Transcripts
1. Intro: Hey guys, welcome to our
lifestyle posing course. My name is Amanda. I'm now you're here if you want to learn how
to pose a new model, or if you're inspiring
model when you get in commercial photography
or brand photography, we're going to address
both during this course. So I hope you all enjoy. I myself am wearing
a fashion model, so I like to do a
more kind of like edgy editorial type things. But everybody needs
products these days and especially with TikTok and
Instagram on the rise, a lot of brands,
What should it be both relatable and aspirational? I am more of a commercial model, but I haven't getting a
little bit more into fashion. So you guys do have both
different lux and styles. So hopefully this course
just covers it all. First of all, you might
be wondering what exactly lifestyle photography is
or lifestyle modeling is, and it's very much
just living your life. A lot of brands will use
this type of content for their social media
pages and they want you to look as
natural as possible. These photos are
usually really bright and natural and it
just looks like exactly how it would
look if that person was standing in front of you or
you sell them on the street, if you do have a certain brand
that you're shooting for, I would definitely make
note of how they edit their photos though maybe
they do have a certain style, so you can try and mimic that. But for the most part it's
going to be pretty natural.
2. Lesson: The best place to start
is having a plan. The more that you plan to better the shoot is going to go. And you want this to be
as smooth as possible. And also this will help your
model feel more comfortable. So that way you aren't
like scrambling, rush. You know that the look
you're trying to go for the aesthetic and why we're
all here, the poses. So all these aren't
exactly posing tips. It says it's so
important to get you started and have a
successful shoot. Yeah, no model wants to walk on set and just
see everything all disorganized and
steer photographer not have a plan makes you
feel a little uneasy. One of the first steps of planning is going
to be to create a mood board because you
want to tell a story. One of the easiest ways
to do this is by using a template on or a
Pinterest board and just having visuals that both you and the
model can look at to get an idea of the vibe and the story that
you're trying to tell. For example, if you're looking for more of like a
fun lifestyle brand, you might want to be
brighter and lighter versus the darker
and moodier shoe might be for something that's only going
to be a little bit edgier and it'd be a
little bit darker. But no matter what
your vision is, you want to communicate
that to the model. They can't read your mind. So these moodboards
are super-helpful. And not only do you want
to put it on a screen, I love printouts, it makes me feel so much better
when stuff is printed out. I can look at it and
reference it on the shoe. And it also just makes sure that your model really
knows that you're prepared. So that's for a product shoot. You want to consider what the
brand is all about, like, what is their message, what is their voice? Again? What's their overall
mood and vibe? And you want to take note
of all these things. So you also want to
create a shot list. So that will just kind
of give you an idea of what kinds of photos
you actually need. Is it going to be close-ups, full body, close-up,
product shots? Odds are you should take all of them just because you want to give the brand options and they'll probably
require that anyways. But you wanna make
sure that you just have it all written
down because I know the I forget those kinds of things when I'm on a shoot
and thinking about Emilia. So it's a good idea to just
include it in the mood board. So once you send your
model your mood board, It's a good idea to have
them send you options, lots of options that you can incorporate into your shot list, especially clothing and
accessories that are going to help you
portray this mood, the emotion that you're trying
to capture with the shots. So examples might be mugs, journals, sunglasses,
scarves, hats, maybe wine. Lots of different things
that you can use to help enhance the scene
that you're trying to set. It always helps me
when I photographer sends me a mood board
because then I can go into my closet and I know exactly what
I'm looking for. I'm not playing
this guessing game. And then I'll usually
put together like, I don't know, three
or four outfits. Take pictures of them. Just flat lays, um, and then they'll
just like heart, the images that they like boost, but also remind your model, just take lots of
other options as well. You never know
what you're doing. If you're shooting clothing, make sure that you've
already ironed everything out and
there's no wrinkles. And then if there is
a special detail on the clothing and
make sure you get a good close-up shot of that. Or maybe there's like a
zipper and make sure you get a shot of your model actually zipping up and down the zipper. The next step is to
choose your location. If you're a beginning
photographer, outside natural light is always a really good option as long as you're shooting
at the right time of day, you're going to get that really
nice, even natural light. But if something is
better done in a studio, then just use your best judgment on
what you think you should do for the certain product or brand that you're
shooting for. There's lots of lifestyle
studios around. Or you can go on
location to a place like a coffee shop and get
some great action shots. Just makes sure that you look on the website or talk
