How should couples pose for pictures (flattering, dreamy, sexy, editorial, …)

Looking good in pictures depends on a combination of factors.

First, you must invest in the best professional photographer you can afford. Trust and comfort with your artist are crucial; you’ll want to choose someone whose style and energy appeal to you.

Ask for a representative portfolio that corresponds with your photography package (as opposed to a “best of” gallery).

Then try to connect (by email, WhatsApp, or even Zoom) with your photographer before the shoot, so you’re not total strangers when you meet. You’ll feel more relaxed, which can do miracles for your breathing and fun factor while reducing undesirable camera awareness.

How do I look good in pictures?
Looking great in couple pictures is about unleashing your “inner child” and blissfully connecting with your loved one. When you are having fun, amazing photos will follow.

Next, consider enlisting a professional beauty artist. Sure, some ladies are adept at doing their hair and makeup. Still, the job of an experienced beauty artist is to make your hair and skin look incredible—notably with photos, video, and lighting conditions in mind.

Speaking of lighting, well, let’s cut to the chase. Light is what makes the magic work for photographers (and cinematographers). Regardless of your artist’s talent, soft, flattering light will result in a more radiant look, no squinting in pictures, no reflections or unwanted shadows.

We prefer the Golden Hour at sunrise or the Blue Hour after sunset for outdoor photo sessions.

What is the golden time for photography
The Golden Hour is perfect for soft, flattering light. As a result, you can largely avoid squinting, skin reflections, and undesirable shadows.

In German, the saying “Kleider Machen Leute” translates to “Clothes make people.” Attire matters! So whether you’re after a casual or elegant photoshoot, consider how you and your partner will look in the pictures. It’s not necessarily desirable that your outfits match, but they should harmonize stylistically.

Finally, the location or backdrops you choose for your photoshoot will impact the photo. Hey, Eiffel Tower, anyone? But there’s more: the choice of locations can affect essential elements such as privacy, avoiding distracting crowds, your ability to walk in high heels, protecting your floor-length gown, and more.

That’s a loaded question akin to asking, “Which chess opening is the best?” There are many fantastic couple poses (and chess openings).

An experienced portrait photographer poses her subjects based on the type of shoot, the couple’s style & personality, body shapes & sizes, lighting, props, and many other factors.

You might be asked to find a connection with the following:

  • Walking poses (toward or away from the camera);
  • Static sitting poses on a bench, at a cafe, or on a wall; and side-by-side, facing, straddled, etc.;
  • Static standing poses facing each other, looking at the camera (the “Parent-pleaser”), looking away from the camera, she looking at the camera and he at her, embracing from behind with your fingers intertwined, etc.;
  • Dynamic poses, such as lifts, dips, and twirls …;

And that’s just the basics. The portrait photographers adjust for cute, romantic, sensual, editorial, and creative preferences.

How should couples pose for photos
Don’t forget to have fun and encourage your photographer to let her creative juices flow.

Great kissing in photos boils down to believable, passionate connection, natural breathing, and eliminating awkward camera awareness.

As lovers, our most significant advantage is chemistry, which is about comfort with the scent and imperfections of our partner and becoming “one.” It can be a tender, naughty, passionate kiss with “foot pop,” a reenactment of the famous “V-J Day in Times Square” sailor kiss, and anything in between.

How to make a camera kiss look good
Seal your love with a kiss of equal parts passion and poetry.

While there are no hard rules, kissing, like in the movies, is about purpose, passion, and surrendering to the moment. Focus on:

  • Anticipation (the intro to the kiss) builds as you effortlessly gaze into your partner’s eyes or at her lips. Don’t just dive into the kiss; leave a little to the viewer’s imagination. Consider gently touching noses and foreheads;
  • Close, natural breathing (holding your breath is not sustainable and can lead to stiff poses and thinking about the act of being photographed instead of the person in front of you);
  • A physical connection between you and your partner may include a soft embrace with delicate fingers intertwining. Contact between your bodies is essential; don’t leave a space gap with your butts sticking out.
  • An exposed neckline your partner can touch like a feather. But don’t kiss “away” from the camera when your photographer shoots from a lower vantage point.
How to kiss as a couple in Photos
A soft embrace from behind with a delicate intertwining of the fingers. Foreheads and noses are touching as the viewer is left to anticipate what will happen.

As you can imagine, sexy is in the eye of the beholder. Sexy couple poses are about seduction and evoking desire.

Hot couple photos in the rain
Sometimes couples achieve just the right mix of everything: passion, sex appeal, hot attire, and even heavy rain.

As with couple’s boudoir photography, some of the most striking poses leave plenty to the viewer’s imagination.

Sexy couple poses
Sexy couple photos are about making the viewer want to see more. It’s about skin, light, and electric energy.

Note from the image below that a display of sensuality is not required to achieve hot couple photos.

hot and sexy wedding photos
There’s something incredibly sexy about how this couple poses. The viewer is immediately drawn to her confident look and his masculinity, including the drink.

When posing couples, we typically start with movement poses, such as walking or running toward (or away from) the camera. It’s a fantastic way to shed unwanted camera awareness while encouraging natural breathing.

Which pose is best for a couple photoshoot
Walking or running toward the camera is an excellent way to forget about unwanted camera awareness quickly. Be mindful of the hands, gentlemen.

‘Walking toward the camera’ poses range from casual to formal and anything in between.

Walking toward the camera poses
Walking toward the camera poses can be romantic, dreamy, formal, or anything you want them to be.

‘Walking toward the camera’ poses often start with the couple connecting naturally with effortless eye contact.

Romantic couple poses walking toward the camera
The most common walking toward the camera pose is when couples make effortless eye contact.

It’s equally acceptable for the couple to look away from the photographer toward a common point of interest or straight into the camera.

