How to Pose for Beginner Models

Good modelling poses can speak volumes. Learning how to pose (and what makes a good pose) is an art in itself, and for any model, learning different types of modelling poses goes beyond just looking good in a photo.

Posing is also about storytelling, expressing emotion, aligning with a client’s business branding, and of course, capturing attention. That being said, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to posing, but I have some helpful posing tips to get you started, from anchored poses to posing with objects, as well as how to learn more about posing. 

What are Anchored Modelling Poses? 

This is a technique of posing that’s great for beginners. The reason this technique is called ‘anchored’ posing, is because every time you pose, you use your body as an anchor for the pose. This means that at least one of your limbs is touching your body to create a pose - your body is the central point around which your poses are shaped. 

Think of a ship anchored in a harbour - your body is the anchor, and your poses are the waves that move around the anchor. The strength of your poses rely on your body as the central point. Here are some examples of anchored poses: 

See how the body is always the central point of the pose? One limb - whether it’s an arm or a leg - is always touching or relying on your body. This is a great posing technique for beginner models, because it helps you to develop awareness of how your body moves in a space. 

How to Pose with Objects 

At some point in modelling, you’ll be asked to pose with an object. Whether it’s a handbag or a tiny bottle of beauty product, you need to know how to showcase the important elements of an item. 

Something to remember is to always make sure logos and branded labelling can be seen in the photo. Your fingers and hands should not cover any important branding. The item should be positioned where the important features of the item can be clearly seen (think angles and lighting). Usually, a photographer will ask you to adjust the item slightly if they can’t see an important feature. This is pretty common in e-commerce photoshoots and other commercial modelling jobs. 

How to Learn More about Posing

Posing can take a while to get good at. It took me about a year or so before I developed the confidence to comfortably switch between poses and understand what I needed to do to make a pose look good. Something that really helped me was looking at fashion magazines. 

Why? Fashion magazines have had industry professionals look over the images inside the magazine before it went to print. Fashion magazines - especially ones like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar - have a big reputation to uphold, so the models that they feature in their ads and photos have to be of good quality! They’re a great example to learn from. 

Cutting out photos of interesting poses and pinning them to a cork board or sticking them to your mirror is a great way to have somewhere to keep these images so you can revisit them later. Once you’ve got these poses where you can see them, make sure you practise them in a mirror and try to get as close to copying the pose as possible. This is a great way to start training yourself to get better at posing. 

This list isn’t the be all and end all about learning to pose! There are other techniques and ways to learn how to pose for modelling, some of which you can find over on my Instagram. 

If you’ve got modelling castings coming up, I also have a guide on what to wear to put your best foot forward, here!