On your wedding day, you want to look and feel your best -and you’ll definitely want that to translate into your wedding photos. Since wedding photos are one of the most important aspects of the day (and generally a big investment), it’s understandable to worry over posing, especially if you tend to freeze up in front of the camera. If positioning yourself for those effortless, stunning shots feels like hard work, know that you’re not alone. To ease your anxiety, I have provided 15 tips to ensure you feel more relaxed and confident once the camera starts clicking!

1. Keep Breathing

Studies have shown that tight shoulders – usually the result of holding your breath – can stiffen up your entire body. I always ask brides to take a deep breath and relax their shoulders. Their entire mood changes, their posture improves, and the tension in their faces disappears, allowing for a natural, realistic expression

2. Let loose with natural and silly poses

When it comes to flattering facial expressions, natural is best, so don’t rush through your session and be sure to follow your photographer’s cues to loosen up. When I pose brides and grooms, I wait and watch for natural expressions, laughter, and conversation to spontaneously erupt. I’ll usually ask my bride and groom to walk and kiss at the same time, say, often elicits giggles as they fumble around. It may feel a little silly, but it creates photo-friendly moments.

3. Holding your bouquet

Brides and bridesmaids tend to hold their bouquet up high, near their face, but this covers the torso-which can be unflattering. Instead, position the bouquet lower, down around your belly button. Hold your arms with a slight bend to them and at a finger’s length away from your body to engage your muscles for a leaner, stronger look.

4. Please, ask for help

On professional photo shoots, you’ll have a photographer, makeup artist, and stylist. So why not have a team like this for your wedding photoshoot? Designate a friend or hire a professional to help keep long dresses away from any dirt, straighten bow ties, and help everyone look their best.

5. Get closer, and also… a little bit more!

When you’re trying to capture a large family shot, you want to give the idea of close relationships. I suggest standing as close together as possible, arms around each other. I often ask family groups to stand uncomfortably close-it sounds humorous, but spaces between people can make it look like they don’t like each other. Touch and proximity are necessary to get a photo with a sense of intimacy.

6. Tell me your best side!

No one’s face is perfectly symmetrical and while I’m sure both sides of your face are gorgeous, you probably have one you like a bit better (even if you don’t yet know it!). Take some selfies (or ask your BFF to help you out) and practice posing with your face tilted in each direction. Once you know your ‘best side,’ always pose with your best face forward. My job is to remember your best side and to also remind you, because girl, I care about you!

7. Professional Makeup

A great picture is all about the angles—and a picture taken with you looking directly into the camera flattens out your natural ones by eliminating the shadows that help to contour your face. While that’s not to say you can’t look stunning in a straight-on shot, if you don’t have exceptionally pronounced bone structure, a slight tilt of your chin (either up or down) and turn of your cheek (to your best side, of course) will help to make your face look more chiseled.

Now, please remember your Natural Beauty is Best! You do not want to look completely different. I always suggest my brides go with a Natural glam look to just accentuate your already God Given Beauty!

8. Be mindful of your chin

To make a round or oval face look slimmer, angle your chin down ever so slightly (careful not to create a double chin in the process). If you have a pronounced forehead, lift your chin up just a bit to create more balance. Regardless of your face shape and chin angle, push your entire face forward a little. What’s closest to the camera will look the biggest, so pushing your face forward a bit will make your body appear slimmer. Alternatively, you can ask the photographer to shoot you from a slightly overhead angle to create the angles without you having to do anything.

9. Smile naturally

The key is to smile like you do in real life—and not as big as possible. When you smile largely, your cheeks puff out and your eyes squint, which isn’t the most flattering of poses. Instead, practice relaxing your face, opening your mouth ever so slightly, and thinking of something that makes you happy—like spending the rest of your life with your soulmate.

10. Smize at me!

Tyra Banks popularized the term as shorthand for smiling with your eyes—and it definitely works! You know when you smile how your eyes squint, the corners of your eyes turn up, and you look slightly up? When you pose, try to recreate that look, even in non-smiling shots. The result will be a more approachable, happy look, even when you’re not really smiling.

11. Accentuate/Elongate your Arms

The key to posing your arms is to keep them away from your body so they’re not smushed against your torso, causing them to photograph wider than they actually are. One of the most flattering poses is to put the arm closest to the camera on your hip to accentuate your waist and slim your arm. Make sure to tuck your elbow so it’s pointing behind you and not out to the side. If you feel too posed, just make sure your arms are lifted a little slightly off your body or hold the person’s back next to you to conceal your arm altogether.

12. Love your legs

Even if you’re wearing a gown that completely covers your legs, don’t forget to pay attention to them. You can bend one knee (even the littlest bit) so you don’t look stiff or cross your ankles at your calves to elongate your legs and make your hips appear narrower. You can also have fun and give my camera an even more epic leg action like pictured above!

13. Angle your hips

Turn your body to a 45-degree angle or so you’re facing the person you’re standing next to in order to put your body’s depth (not width) on display. This is the most flattering and beautiful look for women.

14. Stand up straight and tall

Great posture goes a long way in making you look happier, healthier, fit, and confident. It also affects how you feel, giving you more energy, which you’ll need!

Tip #15 rounds up our last of posing tips for Brides to Be. My last and final tip for you is a good one and the most important of them all.

15. Relax & have fun!

Have fun, laugh and be you. You want your pictures to capture the joy and simplicity of the moment, not to look stiff and posed. If you find yourself feeling stuck and uptight with a large crowed looking over…look away from the camera, or have a moment with your soulmate, and then come back into it. Or when all else fails, dance around a little!

So there you have it friends! 15 Tips to help you feel confident and comfortable during your next session. Rest assured I’ll be there cheering you on and posing you effortlessly while you’re having fun loving on your soulmate.

Lots of Love,

B.