Transcripts
1. Introduction: Posing in front of the camera is not really an easy
thing for most people. Or you photographer
and struggled to take shots where
people look natural? Or do you ever find yourself standing in front of
the camera awkwardly, unsure of what to do? By watching this class, you will learn a variety
of candid looking poses that will give you confidence for your
next photo shoot. Hi there, I'm Clara
and I've been a professional photographer and filmmaker for about eight years. I specialize in
taking photos of in all different situations
from weddings and kappa photography,
portrait photography. I've taken photos of
hundreds of people and developed my shooting
style over time. I went all the way from
weirdly staged photos and unnatural poses to
candidate style photography. And that's where I found myself. Over the years. I have learned some
helpful tricks of how to make people feel themselves
in front of the camera, because that's the
candidate looking photos. This lesson is for
everyone who wants to understand the magic
behind candid photos. Doesn't matter if you're a
professional photographer seeking inspiration on
how to pose your clients, or if you're the one in
front of the camera. This class will
help you to get to the core of candid
looking photos. And after you finish watching, you'll be able to post so naturally that no one knows
you're actually posing. If you're into
shooting weddings, engagements, or family photos, definitely check out my previous class
here on Skillshare, where I teach about candid
posing in Cabo photography. You'll find some helpful
tips there as well. The finished this class, you will need a camera. Dslr or mirrorless
cameras are preferred, but you can also use your phone. At the beginning of the class, I'll introduce you
to dynamic poses. Will start with walking, running, and spinning to
capture the movement. After that, we'll
move to static poses. We'll talk about variations in sitting and standing poses. Explain how to place your arms. Will also use the environment
and surrounding objects for indirection to achieve more
editorial style photos. There will be time for
experimental photos as well. And at the end we'll show the playful side of
the photograph person. Throughout the
lessons, you will see how I guide my clients into the bowl some after and
how I achieved variety. And the final gallery. I am so excited to be
teaching this class because portrait
photography became not just my profession, but also my passion. Candid looking photos give
us so many opportunities to show the real personality
of the photographed person. And that's why I love it. For the class project. Choose one candidate posts from this class and upload it in the project section so we can all be inspired
by your approach. I hope you're thrilled to
learn some new skills today. So let's get into it. This is how it looks
like it's spinning.
2. Project: Before we jump to
the first lesson, let me introduce you
to the class project. As a final project, you'll choose one candidate
pose that we'll talk about and take a portrait photo. To finish the class project, you'll need a DSLR or mirrorless camera or just easier phone. First, choose the
right clothes and environment that will
add up to the photo. Talk to the person before the
shoot and get to know them. You have to remember that everyone needs a
different amount of time to get used to you being around and taking
photos of them. Dr. your subjects like you would talk to a friend and make them feel confident that you can create some nice
photos together. This assignment is
an opportunity to move your portrait
photos to another level. No more staged photos
in weird poses. These lessons will make you more confidence to stand in
front of the camera. And at the same time
you will practice communication skills when
trying to pose the others. I noted the toughest part
is to just get started. I wanted to make things
even easier for you. After you complete this class, go to the class resources
where you'll find a step-by-step guide
for all the poses. Download it. And when
you go out to shoot, if you're stuck, just look at the guide and it will
help you keep going. There's plenty of candidate
poses to choose from. And most importantly,
upload your best photo in the project section to share your creativity with everyone. And now let's dive right in.
3. Walking: Before we start, I want to introduce you to my friend Lily. She's gonna be my model today. We've already done a few shoots with Lily together before. So I know that she's a
natural talent for posing, even if she doesn't think so. But it's normal. Most
of the people are not confident in
front of the camera. And that's why we're
going to start our photo shoot with
a walking pose today. Working in the most natural
movement we can do. There are many
variations of this pose. I can take photos of
the person walking towards me, away from me. Looking at the camera over your shoulder or completely
ignoring the camera. I usually do both
close-ups and also white anger shorts to
show the surroundings. This is one of my favorite
books of all time and I always start my
photo sessions by walking. I like to talk to
the person while shooting so that I get
to know them better. But also to show the person how to photoshoot is
going to look like. And there's nothing
to be scared about. Never underestimate
the power of keeping your subjects engaged in
some light conversation. It helps people feel
way more in the moment. When taking photos
of people moving, you have to capture
the right moment. What I'm looking for in walking pose is when the
legs are straight and just the moment
when the person is crossing one leg
over the other. This makes a nice body shape. If you compare it with a photo where one of the legs is banned, you can definitely
see the difference. Position of the
legs usually makes the biggest difference together
with facial expression. When it comes to the
position of the arms, I let her move the
arms naturally or tell her to hold her skirt if
I want some variation. The last thing I always
look at when going through the photos is the
loop of the close. Especially when she's
wearing a dress, it can change the
feeling of the photo. If you get to the moment
when the dress is flying.