to a manager ahead of time to make sure
that you don't need any extra permissions, permits, or licenses to use a space if you do choose
to run out of studio, makes sure it makes sense with
the brand you're shooting, and that has some prompts
that you might want to use. The next step is going to
be to cast your model. So you want to pay attention
to the overall look and the vibe of the model
that you are casting. For example, if you're shooting
an athletic wear brand, you might want to
cast a real athlete. It doesn't always
have to be a model, but this athlete is going
to be play basketball or volleyball or
maybe run on a track. Maybe something a
little bit more comfortable than a
normal model would. If you're a model,
keep in mind when you are shooting
content and posting content that you will get casted for the content that you
are putting out there. Because once again,
it's your lifestyle. Yeah. So if you put up a
bunch of swim content, don't expect to get high-fashion
modeling gigs, right? So whatever you put
out on the Internet, that's what people are
gonna know you for. Your personal brand. You can say pretty
much like, Oh, Amanda, she does like swim and
athletic wear, like Mel, she does high-fashion like, that's just try to stick
to around three niches. That way people have a clear
message about who you are, your personality, your vibe, what you stand for. So for example, like maybe
you love doing cosplay, but you don't want to have like cosplay, athletic wear, beauty, high-fashion, everything on your page because that's going to muddy your brand and not really give a clear idea of your artistry and what
you are trying to do. I definitely think
when you first start out shooting at trial, like photography,
food photography, like high-fashion commercial. You should try
everything out at first, but then you're really
going to be like, what do I love doing? What do I wanna make
my whole page about? What am I not going
to get tired. So yeah. Alright, so you have
your mood board, you have your shot list, you have your location, you have your model. Next thing is to
go to your shoot. But number one thing for a successful lifestyle shoe is to make your model feel as
comfortable as possible. How are you going to do that? Encourage your model
to bring a friend or escort with
them to the shoot. So that way they have
someone there to encourage them and make
them feel comfortable. You should also let your
model choose the music. I personally have a playlist, so I like to play
when I'm onset and it just helps you get in
the rhythm of things. The music part is
really important for me because I gets me
in a really good mood. It gets me feeling
good and light. It makes things less awkward
if you just have like silence between you
and a photographer feels a little weird. So the music really helps
me get moving and dancing. And the photographer could
take photos when you're doing those natural
movements and the photos are going to
turn out really nice. There's nothing worse than
when you're trying to do like action shots and you have
bone of airplane ride. Another nice little touches
to offer them like tea, coffee, water, maybe a snack. It just helps the model
kinda get more comfortable. One of the most important
things is to make sure that your model has a
comfortable place to get ready and change. This can be done by
closing this set, knowing where a bathroom is. You could also bring a
portable changing tent. Love those. Loved those. Yeah, they're like
$20 on Amazon or a great investment and
it shows that you care. It's also really nice when a photographer has a
place that you can lay all your clothes so you guys can both go through the
clothing options. Things are going to not
get wrinkled and you can just really stay organized. You can hire a stylist or makeup artist or collaborate
with somebody else who is also just starting
out to help create a less awkward vibe than
just a one-on-one shoot. And it'll also give you
time while the model is getting ready to chat a little bit and help
break the ice. Also, it makes your model feel really special if they
know that they're gonna go get their
hair and makeup done and makes it feel a
bit more professional. So if you can swing that, I highly suggest it. Also, if you're working
with a newer model, maybe they don't know
exactly how they should be doing their makeup for
this type of shoe. So if you want to
result in images, it might just be
worth it to invest in a collaboration with a
makeup artist or pay them. Think of it as an investment in your craft, your profession. And these images
are gonna be out there and your model is
going to be sharing them. So you want it to be
the best of the best. So that way you don't
have to do like a ton of collaboration's before you
start getting paid work. Yeah, I highly recommend
this for a newer model. Maybe like you're a
more experienced model, already know how to
do model makeup, but a lesser
experience one might end up with this terrible
eyeliner and you're like, Oh my gosh, I have to edit this terrible eyeliner
on every single photo, like choose your battles. Yeah, you also don't want
to hurt their feelings. Their eyebrows look really whack and you have to fix that. Maybe we could even put up. So my old photos here, I used to do like
really heavy like Instagram style makeup because I was looking at
photos and being like, Wow, that's crazy
that these models don't have cool I make up, I can do cool, I make up. My eyebrows are like
very super drawn on and you couldn't really
