How to Pose Your Friends Like Models

If you’ve ever asked your friends to pose for a photo shoot before, you may have found that it can be difficult achieving high-quality poses when your subject doesn’t have modeling experience. In this 5-minute video, photographer Sheldon Evans shares solid tips for how to overcome this hurdle.

“One of the things I struggled with most when I started photography was figuring out how to pose the people in front of my lens, because when you first start out it’s difficult to find professional models to work with who know how to strike a new pose with every click of the shutter button,” Evans says. “So, what ends up happening is you use your friends as models, but the only problem with that is… that they aren’t actually models so it’s up to you to know how to pose them.”

Here’s a quick rundown of the main tips Evans shares (watch the video for a more thorough explanation of each of them):

Pose then Build. Provide a base pose to start with, then slowly build it up through moving one body part at a time.

Awkward Hands. Non-models often don’t know what to do with their hands. You can give your model something to hold or interact with.

Actions and Emotion. Give your friends something to act out so they act rather than pose.

Communicate. Direct your model vocally throughout the shoot. Your job is to communicate in an encouraging way.

Wardrobe. Have your model wear something they feel comfortable and confident in.

You can find Evans’ photography on his popular Instagram account, and you can find more of his videos by subscribing to his YouTube channel.