4. Running: And adipose is also dynamic
and will be running. You can get some really
awesome dynamic shots, running ads, even more movements to the
flying hair or clouds. But at the same time, it can take a while to
get the shot right. There are a lot of elements that we can predict with this pose, like hair flying over the face, legs, or arms not in
the right position. Or sometimes the
dress can show a little bit more than
what we wanted. We also need to capture the most natural
facial expression. Getting all these
elements right in one shot can be challenging. If you're a beginner
photographer, I would suggest
that you shoot in burst mode to keep snipping one photo after another to make sure that you're
perfect shot is there, even if it, of course
means extra work and more time spent on photo
selection afterwards. When capturing the running pose, the best moments to
take a shot is when she's above the ground
with her legs straight. As far as the likes are in a perfect position and the
body shape looks great. We have one. I actually like when the hair is scouring
the face a little bit. And if it looks a bit messy, That's for me what
creates the mood. If she runs closer
to the water's edge, the droplets of water at
beautiful little detail. Which running pose. You
can also experiment with longer exposure to blur
the movement a little bit.
5. Spinning: The next of the dynamic poses I want to mention is spinning. This is another play football. I like to include in each of my photo shoots for the variety. I usually switch between dynamic and static poses
during my photo sessions. And the spinning pose is
the one and sometimes causing you the photoshoot with there is a reason for that. First of all, people are
usually tired after that. And second, I liked the finished the whole session
with a lot of energy, good vibes and laughs. And a spinning post is
just perfect for that. Same as with the running pose. You have to take more
photos when you shoot, a person's spinning
to make sure they're at least few where all the
elements work well together. Facial expression,
the position of arms, hair, and so on. It's a challenging pose
that's worth trying. And as I've said, you can include this
post at the end when you already know you have plenty
of other great shots. The last five to 10 min of a photo session are
great to try something new and experimenting
with a spinning post. Let her move freely, led her dance with arms
wide open or up in the air. Lead Harris sing,
shout and laugh. What helps is if you do
the movement as well. If you sing or play
the music, that way, she doesn't feel awkward and sees that you are
in this together. You as a photographer, has to create the right mood
for the photographed person to feel comfortable sitting. This is how it looks
like it is fitting.
6. Sitting: Now we're getting away from dynamic poses into static poses. What are the main basic static
poses you would think of? I guess it wouldn't be
either standing or sitting. So let's start with that. What is the main issue with static poses is that
people in front of the camera usually
sit stiff and don't know what to do with their
arms or where to look. They are more aware of
their bodies and of the camera pointing
directly at them. Our job as photographers is to make them
feel comfortable. And it can be job sometimes. Let's get into it. We have a lot of variation
within sitting poses. She can be sitting directly
on the ground or on some object like a rock band
or anything else really. I already know what looks
good for most of the people. So what I usually try is to
tell them to bend one knee, the one that's further away from the camera and lean on it. When it comes to
posing with arms, just be careful that the
shoulder in the front doesn't look too big and doesn't
take up too much space. It's all about the angle
that you shoot from. What looks great is to
post with the arm that's further away to show the bent
fingers touching the face. I like to change
environment a little bit, as well as outfits
during my photo shoots. And clients are always
surprised about the variety of photos that we were
able to take in just 1 h. Because Lily and Andrew, who's behind the camera now, are traveling in their
beautiful self converted bus. I have to do few shots
with the bus as well. I think we can take some awesome lifestyle shots here that will add variety
to the final gallery. When sitting on an object, There's another
casually looking, both with nice open
and arms just hanging down straight or holding the object that
you're sitting on. Make sure the back is straight. She can also bend one
knee and rub her arms around it or she can
casually lean on the wall.
7. Standing & Leaning: I don't like standing
pose by itself because it reminds me
of all those states travel photos where people are
standing still in front of some well-known
landmark and looking directly into the
camera, smiling. We've seen way too
many photos like that. So let's spice it
up a little bit. Rather than selling
the people to stand still and say cheese, I tried to find something. You can lean on. We are on the beach now, so there's not much
stuff to lean against. That even here we
can find something. We could start on the cliffs
and do a few shots here. Or we can include the bus. Again. Let's do debt. Lily can lean on the bus casually, Bob Hare, hands
into her pockets. The legs can be straight or you can cross one leg
over the other. You can lean with your whole back and head to look completely relaxed or bend a bit
forward to when laughing. I talked to Lily and I
tried to make her laugh. And after that, I want
this to show that it's silent moment where she'll look like she's thinking
about something. Go for it and try
both approaches. I also tried to direct her face. So at first I told her
to look in the camera, then move her head and look
behind me in distance. And at the end, I told her to
face up and close her eyes. I just wanted these
little variations to change the vibes
of the photos.
