THE ULTIMATE POSING GUIDE FOR YOUR WEDDING DAY.

Why Close to 40% of Brides Have REGRETS

Below is the story of a friend of mine.



“I remember when my wife and I got married, she was absolutely ecstatic when we had finally received our wedding photos. As we pulled up to view the slideshow with our friends, I remember her having a huge smile, but suddenly the look on her face changed to disappointment as we got to the end of the preparation and portraits.”

After the slideshow was finished, I asked why she had that look on her face, and she said, “You know… I honestly didn’t know at the time… but really thinking about it, I just didn’t like the way our photographer posed me for the portraits. I just don’t think I look very flattering or beautiful in those poses at all.”



What a disappointment. 

To have that one day in your life in the most beautiful dress, but to not be happy with the way you are posed in the portraits.



Sadly, a lot of photographers don’t understand that it’s not just about the the beautiful compositions, backdrops, and even moments. Though those are all important, it is an absolute necessity to be a master in the art of posing to ensure the bride and the groom look absolutely dazzling on the best day of their life.

So I did some research…

I came across this study that mentioned that close to 40% of brides had regrets when it came to their wedding photos. “Wow!” I thought to myself. I couldn’t believe that percentage was so high! I started digging deeper to really see the reasons why these brides we’re unhappy, and this is what I found…

1. “Our photographer got drunk, and you can see the photos in the gallery getting blurrier and blurrier as you scroll through.”

2. “He just really didn’t seem to know what he was doing! He didn’t guide us during the portrait session and we we’re just standing there awkwardly!”

3. “She only captured moments of my husband and I, but not of our close friends and loved ones. That was really disappointing.”

And that was just the tip of the iceberg…

I take pride in my work, and after seeing almost half of brides out there being extremely unhappy with the results they were getting from other so called professional photographers, I couldn’t help but be extremely proud of what every single one of my couples have said about me. Below is what Shannon and Edward said:

“Igor is amazing. My husbands is a tough military man that can’t stand his photos being taken but Igor changed that. Igor made my husband feel comfortable and have fun during the shoot so it didn’t feel like a chore. At first I was feeling extremely camera shy and nervous so Igor pulled me aside and taught me the right poses and angles so I would feel confident. My guests are so impressed by his passion for photography. You aren’t going to find a better photographer.”

In these next few pages, I’m going to share as much value in my expertise in posing wedding couples with you so you can ensure you look your best and have no regrets for your special day.

How to Look Your Best In Your Wedding Portraits

Posing is an ART. But understandably it’s an art that a lot of couples are nervous about, and SADLY that a lot of so-called “professional” photographers actually don’t know how to direct correctly.

So if you happen to have a photographer who doesn’t know how to pose you with expertise and intention, what are a few things you should remember?

Here are a few pointers. I call these THE FOUNDATION of posing:

1. Imaginary String:

First off you want to ensure that your spine is straight, but NOT stiff and unnatural. I often ask my couples to act as if there is a string on the back/top of their head pull up. Have a straight spine and natural curve in you lumbar (lower back).

2. Shoulders:

Push your shoulders 1 inch back. This will further bring confidence and beauty in your pose.

3. Weight Distribution:

You want your weight distribution to be uneven or else your pose will look unnatural. There are two ways to do this. Either cross one leg over the other or put more weight on your back leg. Look at the photo below. Each of these techniques were used on this photo of Kelly.

4. The Nose X-Factor.

By having the bride and groom looking at different directions ( the noses forming an X shape ) gives the portrait a sense of candid. As if I caught them in a real beautiful moment.

I usually achieve this type of imagery by doing a combination of posed and semi-posed images. Then I add some fun images on top of that and we get a series of images in the least amount of time.

Posing your hands.

I could write a book on how to pose hands and eyes… it’s the photographer’s job to not just “memorize” poses, but to learn how to “build” a pose for our brides and grooms.
But here a few pointers so you’ll know what to do on your wedding day.

5. The cigarette pose.

The hands and arms can be used to lead attention to the right places. With this cigarette pose (looks like she’s holding a cigarette almost), it leads the viewers attention towards her face, but is also very natural and beautiful. With her other arm we could either make it out of sight behind her, or in this case hold the back of her dress.

6. Hold something.

When you hold something it naturally gives your hands something to do, but also brings attention to that object. Here I have Stephanie holding her dress which also is a beautiful way to lead attention and show it off.

7. Pick her up.

If the bride feels comfortable being picked up there is a chance of getting a series of beautiful and spontaneous moments that will be sure to be one of your favorites in your album.

8. Do not squoosh your face or hair.

This one is so easy to forget when you’re in the moment, but whenever posing, make sure not to squoosh your face or your hair as they will look flattened and will definitely not be flattering.

So, instead, whenever leaning your face onto each other or part of each other’s body, make sure to do it very lightly, you’re barely even touching, this way you will keep the shape of your hair or cheeks. See the three examples below.

Keep in mind that even though these photos look very natural, I definitely guided them so that the final images are perfection!

As you can see by these three examples, there is a lot of technique, communication and guidance going on between us. Of course, we already had a chance to work together for the engagement photos so we were totally in tune with each other. I just had to briefly remind them.

9. Take a step forward.

Take a step forward? What do you mean? Yes, exactly what I said. For the bride to move one of her legs as if taking a step forward so it ads a nice shape to the dress and adds dimension to the image. Look at the example below.

10. How to Walk in Front of the Camera

Remember how I talked about weight distribution for your portraits? It’s the same thing for walking. If you walk normally, it’s possible your portraits could look like a penguin walking.

So for the camera, what you want to do is walk as if you are walking on a straight line under you. This will change the weight distribution in your hips making it look much more flattering in the portrait.

This tip is more important for the groom because the dress will always be covering the bride’s feet.

Look at the example below…

And most importantly… Have Fun!

Even though knowing how to pose is crucial for a wedding photographer and couples, all these rules are ultimately to be broken because on the wedding day the moment is more important than the pose.

So knowing how to use this knowledge properly is like seasoning a delicious meal. Not too much and not too little. Discretion will fall upon you and the photographer to use them for those images you know you want to be perfect.

Conclusion.

So far you’ve learned 10 great tips to make sure you won’t be the close to 40% of brides who have regrets with their wedding photographer. Crazy thing is… at this point you may know more about posing than most “professional” wedding photographers out there lol.

As you probably noticed, there is just so much information about posing. Now, it’s up to your photographer to be aware of them and make the poses work for you and your wedding.

This blog perhaps should not have been called “The Ultimate Guide to Posing”, because an entire book can and have been written on the subject, but it does cover on a more advanced level how to achieve images you’ll absolutely love.

It takes many years of experience to perfect this art and for this important reason ( as was mentioned in the beginning of this blog ) about 40% of all brides have regrets when it comes to the photography of their wedding.

If you found this information helpful feel free to share it with the ones you love. If my images moved you in any way and you’re interested in getting to know more about me and my work I’m just a phone call or text away.

Igor Lacertis

Here is my phone number: (845)978-2613