Posing Secrets of the Red Carpet
How is it that celebs look fabulous in every red carpet picture you see?
True, the expensive dresses, personal stylists and trainers, and crew they have at work carefully editing out the duds DO help.
Celebs have also learned and practiced the key secrets to posing that make the most of what they've got when they're strutting the red carpet.
Real women can also look fab at any age and any size.
Would you like to look like you stepped off the red carpet in your next picture?
Below are some of those posing secrets!
First let’s start with a Bonus Tip that doesn’t involve posing:
Pro Makeup
It can't hurt to start with professional makeup! (standard with all our Full Portrait sessions) Having a pro take care of you before your session starts the tone for the whole shoot. So you’re not in a rush and get to relax before your photos.
BEFORE & AFTER PRO MAKEUP
Posing Tip #1
Put your weight on your back foot.
What shape do all women want? That's right. An hourglass figure, ladies!
Place your weight on your back foot, and place your front foot with bended knee slightly forward to get that hourglass shape.
Why does this work?
What is closest to the camera will look larger in your photos.
In most cases, that means we want the booty away from the camera.
It also helps to turn your body slightly, which you’ll see next is a slimming trick.
Posing Tip #2
Turn your body 45 degrees.
Now what can we do to whittle down that waist even more?
The trick here is to turn your body 45 degrees to the camera.
The more you turn, the smaller the slice of body the camera captures.
Just don't overdo it. 45 degrees is perfect. You'll see that angle throughout this post.
Posing Tip #3
Pull your arms away from your body.
Let’s look at what happens if your arms are at your sides… In effect, this doubles the size of your midsection. The eye sees a giant block of color and thinks big.
For that shapely look, we want a slim middle.
By separating the arms away from your body (even just a little bit), the eye will see space and the middle is made smaller.
Try varying it up with asymmetrical hand placement to spice up your portrait poses.
Plus, as a bonus, you'll get that triangle shape that the fashion world adores.
And remember the 45 degree angle from tip # 2.
Posing Tip #4
Chin forward and down.
This is my favorite tip. It instantly slims your neck and jawline. Another way of thinking of it is bringing your forehead out and down. Think of it the way that works best for you and practice this in the mirror. It will look and feel funny the first few times you so this so Practice! Practice! Practice! in order to make this look natural.
It's a "looks good, feels weird" pose. Let me elaborate on the amazing difference this small trick will make.
First of all, don't laugh at my bad photos. Just kidding. DO LAUGH!
The position on the far left looks bad, doesn't it? When we laugh, we naturally throw out heads back-- creating a terrible double chin. The natural, relaxed position for most people is somewhere in the middle. It's okay, but not great. Now look at the final picture on the right. With the chin projecting forward, the neck is lifted and smoothed. Got a double chin that drives your crazy in pictures? No problem. Got aging skin that has some sag you'd like to eliminate? Try this.
Let's see that again from the side. Note: Don't adopt this pose if you're shooting a profile shot.
This is how I want you to project your head. FORWARD.
Now what was that about putting the chin (or forehead, if you will) down? Remember from step 1, that what moves towards the camera appears bigger and what is away from the camera appears smaller. By bringing the chin down, your eyes come towards the camera, making them appear larger. And aren't large, doe-like eyes, better? This is your go-to move for portraits and headshots.
Sidenote... You might be asking: "why do models tip their heads up?"
Have you seen this "I'm staring you down" look in magazines?
By tipping the head up, you emphasize a long, slender neck and in effect give the body language that says "I'm looking down on you." All you divas are welcome to rock that pose and enjoy the fun fashion feel it projects, but for a universally pleasing look, I say, chin forward and down.
Not a posing tip but... Remember that having confidence in yourself is the most important thing you can do in any photo. That’s a main thing celebs may do even when they don’t always feel confident … they ACT confident like they are playing a role in a movie.
Alright. That's a wrap. All it took was four basic posing tips to dramatically improve your portraits.
Not bad, huh? You've got the knowledge you need to rock the red carpet (or the iPhone snapshot for that matter) and look much, much better with these tips alone.
Now just practice a bit whenever you pass a mirror and have fun!
I'd love to hear what you found most helpful and what you think you'll put into practice the next time you're faced with a photo op. I read every comment, so post yours below.
Sharing is caring. Let your girlfriends know how they can look their best by pinning or Facebook sharing this post.
Cheers!
Lori
loricardwell@outlook.com