Posing Tips

At WPPI this year I ran into Vanessa Joy, my first time meeting her in person. We chatted about the classes and workshops she was doing at the conference, and the friend I was with suggested that I get her on the show again. I had such a great time when Vanessa was on the show the first time, talking about how to Elevate Your Wedding Photography, that when she agreed to do it I jumped at the chance.

As I was thinking about this show, I knew that I wanted to do something different than the first one. She is a world renowned wedding photographer, and a Canon Explorer of Light, so there had to be a way I could approach this show uniquely. That’s when it hit me…

Every show we take one image and explore and dissect the multiple aspects required to make the image. From the planning and pre-visualization, to exposure, lighting, post production, posing and more. What if we reversed that process? What if we picked just one of those aspects and examined it through multiple working scenarios, using multiple image examples per scenario?

Vanessa Joy is an expert in posing, so I knew what the main topic would be. She has a free Posing Inspiration Guide, and a Speed Posing Course at speedposing.com. The hard part was trying to find a way to approach posing on multiple levels. What I settled on was four photo shoot scenarios: Solo, Couples, Standard Groups, and Random Groups – let me explain…

Solo Subjects would be anytime you have just one person in front of the camera; Couples would be when you have two subjects in front of the camera, whether they are actual couples or not; Standard Groups – OK I wasn’t sure what to call it, but basically think of this as when you have a group of people on almost the same focal plane – like when you say “everyone get together”; and the last one is how I think of a band portrait, or a commercial type shoot – that’s a Random Group, as in randomly placing subjects not only left to right, but forward and backwards on the Z axis. Obviously, we could go into every possible scenario you might encounter, but even then someone would say something crazy “I need the groom in a tree and the bride in a boat”. There is just no way to cover every scenario, so we are going to do these four, with 3 different image examples per category.

Since Vanessa is a wedding photographer, we are using mostly wedding type images here, but you can of course apply the concepts we discuss to any genre. And let me just add, when I say she is a world renowned wedding photographer, that there are only five Canon Explorers of Light in the field of Wedding Photography – just five, and Vanessa is one of them.

Vanessa Joy photographs weddings from Austin and Dallas, TX, to New Jersey, New York City, and Manhattan, and of course is sought after for destination weddings. Her style is photojournalistic, and has led to multiple awards. Her work has been seen in The Knot, RangeFinder, Grace Ormonde, Brides, and more.

As an educator, she has 11 classes on CreativeLive, and you can even buy her preset packs. And yes, she’s an author, with her book “The Off-Camera Flash Handbook: 32 Scenarios for Creating Beautiful Light and Stunning Photographs” available now, and she has 3 new digital books: The Business Of Wedding Photography, Building & Marketing Your Wedding Business, and The Art Of Wedding Photography.

Vanessa Joy is at the top of the wedding photography game, and I am so glad to have her on the show once again.

Please join Canon Explorer of Light Vanessa Joy and me as we take a deep dive into Posing Tips, on this episode of Behind the Shot.

Connect with Vanessa

Website: vanessajoy.com
Website for Photographers: breatheyourpassion.com
Blog: vanessajoyphotographyblog.com
Twitter: @vanessa__joy
Instagram: @vanessajoy
Facebook: @VJoyPhoto
YouTube: @vanessajoy

Vanessa’s Videos Mentioned During the Show

Budget Photography Gear Shootout Featuring Miguel Quiles: YouTube
Old Hollywood Style Engagement Photo Shoot (Behind The Scenes): YouTube

Vanessa’s Books

The Off-Camera Flash Handbook: 32 Scenarios for Creating Beautiful Light and Stunning Photographs: Amazon
The Art of Wedding Photography: Amazon
The Business of Wedding Photography: Amazon
Building and Marketing Your Wedding Business: Amazon

Vanessa’s Secrets To Perfect Poses

Speed Posing Course: speedposing.com
Free Guide: Posing Inspiration Guide

Vanessa’s Store

Online Store: breatheyourpassion.com

Vanessa’s Questionnaire

FREE Couples Photo Shoot Questionnaire:

Vanessa’s Classes

CreativeLive: creativelive.com
(Be sure to check out the CreativeLive discount code here)

Vanessa’s Photographer Picks

Joe Buissink: joebuissink.com