When it comes to Instagram photos I am not fancy. And you don’t have to be either. I usually just whip out my iPhone and take a picture… or 300 and then pick the best one for Instagram. And there are tons of bloggers who do the same and have hundreds of thousands of followers.
However, just because you’re using your iPhone doesn’t mean you can get sloppy. In fact, you want to be even more creative because you’re using an iPhone.
You need some level of consistency, a beautiful aesthetic, and the right angle. It’s really all about that angle. I mean, 9 times out of 10 your first pose does not work… like in the least, especially when you’re just starting out you don’t know what you’re doing or where you’re looking.
But luckily for you I’ve taken thousands of ugly photos so you don’t have to and today I’m sharing the best “candid” poses for Instagram. Candid is in quotes because, let’s be honest, they’re never actually candid.
the staring-into-the-distance post
As ridiculous as it sounds, this is one of my more challenging poses because the side angle has to be just right. You don’t want to look like you’re a serial killer by not smiling, so you have to get that half smirk in there where it’s still cute but “candid”. Plus your side profile has to be on point. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to redo “staring into the distance” because my hair was messed up on the side being photographed. Anyway, this pose is really funny because sometimes I’ll literally be looking at nothing or a dirty wall or something but I want to give the illusion I’m daydreaming into the sunset… it’s ok if you roll your eyes now.
the shorty-so-seductive pose
This is one of my newer poses that I NEVER thought would work, but it does. I am so sick of the same old, front on, half smile pose that I had to switch it up to some over the shoulder, “shorty so seductive” poses. It’s like you’re being totally coy with a little sass. I love it. It’s so fun! You can also call this pose the “look back at it”.
the kylie jenner pose
Ah, the classic Kylie pose or the “oops, I dropped something” pose. Who poses like this really? No one but Kylie. But I will say it’s SUPER flattering so I’ve adopted it into my posing repertoire. This pose only works when you’re wearing something badass like knee highs and a sweatshirt dress or an Adidas tracksuit aka don’t wear office attire like I did.
the i-found-a-penny-on-the-ground pose
This is probably the easiest pose to attain. Literally, I can do it with my eyes closed because I’m looking at the ground anyway so what’s the difference? This Instagram pose is to make people believe you’re very focused on your walking, or you just saw a penny… either way, it’s one I use very often because it never fails. However, what’s funny is I never usually watch where I walk… not sure which scenario is worse.
the casually-fix-your-hair pose
This is a fan favorite of mine and one of my very first blogger poses. Touching your hair is believable because, well, as girls we often touch our hair quite often plus it’s effortless looking. Sometimes it actually is candid because I’m fixing my hair for a shot and it happens to turn out great. This wasn’t the case for the picture above though, don’t be fooled.
What is your go-to Instagram pose? Tell me in the comments below!
xx
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16 Comments
Liyana Aris
06/19/2017 at 4:52 amOh my God, all these poses are so accurate (crying laughing emoji would be appropriate here), and my latest Instagram picture was literally “staring-into-the-distance”, except it was ACTUALLY candid because all my other posed ones were horrible. My husband got that photo mid-pose, so I guess sometimes candid – ACTUAL candid – is still the one that saves my Instagram’s day! But I do pose by staring elsewhere A LOT, because my photos always fail when my eyes are trained on the lens. (Why, I’ll never know.)
I’ve done the “casually-touching-my-hair” too but in my case it would be hijab instead of hair… But amazingly it does work sometimes (I should stress on “sometimes”!).
It’s funny because most bloggers do adopt the same kinds of poses but only because they WORK. Great round-up here, Brittany! <3
Liyana Aris recently posted…Food Mood With My Ripped Boyfriend (Jeans, That Is) at Ewha Womans University
Brittany
06/21/2017 at 5:39 pmYesssss! Sometimes I’ll get an actual candid one too and feel like I just beat myself in a competition because I didn’t cheat in trying to create it!
Exactly Liyana the key is to play around with poses and see what works for you. Maybe I’ll have some new ones next month? Hah thanks for reading and as always thank you for the LOVELY comment. xx
Abigail // A Little Leopard
06/19/2017 at 11:01 ami’m a big fan of the look at the ground pose. it’s very, “oh me? oh i’m just trotting off to a super chic destination!” but really…you’re staring at the ground
Brittany
06/21/2017 at 5:40 pmHaha exactly Abigail! Glad I’m not the only one. I always try and pretend like I’m watching a baby crawl or something… in the middle of the street in NYC… totally believable. ::rolls eyes::
Shazeda
06/19/2017 at 11:35 amAgghhh I don’t feel like I could pull this off without sunglasses >.< but then again it is Summer so maybe I'll be more confident in posting photos of myself!!
Brittany
06/21/2017 at 5:41 pmYou and me both doll! I ALWAYS wear sunglasses. It’s just what we prefer. Thanks for reading! xx
Laysa de la Parra
06/19/2017 at 3:19 pmI couldn’t help but to giggle at this post! This is incredible helpful and I love the names of the poses. I can’t remain serious when I try the “look at the ground” pose. Thanks Brittany!
Brittany
06/21/2017 at 5:42 pmHaha right?! Blogging can’t be all serious all the time! Thanks so much for reading. xx
Nikki
06/19/2017 at 3:27 pmhahaha oh my gosh I love this!!! I always do staring into the distance because every single othe rone looks so awkward on me.. especially the look at the ground lol. I might just have to try out the look back at it!
One of my favorite posts so far. Loved!!!
xx Nikki
http://clarissanicole.com
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Brittany
06/22/2017 at 3:11 pmSame! If you really want to make yourself laugh try standing head on, staring at the camera… super awkward. Haha thanks for your support babe! Always appreciate your comments. xx
Eden
06/20/2017 at 4:30 pmDefinitely the touching/fixing my hair pose haha and also holding my arms up because I like to wear things with fun sleeves. Thanks for the ideas!
Brittany
06/21/2017 at 5:43 pmYes! The arms one is something new that I’ve been experimenting with too. Now we just need a ridiculous name for it, ha! Thanks so much for reading. xx
Tasha
06/26/2017 at 10:44 amYes girl! I’ve never tried the Kylie pose… will have to give that a go next.
I think I do pretty much every other one though.
Brittany
06/26/2017 at 10:06 pmOh the Kylie pose is my new favorite. So good! Thanks so much for reading. xx
Nathalie
07/16/2017 at 10:30 amLove the poses! My go to is the “sit and look into the distance”. Never fails. LOL
Xo, Nathalie
woahstyle.com
Brittany
07/16/2017 at 10:02 pmOh totally, same here. That’s such a good one. So glad we can embrace it together, ha. xx