The Science of Posing
The Science of Posing: Exude Confidence with Your Body Language and Killer Smile

I’m kind of obsessed with behavioral neuroscience. Our brains and bodies’ inner workings reveal the power behind our choices and practices to enhance our well-being, and as it turns out even our headshots. It’s a long-held interest which has proven valuable in serving my clients as a people photographer. Before I pivoted into the visual arts over 20 years ago, I was a graduate from the honors psychology program at UMass, Amherst. Now I’m prone to discuss inspirational content with my workout pals, the trusted souls in my yoga and meditation community and among friends whose situation du jour may benefit from insight gleaned from modern research in the field. I’m all in on the growth mindset and sparking conversations with like-minded individuals so we can flourish together. I’m talking to all of you driven go-getters, small business owners and entrepreneurs reading this right now. Oh, hi! I’m psyched to share with you how my tried and true posing tips and the latest research on nonverbal communication converge, empowering you to connect and impress when you have your photograph captured next.

I recently caught a podcast that YouTube curated for me based on my watch history little obsession. It was behavioral investigator Vanessa Van Edwards, bestselling author of Cues: Master the Secret Language of Charismatic Communication, being interviewed by Lewis Howes, host of The School of Greatness. She elucidated how confidence is a skill that can be honed and how much of that is communicated nonverbally. Read: most of what people think of you has very little to do with the words you say out loud, while a surprising degree is determined by your body language alone. Something clicked. It occurred to me how much this applies to posing on set for your portraits. Some of my subjects naturally exude ease on camera, but it’s totally ok to hack this one if it’s more of a stretch for you. The impact of subtle shifts are astounding. As you practice, you’ll feel more and more natural. Let’s explore the best science-backed posing techniques together below…

Learn to use nonverbal cues to convey

1. Influence

2. Leadership

3. Trustworthiness

4. Competence

5. Power

6. Enthusiasm

7. Connection

8. Openness

9. Success

Claim Your Space with Expansive Postures

My personal trainer is always telling me to get out of my traps. Her aim is different, but the rule here still applies–⁠drop your shoulders down and back, and open up your chest to take up more space. Sit up or stand tall. We instinctively feel self-assured in these postures and studies show that will positively impact how others perceive you. You’ll feel more uplifted and empowered and have your viewers attribute more authority your way. Conversely, folding in on yourself, slouching, overlapping your arms around your midsection or in front of your groin, and generally making yourself smaller is a protective instinct. While this may lend you some inner comfort–⁠the ability to self-soothe is a life skill after all–⁠you’ll want to adopt a more powerful stance here. This is an easy nonverbal cue to master!

Assume an open posture, widespread your limbs and command the attention that you deserve. I often direct my clients into this classic pose: face your body toward the light at 45 degrees to camera, look back at me, and lean slightly forward with your shoulders dropped and a soft bend in the arms. If standing, put your weight on one leg and have a relaxed bend in the other. These body angles double for their slimming effects and emphasis on your eyes. The lean will make you appear more engaging. A bit of asymmetry and separation between your arms and body is super flattering. The slight (not rigid) bends will communicate your ease. Subconsciously, you’ll experience a confidence boost and clients will intuit that you are someone they want to do business with.

How to Talk with Your Hands on Camera

Communicating with your hands is an effective way to translate your body language into a warm hello with potential clients. Your hands won’t always come into play in a tight corporate headshot or profile picture on LinkedIn, but they will in looser headshots, portraits and group photos. A branding session serves as a perfect example as it showcases a wide breadth of images of you in action. They will likely include full-body portraits and even some closeups of your hands holding something, as characters in and of themselves. When they are in your portraits, hands have the potential to speak volumes. It’s important to think about what they are saying. It connotes deception when they are hidden, so first and foremost get them out there. Seeing hands = implied trust.

Whether draped over a chair, cascading around your face, or resting on your hip/waist, a soft splay of fingers from a side view looks great. Seeing a hand full-on or balled in a fist sends the wrong message. You want to avoid looking stiff, confrontational or detracting too much visual weight from your face. Always think soft, gentle, relaxed limbs, joints and fingers. If you want something to do with your hands, your clothing, props or other elements in your scene like furniture and natural features are all incredibly useful. When using pockets, I prefer only the thumb rest softly in the outer edge and the other four fingers fall casually. You may pretend to play with a sleeve or a button. Props like coffee mugs, cell phones, laptops and items you use or make in work build narratives, so have some on hand–⁠pun intended. Get your clients motivated to get to know more about you!

Real Smiles Land Clients

A genuine smile is going to gain images of yourself more attention, likes and dramatically improve your influence. Studies point to a boost in rated trustworthiness when viewing images of someone donning a real smile–⁠which is of course important to communicate in business. If you are an extrovert or trained in public speaking, smiling authentically in front of a camera may be second nature. It’s also completely normal to get a little wrapped up in worries about how you will look in your photographs. Deliberately widening your eyes or mouth too much may even make you appear fearful instead. If you feel your smile on camera is a bit forced or needs a bit of direction, that’s ok. A good photographer will develop a rapport with you to elicit your authentic smile as they pose and light you. I love when we get to that point in the session where that ease shows up on camera! Here are some tips you can employ as well to look your most radiant…

Tips to bring out your award-winning smile

1. Visualize the results

   Take a moment for a calming breath and to focus in on your desired results. Are you looking to expand your audience, increase profits or make a difference? All that and more? Consider all the wonderful possibilities and align your thoughts with them. The power of positive thinking is proven and that’s something to smile about!

2. Cultivate some joy

   Think about what makes you truly happy or laugh hysterically. Conjure up ocean vibes, seeing your favorite band and indulging in the finest chocolate. Drawing a blank? You could always pull up funny cat videos or Jim Gaffigan clips. Your facial expressions will follow naturally!

3. Smize à la Tyra Banks (smile with your eyes)

   Humans are hard-wired to spot micro expressions and discern genuineness, even when we’re not consciously aware. For those of you sensitive about your wrinkles, take note, crows feet and smile lines are viewed as attractive and as signs of intellect. So get your full smile on with that twinkle in your eyes!

Characteristics of genuine smiles

1. Eyes

   contraction of muscles reveal visible crows feet, and show tension or wrinkles in lower lid

2. Cheeks

   are raised with smile lines between nose and mouth

3. Mouth

   lip corners are drawn back and up, top teeth are exposed and bottoms are likely not visible

Showing up to Your Session

You can conjure up a happy thought during your session to great effect, or go a step beyond and show up radiating positivity. People that are in a good mood carry an infectious, captivating energy. We want to be in their presence. With time, intention and dedication, this can be you and the camera is bound to pick that up. Put some focus on your self-care and the health of your body and mind leading up to your session. Sleep, exercise, nutrition and time spent in mindful pursuit of mediation, nature and friendship will all enhance your inner world. Practicing gratitude, being in service and positive affirmations are game changers for owning your power–⁠personally and professionally. You carry your mindset with you. These are not directives, but meant to inspire. Do what feels good at your own speed.

The scope of all this is huge–⁠as evidenced by the massively popular self-help and mindfulness industries–⁠and certainly goes beyond an article on posing for your headshots and branding imagery. I do of course hope you’ll take some of the aforementioned tips with you on set. I also hope that it evokes a curiosity to dive deeper into the topics discussed to bring you closer to your purpose! Take ownership of your joy, meet challenges with tenacity and use both to ignite agency over the trajectory of your career. PS: You’ll be stunning and successful too!

Shine on set,
Leila