8. Laying down: After all those dynamic
poses, standing and sitting, let's get even more
chilled and lay all the way down on the ground. With this balls are
usually stand above the photographed person and
shoot from a top-down angle. I have to admit it. I don't include this post
and every of my shoots. But when I do, it's always a lot of fun. And not just for me, but also for the
person that's below. In all the poses. It's not just about the
position of the battery itself, but also about the
facial expressions. You have to communicate with the person to let them know
what you want to achieve. If you want them to laugh, don't just tell them to do so. You have to actually
make them laugh to get the most natural
facial expressions. Every person is different
to someone who will be laughing easily
just by talking to. But with other people, you will need to put
a bigger effort. I've had a few
clients who didn't feel confident to
laugh because they were either wearing braces or they thought that the
smile doesn't suit them. So you as a photographer have
to listen to the client, but at the same time, you have to make them
feel confident and keep reminding them how
beautiful they look. Of course, it takes some
time and you will develop the skills of how to communicate with the
clients over time. Maybe just start
to practice with your friends and you will
see what works for them. For this pose, I
wanted Lilly to laugh, and because I know
her quite well, it wasn't that difficult. But with the other clients, you have to keep trying. You can tell jokes, playfully tease them, or really anything else
that will work. You have to be
ready to hold time. And when she starts laughing, press the shutter button. I totally love the slang
and laughing poses. Day. Ok, so chilled.
9. Playrole & Hobbies: How to make the stage
photos look less staged. If you were the
person in front of the camera to what's
natural for them. That's why I always ask about the people's lifestyle
and what they like to do in their free time and try to incorporate
it into the shoot. It can be a single thing
like reading books, writing, painting, taking
photos are traveling. Once I know the information, I can think about the way how
to show it in the photos. I know that little
scribbling, reading, taking photos and spending
time with Archie and Andrew. Let's take a few shots
showing her in her element. This technique is
awesome because at first you give the person something to hold
in their hands. And second, you make them feel comfortable doing
what they laugh. Usually they almost forget about me taking
pictures of them. Don't forget to shoot details. It doesn't matter if I shoot families, capitals, or singles. You can always use this
technique to your advantage. And what's more these
photos will add some editorial look to
your final gallery.
10. Interact with the Surroundings: As well as with
the previous pose, interacting with your surroundings
can help the person in front of the camera feel more
natural in this situation. We are on the beach.
So a few ideas that came to my mind are that we can jump in the ocean and play with
the water and waves. We can draw in the sand
or build sand castles, or sit in the grass
at the edge of the beach and interact
with the Florida. You can use every surrounding through your advantage
in the forest, it can be leaves. With winter photo
shoots, there is snow. Just look around and you will
definitely find something.
11. Experimental: When I know I already have
all the shots I needed and I still have some time left until the end of the shoot. I can experiment a little bit. I can either experiment with the light unusual perspective
or the post itself. These photos are a
little bit more stage two then the other ones. But I love to shoot these. I will try to find
something that I can partially cover
her face with. It can be a head
fabric or some plant. It's only in both
your imagination. These shots look awesome
as closeups and details, and that adds even more variety. We can also do the short with one hand covering
part of the face. If it's sunny weekend flow with the lights and the shadows. You have plenty of
opportunities to let your creativity shine with
these kind of photos.
12. Playful & Silly: The last skin that posts, we will try it today is being playful and maybe a bit silly. By the end of the shoot, you should already
be able to read the personality
of the person and understand if it's
worth a try to include this in
your shoot or not. If you nail this
part of the shoot, it's guaranteed that the
gallery will have a lot of success and it will
make everyone laugh. You may think that
people will be too shy to post like that. But if you do this post at
the end of the photoshoot, they should already
know that they don't have to be ashamed
in front of you. Since the beginning
of the shoot. Show them as much
as you can from your personality to
be silly with them. Only by death will
you make people laugh and get those
perfect candid shots. This is my little
advice at the end. If you want to be a
successful photographer of candid moments, you need to open up and be
fully yourself to lead them. Feel comfortable in every
post you want them to do.
13. Final Thoughts: Thank you guys for
staying with me through the whole video and congratulations on
completing the class. If there's one thing I hope
you take from this class, that mustering candid photography
poses as desert scale, that's totally worth learning. A few now these poses you can
help to make your subject feel like the very best
version of themselves. I hope you found
that Tips and Tricks mentioned in this video useful and they will help you to make your next portrait
session a major success. Now go to the project
section below and upload your best portrayed
show that you've taken following this glass. If you still don't feel
comfortable getting out there and take
photos of strangers, starts to practice
with your friends. It's the easiest way to start. Also, if you like this class, I would be very
grateful if you leave a review and follow me
here on Skillshare. This way I will know
that you find my glasses valuable and that I should
keep posting content. Feel free to connect with me on other platforms
like my Instagram, and let's get to know
each other better. No boyfriend, grab
your camera and go out to shoot some awesome
candid portrait shots. I can't wait to see
what you've created. Thanks again for
watching and have fun.
Klara Zamourilova, Photographer/Videographer
