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Outdoor Photoshoot Poses: 5 Tips and Techniques

Looking for some outdoorÂ photoshoot posing tipsÂ to improve yourÂ portraiture? Weâ€™ve got you covered.

I’ve been doing outdoor portrait photography for years, and in this article, I offer plenty of tips and tricks to enhance your photoshoots. I explain:

· How you can use the surroundings to effectively pose your subject

· An easy way to ensure your subjects never get stiff

· How to combine beautiful lighting and powerful poses for stunning results

· Much more!

I also offer plenty of outdoor posing examples, and I encourage you to use them for inspiration in your own portraits.

Let’s dive right in!

1. Identify key environmental elements

Outdoor photoshoot sessions are a lot of fun – in part because they’re full of props that you can incorporate into your compositions. Pretty much every location offers natural or human-made elements that are great for posing subjects (and will add plenty of interest to your images!).

Try to arrive on location a few minutes early, then scout around for potential posing elements. Look for anything your subject might sit on, grab, or lean against, including:

· Rocks

· Walls

· Trees

· Benches

· Bridges

· Cars

· Lamp posts

· Flowers

· Columns

· Archways

· Fences

· Fountains

· Staircases

When you’re posing your subject, you don’t need to include a prop in every single shot – sometimes it’s nice to just focus on the individual without any additions. But I encourage you to regularly incorporate these extra elements in your photos; not only will they make your shots more interesting, but they’ll also give the subject something to focus on, which can help them relax.

Look at the two photos below. The left-hand scene featured a natural element (a rough tree trunk), which gave my subject something to lean against and provided textural contrast. And for the right-hand image, I used an old metal structure to add interest, create a frame, and physically provide support.