see what my face looks like. And that is super important when you're trying to
get booked as a model that people know what you look like and you look like yourself. It's just like very
slightly enhanced features. Yeah, shooting upwards can
create a dominant and bolded, more assertive image
versus shooting down can show a dainty
or more docile look, but make sure that you pay
attention to your angles and also what lens that you
are using your models, proportions are
still flattering. It's nice to ask your
model if there's any features they especially
like about themselves. Or one to highlight things
such as jawline, long legs. I personally have a
really long neck, but I like to be shown off. So for example, if you were
shooting me from up above and you cut off my neck,
not gonna be happy. Yeah. Or if they have a side I've never gotten
into the side thing. I don't care, but
some people do. Make sure your model
knows if there's going to be a light or a flash going off. So that way they know when
the camera is going off. You can also ask
them if they want the camera or the light
to beep when it goes off. So they know when to move. Make sure your model
knows what you're trying to do with the
lighting and the set. You don't want Danny
poses if you have a dramatic and aggressive set, and then you also
don't want dominant and strong poses if you have more of a light
and whimsical set. In addition to
that, you want it, your model to know where the light source is
actually coming from. Because if you're
lighting is coming from here and your mouse
constantly looking that way, obviously it's not going
to work out so well. So you just got
to make sure that your model knows
what's going on. Because I know like when
I first started modeling, I didn't I wasn't
paying attention to the where the
lighting is coming from. I was doing my own thing. It's good to give your
model a box to work with. You could say. So
if you say, oh, once you go here, your light is gone
or here, stop. So you literally have a little
box of where they can go. Because if your chins to appear there looking straight
up your nose, too far down, you
lose your chin. So for example here
I can go here, here, here, here,
There's my box. But if I go too far
over now, lost. In addition to that, once you have your parameters, you can look at the camera. Look left, look right. I like it when a
photographer has their hand up and it will show me where they want my eyes. And you can just follow it. You follow with your eyes or follow it with your whole face. Yeah. Now finally, what you
guys have been waiting for, posing the model, never rely strictly on verbal direction
when you're posing, you need to actually
show them physically. I know I'm a very
visual learner. So when that photographer
actually gets in a position that they have
envisioning in their mind, already know exactly what to do. It just takes all the guessing
games out of the way. So no matter how stupid
you think you look, trust me, it will make
them feel so much better. They know exactly what to do. They'll also help break
the ice tea, especially, yeah, I mean, that you might
think it's kind of silly. Yeah. This is also where your mood
board can come into play. So when you already have
those poses picked out, you can just reference them on your mood board and
show them physically. And there'll be able to
move that pose a little bit easier and makes sure that
you remind them to breed. And this goes for
photographers as well. Sometimes when you're trying
to get a shot perfect, you might be holding
your breath and that can show tension as you're
clenching your jaw. It's nice to be able to just
breathe out slightly part your lips and it gives a very
nice natural expression. And also if you're
not breathing, you may also tend to tense up a little bit and I'll give
you a shorter neck. So if you're nice relaxed, you have your shoulders back, just keep it relaxed. You might actually have to
tell your model like take a deep breath in and out so they just relax your shoulders. It's a big one. If you see your model doing something that you really like, maybe they have a certain
facial expression you think is really working. Make sure you
communicate that to your model and actually
show them that photo. Always make it a positive thing. You don't want to say, Oh, I don't like this face. You should just say,
I like this space. Like never put your model down in any way possible
because it's going to bring them down
a little bit and then the shoots just going
to start going down. Like always got to be
positive reinforcement, no matter what it is, are
very fickle creatures. Models can't be afraid to ask the photographer what is
working and what isn't. Photographers
shouldn't be scared to let them know as long as you are being polite and it's still keeping
everything positive, it's a good idea to show
your model the back of the camera in-between
sets of photos and something that's
really awesome that maybe might come
into play later down the line is having a monitor that is tethered to your camera. So that way the images
pop up in real time. That always helps me
a ton because I can self-correct what
I'm doing wrong. Okay, maybe that's
not for a new model, but sometimes
you'll be like, Oh, I don't like how my hair looks
or my fingers look weird. So if I already see what it
looks like on the monitor, I'll just correct that even
newer models that will have certain features that
they really enjoy or maybe certain angles they
like better than others. So especially for me, I like to be careful way I post that we may waste
looks really good. And so I'm like bent over funny, I need to be able to
