In today’s post: Get better photos with these 10 photo poses for boys.
Whether you’re an aspiring photographer or a parent who wants to take better photos of her own kids, posing is an important part of taking good pictures. Some people assume their subject can pose themselves or just act “natural” during a photo shoot. However, that’s harder said than done. Most people who are being photographed feel a little (or a lot) uncomfortable, and if your subject feels awkward, chances are they will look awkward in the photos. Some guidance and a few pose suggestions will go along way toward ensuring the pictures turn out great. So today I’m sharing 10 go-to photo poses for boys.
Click here for more photo poses for girls.
Hey, I’m not a professional photographer, but I do like to take pictures. I always tell people that the best way to get really great photos is to hire a pro. But there are things even beginners can to do help improve their photos, and that’s what my photography posts are here for!
10 photo poses for boys: Standing
Photo pose #1: Basic standing pose, hands in pockets. Standing poses are great! They don’t require any props or any special setup so you can take them anywhere. There are two main things to remember. First, your subject will generally look more natural and relaxed if most of his weight is on one foot with the other leg slightly bent. If he stands with both legs straight and his weight centered between them he may look stiff. Second, you usually need to do something with his hands so they’re not just hanging at his sides. I like the look of one hand in a pocket:
Both hands in pockets can work too. Just be sure he doesn’t shove his hands too deeply in the pockets – he can even just hook one thumb in a front or back pocket. Note that the weight is shifted to one leg in the photos below:
You can even ask your subject to cross one leg in front of the other.
For all of the photos above, I stood on a stool so that I was above my subject’s eye level. This is generally a flattering angle because it slims the face and makes the eyes look a little bigger. But you can experiment with shooting from slightly below as well:
This can look cool when the setting sun is just behind your subject.
Anytime you try a new pose, be sure to take a full body shot, a half body shot, and some closeups. That way you can get lots of different looking photos from just one pose.
Photo Pose #2: Standing + props. One way to get some variety in your standing photos is to use a prop, like a jacket thrown over one shoulder:
You can also have your subject hold an item that represents his hobby, like a basketball or musical instrument.
You can also vary the lighting conditions, the angle you shoot from, and whether the subject is looking at the camera or looking away.
Photo Pose #3: Standing + wall. Positioning your subject near a wall is another way to change up the basic standing pose. Asking your subject to lean up against the wall with give him a relaxed stance.
He can stand with his back to the wall, or with one shoulder touching the wall.
Having him cross his arms is another way to vary the positioning a bit.
Be sure to get a closeup! A brick wall makes a pretty background, especially when it’s blurred out a bit. Read: how to blur the background in your photos
Photo Poses for Boys: Sitting
Photo Pose #4: Sitting in a chair. If can be fun to bring along a small chair when you’re taking photos. I usually ask boys to sit backwards on the chair. They can rest their arms along the back of the chair for a relaxed position.
Of course, you can also have your subject sit forward on the chair. Ask him to cross one ankle over the other knee:
If you don’t have a chair, try taking pictures with your subject sitting on a bench instead:
Remember to walk around your subject and take photos from different angles. Changing where you stand in relation to the subject can drastically change the finished photo.
Photo Pose #5: Sitting on a stairs. I always looks for stairs when I’m taking pictures because it’s really easy to position people on them. Have you subject sit on a low step and lean forward on his knees for a dynamic pose:
If your subject is on a flight of stairs, he can lean back to rest of the step behind him, or forward on his knees. Try having him put his feet on different steps to keep the photo from looking too posed.
Photo Pose #6: Sitting on a low object. If there are no chairs, benches, or stairs handy, look for other low objects your subject can sit on. Try crouching down to take photos from his eye level (examples above) and standing up to take photos from above (examples below).
Remember to zoom in and out!
Photo Pose #7: Sitting against a wall. Just like with standing photos, having your subject lean against a wall helps him look very relaxed and natural in a sitting photo. I usually ask my subject to sit with one or both knees up and then rest his arms on his knees. You can take photos from straight on, at his eye level or above…
…or take photos from one side.
He doesn’t actually have to lean against the wall the whole time – you can ask him to lean forward to vary the look of the photo.
Photo Pose #8: Sitting on the ground. If you shoot from above while your subject is sitting on the ground, you can usually get a uniform background of grass. Green grass looks pretty, especially when blurred, and this is an easy pose to do in your own backyard if you don’t want to go hunting for scenic locations.
I asked my subject here to put one knee up and then lean back on the other arm for a relaxed pose.
Remember the close ups!
Photo Poses for Boy: Other
Photo Pose #9: Crouched down. This is another really easy pose you can do just about anywhere. Just ask your subject to crouch down and lean forward slightly with his elbows on his knees. Take the photo from slightly above to make sure you get nice open eyes even while he’s smiling.
Photo Pose #10: Laying down on grass. For a very relaxed pose, ask your subject to lay down on the grass. He can lay on his side, with his fist supporting his head (note that you will need to be quite low to the ground to take this shot):
Or my favorite on-the-ground pose is to have your subject lie down on his back with his hands behind his head. You will need to be on a chair or step stool near the top of his head, and then lean over so you can shoot straight down.
For more info on photo poses for boys, Digital Photography School has a great post with lots of ideas.
If you’re looking for more posing tips, check out these posts:
Posing for families and groups
And be sure to visit my photography tips archives for lots of beginner photography tutorials. Thanks for reading!
The baseball picture is fabulous! Cute boys.
Great article, Autumn! I have 2 little guys of my own, and I think this will be super helpful for me to get some good portraits of them.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, I really appreciate anything that helps me scrapbook my son. It is so hard to find good ideas for boys. I guess it is time to get out and take some new photos!
I just started a photography business and the more shoots I do, I notice that I am repeating the same poses. This was very helpful as was the posing for girls post! Thanks for the ideas! 🙂
perfect
Thanks for the valuable information .
You know, I came for the sewing and stayed for the photography tips 🙂 I love these articles – they’re always helpful and I feel like these are things I can actually achieve without having to get a degree in taking pictures! Thanks so much for sharing the tips and please keep them coming!
Great tips
Your boys are so good to help you out! So handsome — I could sell these pics at their Jr High and make a pretty penny. 😉
Very nice series of photos and poses. Indeed, we can note that it is not essential to use a professional photographer if we adopt the proper shooting techniques. Of course, the rendering of the photos also depends on the camera settings and the know-how of the person who will be responsible for making the shots.