1d • 🧠 Learning
Posing and Direction
Yesterday I went out on a shoot with a young couple. The girl happens to be my neighbor, and her boyfriend is heading off to join the Coast Guard in just a few weeks. She wanted photos before he left and sent me a mood board filled with soft, dreamy images.
A little backstory on my neighbor: she’s absolutely beautiful… but also incredibly shy, awkward, and easily embarrassed in front of a camera.
This is where directing poses really matters.
When someone is nervous, you have to pause and scroll through the images you’ve already taken so you can guide them. Sometimes directing means gently showing them what’s not working. In this case, she told me she didn’t know how to fix what she was doing.
So I did something simple but effective:
• I mimicked the exact head position she was doing when she got nervous
• Showed her how to reposition her head
• Pulled out her mood board and reminded her what she was asking for
That visual connection helped.
The funny part? I’ve known this girl since she was three years old, and she has never been embarrassed around me… until I pick up a camera 🤦🏻♀️
And remember how I typically say I don’t “spray and pray”?
Well… there are exceptions.
Some people get so nervous that you do need to take a few extra frames just to let them settle into the moment. That’s how you capture the magic after the nerves calm down.
The last image I shared is the nervous shot—and it’s a perfect reminder that patience and guidance matter just as much as technical skill.
💡 Takeaway:
Your job isn’t just to shoot—it’s to coach, reassure, and translate a vision into something your client can actually do.
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Posing and Direction
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