We are all for capturing the candid moments on your big day, but changing your pose a little bit will make all the difference. When preparing for couple photo sessions, we always look for inspiring couple poses and make a list with the ones we like the best. In this blog, we want to share some of our favorite couple poses together with some explanations and tips.
Feel free to use this as a base in your couple of photo sessions!
What do they have in common?
A simple yet great idea for your couple’s portrait is to show something they share, like a hobby that they do together. This will change from couple to couple and requires a bit of investigation. You can ask them if they practice any sports together, hobby or passion and suggest them to bring some props to the photo session.
Tell your couple to hug, and you will get a beautiful portrait. However, there are different types of hugs that convey slightly different feelings. A nice couple pose is a hug from the back. It is nice because they both can look in the same direction, giving the portrait a subtle sense of togetherness. So tell one of your models to stand behind the other and put the hands around his/her partner.
A good prop for a couple’s photo sessions is a blanket. They are affordable, easy to get (you might even have at home an extra one that you can use), and are very versatile. As in the image below, you can tell the couple to wrap themselves with it. This prop gives the photo a warm intimate feeling.
A photo of a laughing couple brings a feeling of joy, authenticity, complicity, and tenderness to the viewer. But take care because a fake smile or laugh can ruin your portrait. For that reason, candid photos are working great in this case.
Composition rules are applicable in a couple’s portraits. They add interest to the image. I would like to clarify here that although they are called rules, I prefer to consider them as guidelines: you use them just when they contribute to the image. Some of the composition “rules” you can apply are the Rule of Thirds, leaving negative space around the couple, leaving space for their gaze, using leading lines that will drive the viewer’s eyes to them and so on.
If you want to take a photo of a couple sitting, they must get quite close to each other. Some couples might feel strange sitting in an open space such as the one in the image below. In that case, tell them to sit next to a wall or any other place they can lean their back on. To get a natural moment, make the couple interact: tell them to look at each other, get them to tell a joke or explain a funny anecdote that they went through together.
To take a beautiful couple’s photo you don’t always have to show the model’s faces. You can crop and focus on just some parts of their bodies. The feet are a great option. You need to place the couple close to each other so that the viewer will understand quickly that there is a relationship between the two people in the frame.
Kisses always look great in a photo. But not just the kiss itself is a good subject. The moment right before the kiss holds the beautiful tension of anticipation when you feel butterflies in the belly. You can tell the couple to “almost kiss”. And when they are close to each other you can take the shots.