How to Pose Your Hands in Photos, No More Awkwardness! | Boston Brand Photographer
What do I do with my hands?! Is prob the most common question when anyone steps in front of the camera. When we FEEL comfortable, we LOOK comfortable. There are a million things you could do with your hands, but what to do and how to make small adjustments makes all the difference between a rigid pose, and a relaxed, natural one. Here are my tried and true, most used things to do with your hands during headshots, lifestyle, or a full brand shoot:
Hold something.
Hold anything that would make sense for you to be holding. It is a misconception that incorporating props into your brand photoshoot will look staged. Subtle prop placement can show off our brand colors, hint at personality traits, or just make you look more relaxed, as if you’re not just standing there posing. We don’t have to hold up a prop in front of the camera for it to be effective or send a message. (photos of subtle props - pen, notebook, coffee, etc)
2. Show your hands.
Did you know that body language experts say that showing our hands makes us more trustworthy? It’s not always easy to use our hands and make it look natural, but often if we talk with our hands, that is the best place to start (photo of someone talking with hands). Even just a hand on your hair or under your chin can be very effective in showing a little vulnerability.
3. Lean on something
You can lean using your hands or your body. Leaning allows our body to look at ease, and if we look at ease, we will often feel that way too. Clients will often hear me say “lean forward”, which comes off as engaged and present, “I’m ready to listen to you”.
4. Hands in pockets.
Tried and true, a very simple, yet effective solution to making our whole body look and feel more relaxed.
Ultimately, the key to natural, effortless photos is to feel comfortable—and your hands play a big role in that! Try out these tips and notice how much more relaxed and confident you feel. With a little guidance, your hands will enhance your photos rather than feel like a challenge!
My Best of 2024 Brand Photos: The Art of Storytelling | Boston Brand Photographer
What I love about brand photography is the power of the collection of images. Brand sessions are about telling the story of the brand, and all of those images together are what make a branding session successful. But often there are one or two hero images that stand out. An image that tells a powerful story by itself, or that sums up a brand in one image.
2024 was a really great year where I got to work with so many different brands, and while a few of them were bigger or corporate brands, most of them were Boston and Massachusetts local small businesses! Working with creators, makers, independent artists, and service providers, is really where our creative process shone in 2024. Here are our top 10 branding images in 2024:
Photo Shoots in Amazing Locations: Martha’s Vineyard Spotlight with Jill | Boston photographer
The first time I chatted with Jill, she opened up to me about her passions, her business, her life. She wanted to plan her personal brand shoot where she lived, in Martha’s Vineyard, and she had already put more thought and planning into this session than any other client I’ve had. She was working on her brand with Jordan Duvall from Ignite Your Soul Brand and her art direction guide was 20 pages long. 20 pages. Now this could have made me run in the other direction, but it was perfect. Strategic, intentional, and very very well thought out. She had a vision for her images, and I couldn’t wait to help her bring the vision to life.
We had an amazing location and A LOT on our shot list the day of the shoot, so we set up a strict timeline to help us stay organized. It certainly takes a village sometimes and I was so grateful to our team of amazing women - My assistant Gwen, Paula with hair and makeup, as well as styling, and Jill’s two best friends for being an extra set of hands wherever they could (and the perfect hype women as needed).
It was important for us to show Jill’s spiritual side. She offers intuitive healing and guidance to help women become their authentic selves. Her clients choose her because of her open, nurturing, and compassionate nature, so that was an element that we had to make sure we captured throughout the day. She also does akashic record readings (which I had to google it after our first conversation!)
We ended at the beach at sunset - our grand finale after a long day of shooting. It was the perfect magic to wrap a full day. Beautiful sunset, wind in our hair, waves crashing. All said and done, it was a 14 hour day (which I don’t do many of anymore with two toddlers at home), but so worth it.
