Photo portraits look great when they’re printed on large-scale poster canvas prints. But the people you’re taking photos of don’t have to turn into statues for great shots. It just comes natural – on purpose. Check out these natural posing tips for great-looking portraits on posters.

Natural Posing Tips for Poster Portraits

Body

Tell your models to breathe. The effort of holding their breaths will show on the photo canvas. But holding their stomachs in will make their abdomens look more toned, even if they’re in great shape. Remember, they can hold their stomachs in without holding their breaths!

Even the most professional models can have less than ideal posture, so make sure your models’ postures are good when they’re posing for the camera. Unless the pose is more casual, their backs should be straight and their shoulders up.

Limbs

Arms and legs are naturally bent, even in the most formal of poses. Unless you’re going for a specific effect, avoid letting the models’ limbs get all stiff. Let the hands fall naturally where they may. Keep the fingers apart, pointed away from the lens.

Face

Your models can make a break from always looking straight at the camera and smiling. Looking away from the camera makes them mysterious. Looking up and to the side makes for an annoyed look. You get a smoldering, sexy gaze when your model lowers her chin and looks up at the camera.

Get your models to sell a look in their photos on canvas. Make them think of an emotion, and then have them act it out in their facial expressions. They can scowl, smirk, or even laugh out loud!

Others

Keep experimenting until you get the perfect portrait shots. Set aside a good amount of time for this photo session as it could take a while.

Get cool posing ideas from other people’s portrait poster prints. Who knows, you just might find great natural poses that make for unique prints on canvas!