see that on camera. And that's something
that a photographer might not notice, especially no offense to
the guy photographers, but you probably won't
notice like, Oh, my hair is Laplace or the necklace is
messed up or whatever. It's just something
that girls always seem to take notice. I do definitely think that you guys should try and
pick up on those things. But sometimes you're
like shooting, shooting, shooting away and you can't focus on like a million
things at once. Like we get that. If
we see the image, we might be like
redo it, redo it. That's also why it's
great to have, you know, either your model
bring a buddy or have a head makeup artist
or a stylist onset, Do you have an
extra pair of eyes? Movement is key. Don't have a model hold
a pose for too long. Thanks Wayne, back-and-forth. Naturally, step here and there. You can always
repeat a movement. For example,
everybody loves doing the little fake walk
forward and back. That helps keep things moving, makes it look a
lot more natural. Haven't do movements
that they would naturally do in real life. I like to have a rhythm. I tend to lean right, lean left, take a step
back, step forward. Like think electric slide. Very true. Never put the camera down. If your model is doing a
little natural motion, maybe they're fixing
their hair or they're adjusting their clothing,
whatever it is. I know I stand a certain way. My photographer will take pictures of me when
I'm being caught off guard like it's literally
a real candid moment. Those are gonna be the most
natural lifestyle photos you can possibly get. So just never put
that camera down. Always be looking,
encouragement. It is awesome to
hype your model of. It feels great and it'll
help give them gassing, feed off your energy, and be able to get some
really great shots that maybe you couldn't
get otherwise, this kinda ties into
everything and he knows how to music,
having good energy, encouragement, not pointing
out negative things, and just cultivate a vibe onset. Yeah, there's nothing worse than a photographer that's
just dead silent. You're like, you get so
in your head you're like, Oh, am I doing good? I'm doing bad. They like this. I don't know what's going on. Like communication is key and you really have to
train yourself to do it. Whenever you start shooting, I know you get in the zone, but you need to like, seriously, train yourself to keep
communicating that Great job, great shot, great
poses, That's awesome. You're killing it,
stuff like that. Don't be creepy with your commentary that can go
a whole another direction. So I would just like
practice shooting with friends and family members. So you get comfortable
with this. And add to that,
don't say anything to your model that you
wouldn't say to your mom. Yeah, very true. You might be like, Oh,
you look beautiful. This shot is great, but don't ever be like, Oh my God, You look Hi, I'm also feed off
of your energy. So try to keep it up. And also being prepared is going to help
with a lot of this. So that way you don't have
any awkward downtime or silences while they're trying to figure out what you're doing. Personally, if there's
too much downtime, I will start zoning out. And it can be very hard to get back in their rhythm again. Even if you're
introverted person, I would really try my hardest
to give that full energy so that the model stays like really excited
about the shoe. If your model has
her friend onset, see if they can interact
with them and help you out a little bit more
expression and mood. For example, on my
senior photo shoot, my mom came and my photographer
thought that I was giving her fake smiles. So to help with that, my mom was telling me
funny stories like behind the photographer and I
was getting real laughs. And then those end
up being the best. Fake labs are rarely successful, and really they only work
if a model is experienced. So it's really
good to try to get that genuine candid laughter. So it's never a bad idea
to have a couple of dad jokes and your back pocket. Yeah. I'll get some of
those candid shots. You can tell your model that they can look off the camera, like look left, look right. Look usually passive photographers
where it looks good, you don't want them turning so far away that you
can't see their face, but it's usually just like
slightly off, you know, like where you're still
going to get a good angle of your face? Yes. When you look left and right, you're also going to
get that nice jaw line. So just basic posing
101 right there. If you're shooting product, makes sure to interact with
it and show how it's used. Don't cover up the logos and make sure that
it's in-focus. This goes back to choosing
the right location and just making it look like you've
really set up that scene. This is all tying together. I hope this is all tying
together with that mood board. You're in the right location, your model is cast properly
and now they're actually interacting or doing whatever
you need them to do. If it's a product shoot, this shoot should
be centered around the product and not the model. While everything is important, you want to make
sure that it doesn't come off cheesy thing. You guys so much for joining. I hope you guys learned some helpful tips and
you guys use it on your next shoots and
you guys are ready to start shooting some
lifestyle images. Yeah, we're so
excited to bring you these courses and we can't wait to create more for you guys. So make sure you follow us on social media and let
us know your thoughts. Any questions you have and
what you'd like to see? Yes.
MEL A-P
