Half the people who step in front of my camera open with the same sentence: “Just so you know, I’m terrible at photos.” They are never right. What they are is uncomfortable, and discomfort photographs loudly. The photographer’s real job is not posing bodies — it is dissolving self-consciousness. Here is what actually works.
Give hands a job. Dangling hands are the universal symptom of awkwardness. Pockets, collars, hair tucks, a jacket slung over the shoulder, holding a partner’s hand — any task instantly relaxes the arms and, mysteriously, the face along with them.
Direct movement, not positions. “Stand there and smile” produces a driver’s license photo. “Walk toward me slowly, then look at each other on three” produces life. Movement burns nervous energy and creates natural variation between frames — a slow walk, a hair flip, a spin, a lean-and-push-off against a wall.
Use the fake laugh trick. Ask someone to fake-laugh badly on purpose. The fake laugh is so absurd that a real one follows within two seconds, and that second frame — the genuine crinkle-eyed laugh at how ridiculous this all is — becomes their favorite photo of themselves. It works on stoic dads, self-conscious teens, everyone.
Angle, don’t face. Square shoulders to the camera read as a mugshot. Turning the body thirty degrees and shifting weight to the back foot slims everyone and adds dimension. Chin slightly forward and down defines the jawline — tell people to imagine a string pulling the crown of the head toward the sky.
Show them a win early. Ninety seconds into every session, I turn the camera around and show off one good frame. Watch the shoulders drop. Once someone believes the photos are working, they stop performing and start being present, and that is when the real gallery begins.
Have a question about anything in this article — or want to see these ideas in practice? Send a note through the contact page, browse the print collection to see how technique becomes finished wall art, or book a session and watch it happen in real time. New articles on photography technique, gear, and the craft of portraiture are published here every Monday and Thursday.