or sitting criss-cross-applesauce side by side with arms around each other.

PLAYTIME

Because it was fall time, we had to take the opportunity to play in the leaves. I asked the three kiddos to stand shoulder to shoulder a foot or so apart and then we counted down from 5 to throw leaves in the air. It’s important they stayed in a pretty consistent line so every child was in focus. It was even more important we did this prompt more than once to be sure I captured several options where leaves were flying and all faces were showing.

And…that’s a wrap! 10 minutes flew by, we accomplished a wide variety of poses, and this family went on their merry way after a quick break in their day for photos. Ready to create photo memories with me in just a few short minutes? Get in touch today!