Wedding Posing

Derek.Laurence

Derek.Laurence

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Derek
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Hey Superstars!

As part of an online course im doing Im currently on the 1st Wedding Module.

Im bricking it!

The assesments sounds easy enough, take a few mock wedding shots. Im reading this as the "after the ceremony, portrait session".

Ive sold this to the couple ive got to pose for me as a romantic almost engagment type shoot ( although they do know why im doing it and what I require). Easy.....

My problem lies in that I have a real problem posing people etc. I can just about manage single portraits but have never had to deal with more than one person before. Ive been looking for a decent posing guide / cheat sheet but cant seem to locate one.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Im also going to need to learn flattering angles on the spot as the female is carrying a bit of weight just now ( just coming off the back of some health issues).

Lenses im kinda restricted to what I can use as Ive recently changed over to Canon so ive only got a 18-55 kit lens, a 100mm macro 3.5 and a 55-250 IS.

Thanks for any ideas folks. Like I said, its only a course assessment so Im not ruining anyones day but I like to put the reasearch in before I get out into the field.

Derek
 
Hey Derek, have a look on printerst for posing ideas :) Simply search wedding couple on there and you'll have loads to choose from!
 
its pinterest ive been looking on, which i was sure id seen good stuff before but for some reason im failing to find now

ill change my search words and try again. I think id been searching "wedding posing guide" so maybe im just being too specific

Thanks though
 
If you're shooting a Big Girl, beware the profile shot. If all else fails, have her at roughly 45° to you, preferably with the arm nearest you somewhat bent at the elbow such that only her hand is touching her side. That helps to minimise the Great Big Arm effect. Shoot from her eye level to minimise chins/neck issues, and do your best to avoid anything that looks remotely like her other half's having to stretch a bit to get his arm round her.

If they're both well big, forget the size issue (there is nothing you can usefully do about it) and concentrate on their personalities and squidged-upness.
 
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Much obliged to you for that Jon. Never seen that one before! Some of those are pure 1980's, if not earlier - especially the notorious Banana Shot (#15) and Variant B of Bride Down A Hole (#16). But at least The Beekeeper Shot isn't included (that daft American idea with the veil over the couple's heads) ...

:)
 
Cheers Jon,
Ive seen a few other similar posing guides styled very similar to those diagrams, but never one with the written tips as well

More or less exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks
 
I did think , looking at it, that some were a bit stereotypical and maybe even cheesey ! :sneaky:
However I'm pretty much a complete novice at this piccies lark, and some of the guides on that site are pitched just right for a beginner like myself ;)

It gives somewhere to start at least :)
 
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CheshireChap said:
It gives somewhere to start at least :)
Click to expand...

Oh, indeed it does. I do wonder though what's in the mind of somebody who instructs a student to "take a few mock wedding shots", because assuming that what they have in mind is British Standard Posed Wedding Shots, the fact is that the success of such pictures actually has more to do with the photographer's people skills than his or her technical expertise.

For someone with no experience of this aspect of photography and perhaps only limited people skills, few things are harder than successfully pulling off classically-posed wedding shots of a couple who might not exactly be at ease in front of a camera - especially in such a contrived situation. Even worse if one or both are overweight and conscious of it.

I think that if I were in the OP's shoes, I'd get in touch with the nearest amateur dramatics gang and see if a couple of them would be up for being models in return for a few headshots. It would certainly make the job a lot easier ;)
 
I'd offer the services of me and Mrs Chap, but one real wedding was quite enough... Not going through another, even if it is fake :D:ROFLMAO:
 
I take your point Dan, but 1: mines is not to question why, mines is but to do and die (trying to get the perfect shot) and 2: given that this is the first of a few wedding modules surely there has to be some starting point. Up until now the only people interaction has been a 1 to 1 portrait session. This, i feel, just introducing more than one person and therefore developing the students people skills organically and getting them comfortable with organising/posing people whilst at the same time thinking of the shot.

I could be wrong. Ill bash on with the shoot later this week and see what happens.


Thanks again for all the responses

Derek
 
Derek.Laurence said:
... given that this is the first of a few wedding modules surely there has to be some starting point. Up until now the only people interaction has been a 1 to 1 portrait session. This, i feel, just introducing more than one person and therefore developing the students people skills organically and getting them comfortable with organising/posing people whilst at the same time thinking of the shot.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Derek. Makes sense to me now whereas it didn't before. But considering my total lack of any experience of any kind of course in photography, I guess that's not surprising :rolleyes:

Just out of sheer curiosity, what's the course?
 
Ive found what looks like an excellent guide :)

http://uk.pinterest.com/pin/386394843002896264/

only problem is most of them seem to be square cropped so ill need to figure out the best dead space option but thats cool.

Also ive had to do a major cropping operation so I can print it out.......

oh the woes of getting something free lol
 
Its the Diploma in Professional Photography through the Blackford Centre. ( theres a thread on this forum somewhere about it)

Before anyone starts, as a piece of paper its not worth very much but as a way of structured learning, especially with my time constraints/life commitments it suits me to a tee.
 
Much obliged mister. Good luck with it :)

PS That posing guide's a bit more like!
 
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