Posing, Angles & Getting Comfortable in Front of the Camera
Hiiii sweets!
Let's talk about getting comfortable in front of the camera! I was surprised at how many peeps were interested in this, so I thought I'd write a quick one on my experiences so far :)
Honestly there's no secret or magic trick on how to get comfortable posing or learning your angles. It seriously does just come with time and a little bit of confidence.
But SHEESH I have come so far in the past 6-8 months when it comes to this topic! Obviously ever since I started working on my Instagram and sharing more of my style, I've been forced to be in front of the camera more than I ever have. & in the beginning, all of it was awkward tbh. Or maybe uncomfortable is a better word. I really didn't know what I was doing, I wasn't sure what my aesthetic was, didn't have my angles down, etc.
So I made it easy for myself to experiment: Lots of selfies. Lots of mirror pics:
It's so funny to look back at my 'just getting started' content on IG but honestly these pics aren't bad! And I didn't need anyone else, I could take as many selfies or as many mirror take pics that I wanted without judgement from anyone else. This time was important! Leaning how to photograph myself, learning my angles, and most importantly learning how to be comfortable behind the camera is still a big part of 'the job'.
Tip #1: Whether you're just starting out on Instagram or want to be better in front of a camera in general, learn with yourself first!
Take a million photos. Stare at yourself in the mirror!! Like literally practice in the mirror. Play with self timer- buy a tripod and a remote and shoot shoot shoot! Selfies are great & I still love a good mirror outfit pic. If you're not comfortable doing shoots like this on your own, you probably wont be ready for a shoot with someone else. Stay in this stage as long as you need but learn how to take photos that you like on your own. You don't need no mans or your mom- yet.
Which leads us into the next phase. Once you have a little confidence and feel kinda comfortable, have someone you are super close with help. LIKE your mom or your partner or bestie. Someone who won't judge you, someone who will take a million photos if you ask them without rolling their eyes!! Start to get comfortable with another person in the equation.
I think a lot about being comfortable behind the camera comes back to who is in front of the camera.... so I love shooting on my own for that very reason. I've shot with strangers before and you can tell from how the photos turn out that I wasn't natural or comfortable. So starting out, keep it to a close circle of real friends/family.
Tip #2: Pinterest
You probably won't know what angles or poses you like from the get go, so GOOGLE things. Make a mood board on Pinterest. Stalk some of your favorite models or content creators and save a folder on IG for inspiration. Have a bank of images to fall back on for when you're not sure.
There's so many resources for inspiration and guidance so use them! A quick search on Pinterest:
Eventually your shoots will go from 30 minutes down to 10 minutes, maybe 30 photos and you'll have one you like and feel good enough to post! I am definitely a perfectionist so sometimes I struggle with this- I tell myself I want 200 options just to make sure I get the perfect shot. (I know this is so unreasonable esp bc of how frequently I am shooting new looks...so I'm working on it). But that's when my partner Jack will challenge me- when we do a shoot it's crazy quick- after 5 or so minutes he'll be like yep we got the shot moving on. So this is still a work in progress for me too... but I definitely know more of the angles, poses, expressions etc that I like now vs 6 months ago. And it truly just comes from playing around, trial and error, and a lot of time and practice.
I hope this helped :) DM me if you wanna chat about this further!
xx,
Josie