HOW TO POSE COUPLES FOR PREWEDDING SHOOT

A pre-wedding shoot is an elegant and intimate experience for any couple. It’s the perfect way to capture the most memorable moments of your relationship before you tie the knot, and with these helpful pointers. You can ensure it’s perfect. Here are our top five tips for posing couples for a pre-wedding shoot:

Have fun! The shoot should be about capturing who you are as a happy couple in love, so let yourselves go and enjoy yourselves. A playful atmosphere will reflect in the photos and they won’t just be objects of remembrance but an accurate snapshot of your personality as well.

Try not to obsess about the photos you see of other couples on the internet. Although some photographers’ work may be an inspiration, you should aim to create your own style and stay true to yourselves. Your passion and connection will shine through perfectly in a shoot that is about you and your partner, not a photographer’s interpretation of a generic ‘couple shot’.

Set up a sense of intimacy between you both through body language, with arms around each other or intertwined hands for example. You can also enhance intimacy with props such as flowers or candles, with perhaps one of the most important things being the use of natural light to look your best in your photos.

Don’t feel like you have to hold the same things in every photo – if you want to put a flower in your partner’s hair, go ahead! Or skip the flowers and skip the romantic walks and try something fun and active instead, like a playful wrestling match for example. Variety is important for keeping things interesting – you should never feel like you’re taking part in a photo shoot.

Remember that little details such as not blocking out shoulders or legs can make all the difference when it comes to selling your images later on.

TYPES OF POSES FOR A COUPLE

There are several different poses for couples:

1. Love: This is the most common and timeless pose for couples and should be your go-to method of posing. It’s incredibly romantic, as it involves two people looking into each other’s eyes with arms around each other’s waists or shoulders, as well as chest-to-chest contact.
2. Intimate: This pose can be used in conjunction with any other pose to add an extra level of intimacy to the image. It involves sitting or kneeling close together, with your partners’ arms around each other, head resting on each other’s shoulders etc.
3. Hip-to-hip: This is a relaxed pose best used when the photographer is using long exposure settings for either stationary or slow moving subjects. It involves standing together, hip-to-hip, with one partner placing an arm over the shoulder of the other, who places his hand on top of it. Each partner should have their free hand extended forward at different angles, to create interest in the image
4. Side-by-side portrait: This is one of the most popular poses for couples – it involves one partner standing and the other sitting at their side. It can be done in a variety of ways, such as on a chair, on the ground, on the couch… whatever feels right to you. It’s important to note that it’s not always necessary for your partner to be seated; often they’ll be more comfortable standing with you and will look great too.
5. Double portrait: This is a pose for two people to appear as one. It involves standing side-by-side with your arms around each other’s shoulders, or sitting on the floor with your faces just an inch apart.
6. The Bride & Groom: This poses for one person to pose as though they are the Bride and the other as the Groom, with both wearing wedding dolls or veils. It is done best in front of a white background or wall to create a sense of mystery and wonder around them. Some couples may prefer it to be done head-to-toe in wedding attire – again this is up to you!
7. The Kiss: This pose involves the couple kissing and is best done with soft shadows to create a romantic effect.
8. The Hug: This pose involves hugging and is best done with soft lighting and long shutter speeds (if you allow your camera’s shutter to be open for about 1/30 of a second or more, you can capture the image of the couple in motion through a blur).
9. Hand-in-hand: In this pose, one partner holds onto the other’s hand while walking side by side, which creates a playful and relaxed atmosphere. Appropriate for outdoor locations or while moving around indoor locations.
10. The Ensemble: This pose can be done in front of a neutral background, or in front of a black background or wall where the couple can stand next to each other. It is similar to the Man & Woman pose, except that the man is usually holding onto one of his partner’s arms.
11. The Man & Woman: This pose involves one person posing as the Bride and another as the Groom, with wedding doll or veil accessories for both partners. It is commonly done in front of a white background or wall to create a sense of mystery and wonder around them.
12. The Bride & Groom Side View: This pose involves one person posing as the Bride and another as the Groom, with wedding doll or veil accessories for both partners. It is done in a three quarter view from the back, facing away from each other towards the photographer, or from a side profile with backs shoulders touching.
13. The Bride & Grooms Face Turn: This pose involves one person posing as the bride and another as the groom while they turn their profiles towards each other to create an image that looks like they are embracing while facing away from each other.
14. The Bride & Groom Face to Face: This pose involves one person posing as the bride and another as the groom while they look into each other’s faces. The best angle for the face to face pose is when the couple is slightly tilted away from each other, looking at each other’s noses.
15. The Group: This pose involves a group of friends or family members standing behind and around a couple, who can stand in front of or against a wall to create symmetry and allow for easy cropping. It is great for groups of 2-5 people seated next to one another in order to create a portrait that looks like they are sitting together.
16. The Infinity Pose: This pose is best done with a wide angle lens (ideally with an F-stop of at least 4 or 5) to exclude any distractions that may be in the frame. It involves one person standing tall in front of the other, while their arms are outstretched in an upright position. The back of the man’s head should face slightly towards the background or wall behind him, which will create a sense of mystery and wonder around him.
17. The Superman Pose: This pose involves one person standing tall in front of the other, while their arms are outstretched in an upright position. The back of the man’s head should face slightly towards the background or wall behind him, which will create a sense of mystery and wonder around him. The best angles for the Superman pose are lower to the ground, so that you can see their legs in full length when standing up straight.
18. The Princess Pose: This pose involves one person standing tall in front of the other, while their arms are outstretched in an upright position. The back of the man’s head should face slightly towards the background or wall behind him. In this pose, they should look like they are wearing idealized princess like clothing i.e. ballgowns, tiaras, crowns…
19. The Horseback Riding Pose: This pose involves one person standing tall in front of the other on horseback style heels with their hands on each others waist at different angles i.e. tucked in, spread out, etc. The legs should remain together while the body leans forward into the pose. It is best to have them appear as if they are entering into or exiting from a building, or are traveling across a bridge.
20. The Dance Pose: This pose involves one person standing tall in front of the other with their arms upraised, hands open with fingertips turned upwards and gazing down at their person. They should look like they are dancing or performing some sort of acrobatic ability or dance move either on the ground, on a wire strung between two poles, etc…

In conclusion, there may be more poses that you can think of, and we encourage you to experiment with different images that inspire you. We hope this has given you a general idea of how to pose and photograph your guests and is something you will find useful in the future.