Getting Comfortable Posing in Front of the Camera

Picture this: you see influencers all over Instagram showing off their natural poses, pretty smiles, and hair flips. They look fabulous, and it looks so easy! You grab a friend (or a tripod) and set out to take a couple candids. Suddenly, you’re standing in front of the camera, biting your lip awkwardly, stiff as a board. How does everyone else make this look so easy?

That was me when I started my Instagram journey. I was a budding photographer with lots of awesome ideas, but whenever I was in front of the camera… well, it was another story. Awkward is really the only word that comes to mind.

Since then, I have been slowly improving my posing game, and I’m here to spill all those juicy secrets on how you too can make yourself super comfortable in front of the camera.

Step One: Embrace Your Insecurities

Let’s face it, we all have insecurities. As a body-positive blogger, embracing my curves on camera was something I had to get comfortable with, and quickly. I remember taking tons of photos, only to look at them and sigh. I would hate them ALL. The fact of the matter was that I wasn’t embracing my curves, I was hiding them. Once I started sticking out my butt in photos, or grabbing onto my hips, not only did I gain confidence, but my photos looked better and better. Easier said than done, I know, but try this next trick to begin the process.

Step Two: Find People in Your Niche to Look Up To

Suddenly, I began following a ton of super creative, confident, curvy women on Instagram. These women weren’t just posing, they were posing in their underwear. This made me realize that if they could become comfortable with their bodies (that looked just like mine!) that I could learn to be comfortable in my own skin. I studied their poses, created mood boards, and looked to those women whenever I felt down. This helped tremendously!

Step Three: Bring Props!

Need something to focus on? Bring a prop! Props are an easy way to give your hands something to do when they feel awkward, and will also give your photos a little more oomph. When I first started, I made sure to always hold a purse. Now, I have branched out to some other creatives, such as:

• A Fruit
• Bubbles
• Balloons
• Flowers
• Coffee!
• A Hat
• A Camera

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Step Four: Move Ya Body!

Movement is an easy way to avoid looking stiff in front of the camera. Flip your hair, spin around, jump…. Try some fun movements in front of the camera and check out a fun result! Sometimes even having a full-on dance party in front of the camera can help you loosen up enough to get a really fun pic or two.

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Step Five: Give Yourself TIME!

Like anything in life, practice truly does make perfect. Push yourself to continue this journey, even if you feel stiff and uncomfortable at first. Know that you aren’t going to look perfect in every photo, so make it fun. Enjoy the journey and you’ll learn to love yourself!

Step Six: Edit, Edit, Edit

Editing can truly make or break a photo. Something that doesn’t look cool to start with can be made into something wonderful with a cool filter or a rainbow sticker. I wrote a whole post on how to edit your photos for Instagram, so check that out here for deets.

When all else fails, remember that we all started somewhere, and we all had to learn one step at a time. Be kind to yourself! You are beautiful and wonderful and lovely and as long as you remember why you’re doing this whole thing, you’ll be successful.

All my love,

Hannah