Alternatively, couples can walk away from the photographer while looking at each other, or one person can look back at the camera.

Walking away while looking back at the camera poses
Walking past each other like boxers, except you’re lovers and not fighters.

As you see in the photograph below, it’s vital to position yourselves parallel to your desired backdrop and your photographer.

The person dipping (the “leader”) needs to support his partner. This is accomplished by the leader holding his body upright and, critically, not leaning with the person he’s dipping.

Furthermore, the leader must keep both feet on the ground while shifting his weight to the foot planted toward the dip.

How to dip your partner in photos
Dipping your partner in photos can and should be practiced in advance. It’s about trust, positioning, and proper shifting of weight.

In turn, the person dipped will shift her weight to the rear foot while stylishly extending the front leg.

Whether you’re a photographer or a couple, one of the most neglected poses—the so-called “parent-pleaser”—should be central to your repertoire.

Natural breathing is key. Do not hold your breath, which is not sustainable and can result in uncomfortable and stiff pictures. Instead, relax, think of happy memories, and smile.

The deliberate placement of your hands will set your professional portrait apart from a snapshot.

How to pose as a couple when you are facing the camera.
How to pose as a couple when facing the photographer. This is the famous “parent pleaser” since it makes for perfectly framable photos.

5 Tips to get better couple silhouette poses:

  1. Aim for sunrise or sunset for optimal light;
  2. Wear dark attire and avoid whites;
  3. Ladies, since silhouette portraits are usually captured in profile, it’s an excellent idea to tie your hair back in a bun neatly;
  4. Connect at the hip, but maintain generous spacing everywhere else (i.e., head, torso, and legs);
  5. When your photographer shoots from a lower vantage point, push your hips slightly in the opposite direction of your artist and stand straight or slightly lean toward the camera.
How to get amazing couple silhouette photos
Great couple silhouette photography is about the harmonious interspacing of the bodies and leaving space for light from the brighter background to penetrate.

We hold a love-hate relationship with balloons as props for engagement pictures. On the one hand, balloons can be eye-catching, energize, and distract from undesirable camera awareness.

Unfortunately, balloons also have the potential to distract you from connecting with your partner—especially on a windy day. That can introduce stress, the last thing you want during a playful couple photoshoot. Moreover, oversized balloons are difficult to transport and, as such, don’t commute well from one photo location to the next. 

3 fantastic ways to incorporate balloons into your couple photos.

Walking toward the camera. As with any walking toward the camera pose, effortless eye contact is vital. Typically we would encourage the physically stronger person in the relationship to hold the balloons. However, there are no rules, so whatever works best for you.

Couple poses with balloons: couple walking toward the camera.
Here, the lady held the balloons and walked a step behind her partner, considering the substantial height difference.

Facing away from the camera. Looking for a fantastic save-the-date idea? Well, facing away from the camera places the focus on the viewer squarely on the balloons. Balloons, in turn, signal a joyous occasion and celebration. Voila.

Couple poses with balloons at the Eiffel Tower
When you turn away from the camera (and the viewer cannot see your faces), the emphasis is squarely on the balloons.

Doing the lift. It’s already challenging for some couples to pull off the perfect lift. So be warned. That said, don’t try to perfect everything at once. There’s no harm in initially performing the lift without balloons (so you know where to place the arm facing the photographer and not holding the balloons).

This is also an excellent time to rehearse the “foot pop,” which ideally is held at a 90-degree angle. Then, when you repeat the lift pose with balloons, make sure to straighten your arm harmoniously between your head and your partner’s.

Creative couple poses with balloons
Couple poses: doing the lift with balloons is an advanced pose. So be patient and don’t forget to have fun.

Beautiful couple photoshoot poses ultimately boil down to believable connection, playfulness, intimacy, and the ability to tune out unwanted camera awareness.

Tip
Click the red hotspots in the image below for Pro-tips on how to perfect the little nuances that collectively make a huge difference.

‘Unwanted’ is the key since it’s actually desirable for you always to be aware of the whereabouts of your photographer. After all, great portrait photography is fundamentally about perspective, which is affected by your positioning vis-a-vis the camera.

We want you to think of each other rather than about the process of being photographed. The latter results in undesirable self-awareness, holding your breath, open-eye or closed-lip kisses, and stiff poses.

Remember that these are not candid pictures as you’d expect from much of your wedding day. Little details will make a big difference in whether you get magnificently frameable couple photos or mere snapshots.

An experienced portrait photographer will position you in the most flattering light and provide clear, actionable directions on achieving the best couple photoshoot poses.

That said, you can (and should) work on your couple poses before arriving in Paris.

And when you practice, keep in mind the following tips:

  • Breathe abundantly on each other and touch foreheads and/or noses for mouthwatering chemistry;
  • be deliberate about the placement of your hands—be it on your partner’s face, neck, hips, heart, in your pant pockets, or holding the lapel of your suit jacket (just don’t let your hands dangle);
  • try a tender hug from behind;
  • do a fabulous dip;
  • how about an epic lift?
  • for picture-perfect silhouette couple poses, maintain harmonious interspacing between the contours of your bodies, wear dark and tightly fitted attire, and pull your hair back in a bun;
  • never kiss away from your photographer—either kiss in a neutral posture or lean toward the lens;
  • Interestingly, the moment before the kiss (lips touch) leaves things up to the viewer’s imagination, which is why this technique is so prevalent in movies and advertisements.

So, if you’re tired of boring, browse and bookmark this gallery. It contains loads of cute, funny, dreamy, sexy, and romantic couple poses … whether you’re standing, sitting, walking, or even running.

Tip
Hire a Pro you trust. Importantly, don’t be shy to speak up when you have a side you prefer or something just does not feel right (don’t make your photographer guess).

Want ridiculously adorable couple photos?