AmSnaps - Digital Photography Basics For Amateur Snappers

5 Tips For Creating Superb Engagement Poses And Portraits To Celebrate Your Recent Engagement

Engagement poses may be difficult when you first start working with them, but they are definitely not the most complicated aspect of photography.

The following five tips can be used by professional as well as amateur photographers to ensure the best engagement portraits for every couple.

Posing Secrets - The Photographer's Essential Guide By Malcolm Boone

Apart from the five useful tips I am going to share with you on creating great engagement poses, the best way to learn about posing the human body is by reading Malcolm Boone's Posing Secrets.

He goes into full detail on the theory and practice of posing each part of the body. For example, he explains how to pose legs when standing, sitting, crossed, slightly bent or straight and whether to have feet pointed or curved. You won't need any other books about posing after this one.

Improve The Mood With The Right Location

The location is extremely important when you are photographing people because it controls what will show up in the background of each shot. You should carefully consider the location with the input and opinions of the couple or other subjects being photographed.

Some couples may just want something pretty in the background while others will have fun, creative ideas for location. Many will have sentimental landmarks where they want at least a couple of their engagement photos to be taken.

Get Up Close And Personal With The Engagement Ring

Close Up Shot Of Engagement Ring Being Put On To Woman's Finger

Consider the engagement ring the most prized prop no matter what engagement poses are being used. Every bride-to-be will want to show off her ring and she will want her engagement photos to show the ring front and center.

Some engagement photos will allow a tighter focus on the ring than others. This is an essential shot in any portfolio of engagement photography.

Personality Must Shine Through In Your Photos

When you are shooting photos of an individual you want to bring out their personality and sparkle, and it is the same when shooting a couple, especially at weddings or engagement shoots.

Try to get a feel for what the couple is like and what type of relationship they have. You may ask questions such as how they met in casual conversation to get a sense of their story together.

Use their relationship as inspiration for the engagement photo posture. Find compositions that highlight their love and bring a sparkle to their eyes. Watch the video below for some inspiration.

Variety Is The Spice Of Life In Posing Shots

Woman Jumping On Man's Back Showing Off Her New Engagement Ring

There are many different types of engagement poses and most couples will appreciate having a nice variety to select from for final prints. There are some very classic poses such as having one person stand behind the other with a hand on the shoulder and then there are more creative poses that may involve different props or highly unusual locations and backgrounds.

The more creative shots tend to be those suggested by the couple themselves and they can be the most personality revealing engagement photographs of all!

You can also allow the couple to interact naturally together and come up with some of their own shots that they like. They may behave in a romantic fashion for some shots and more playful and energetic in others.

As you can see in the shot above the newly engaged woman is jumping on her partner's back showing off her new engagement ring.

Let them move around, jump up in the ground, kiss all over one another. These pictures can sometimes make the best engagement portraits and will turn out to be the couple's favorite shots.

To get a good mix you may want to shoot more posed positions first and then allow them to be natural and just move together at the end of the shoot while you snap frantically to catch as many natural snapshots as possible.

Don't Forget The Basics Of Composition And Lighting

Of course, you want the engagement photos to be very high quality with perfect lighting and focus. Pay attention to all basic elements of photography and make sure you are confident shooting in the location chosen prior to setting an appointment involving engagement photography.

This is not the time to experiment with a new camera, technique or different lighting methods as the couple will be expecting professional quality prints of the best engagement poses.

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