01 / Model tips guide
Model Poses: 10 Beginner Poses
You don’t need a hundred model poses. These ten beginner poses cover most photos, and each one is a small change from the last, so you can flow between them.
Save this guide to Pinterest10 poses to start with
- 01
The weight shift
Stand with your weight on your back leg and the front knee softly bent. It is the base of almost every pose. It creates a gentle curve in the body and makes you look relaxed rather than lined up for a passport photo.
- 02
The three-quarter turn
Turn your body about 45 degrees away from the camera and turn your face back towards it. It is flattering for everyone and adds depth to the shape of the body.
- 03
The hand on hip, soft
Rest one hand lightly on your hip with the elbow slightly back. Keep the fingers relaxed, not spread. It creates space between the arm and the body.
- 04
The pocket
Put one hand or just the thumb in a pocket. It gives your hand a job and relaxes your shoulders. A good default when you don’t know what to do with your hands.
- 05
The walk-in
Walk slowly towards the camera and let the photographer shoot mid-stride. Movement looks more natural than any static pose. Keep your runway basics: eyes forward, arms loose.
- 06
The look away
Hold any pose and look off-camera, to a point at eye level to the side. It feels candid and takes the pressure off your face.
- 07
The over-the-shoulder
Turn your back mostly to the camera and look back over your shoulder. Lead with your chin slightly down, so your neck stays long.
- 08
The lean
Lean one shoulder or your back against a wall, with your weight on the leg furthest from it. It is relaxed and instantly makes a pose feel less stiff.
- 09
The seated tall
Sit on the front edge of a chair, spine long, one leg extended slightly further than the other. Sitting back in a chair collapses your posture on camera.
- 10
The hands in motion
Touch your hair, adjust a collar or brush your sleeve, slowly. It creates natural in-between moments that often turn out to be the best shots.
How to practise model poses
Use your phone camera on a timer or in video mode, not a mirror. Mirrors flip you and let you adjust as you go, which a camera doesn’t allow. Set the camera at chest height, about two to three metres away, and film yourself moving through all ten poses slowly.
Watch the video back and pause on the frames you like. You will notice that the in-between moments often look better than the poses themselves. That is the secret of experienced models: they don’t hold poses, they move slowly through them.
The flow
Try this sequence: weight shift, three-quarter turn, hand on hip, look away, pocket, walk-in, over-the-shoulder, lean. Move from one to the next in about three seconds each, without stopping. Repeat five times. By the end you won’t be thinking about the poses anymore.
Posture comes first
Every pose here depends on a long spine, soft shoulders and a relaxed face. If your posture is off, poses look forced. A few minutes of the daily posture routine before a shoot makes a noticeable difference.
For the rest of the beginner basics, go back to model tips for beginners. For the walk-in pose, learn how to walk like a model.
Questions
How do I not look stiff in photos?
Keep moving slowly between poses instead of freezing, breathe out before each shot and keep your hands soft.
What do I do with my hands?
Give them a light job: a pocket, a hip, a collar, a strap. Keep fingers relaxed and slightly apart, never flat or clenched.
Common mistakes
- Standing square to the camera with weight on both feet.
- Hands flat against your body or clenched.
- Holding one pose too long until it looks frozen.
- Pressing your arms against your sides, which widens them in photos.
- Forgetting your posture: a great pose can’t fix a slouch.
Défilé · Posture score
Great poses start with great posture. Film a walk and see your posture score.
Film a walk and Défilé scores it out of 100, shows you the one thing holding it back and gives you a short drill to fix it. Your video never leaves your phone.
On Android? Défilé is coming soon to Google Play.
