Duluth Couples Photographer for People Who Don’t Know How to Pose
If the thought of getting in front of a camera with your partner makes you immediately think, “Okay… but what are we actually supposed to do?” You are very much not alone.
One of the things I hear most often from couples before their session is some version of, “We’re terrible at photos,” “We’re awkward,” or “We have no idea how to pose.”
Good news: you don't need to know how to pose. That's my job.
As a Duluth couples and engagement photographer, I don't want you to spend your session trying to remember what to do with your hands, wondering if you're standing correctly, or staring at the camera with a forced smile. I want you to actually enjoy being together while I guide you through the photographs. My sessions are an experience of making memories while we are capturing the memories of this part of your love story.
You don't have to be “good at photos”
Being comfortable in front of a camera is not a requirement for having great photographs.
In fact, some of my favorite couples are the ones who tell me right away that they are awkward in photos.
Why? Because once you stop feeling like you have to perform for the camera, I can start photographing you.
You don't need to know how to create a genuine laugh on command. You don't need to know how to pose your hands. You don't need to know which way to turn your body or what to do between poses.
I'll guide you through all of that.
I don't rely on stiff, complicated poses
There's a difference between being posed and looking posed.
I absolutely guide my couples. I'm going to give you direction, prompts, and small adjustments throughout your session. But my goal isn't to put you into a series of complicated poses and have you hold them while I take a picture. Everyone can spot a stiff pose and forced smile from a mile away. That’s not what I want for you and that’s not what I do.
Instead, I might have you walk together, pull each other in, whisper something ridiculous, dance for a minute, hold each other a certain way, or simply look at each other.
Sometimes I'll make a small adjustment to your hands or the way you're standing so the photograph looks better.
Then I'll let you interact.
That's where the good stuff happens.
The laugh you didn't plan.
The way your partner looks at you when you aren't looking at the camera.
The little moment after a prompt when you both start laughing because it felt ridiculous.
Those are the moments I'm watching for.
My goal is for your photos to feel like you
Beautiful photographs are important to me. But I don't want beautiful to come at the expense of real.
If you look through your gallery years from now, I want you to recognize yourselves.
Not two people who were expertly posed into looking like models.
You.
The way you actually laugh together. The way you naturally interact. The little quirks that make your relationship yours.
That's why my approach to couples photography combines intentional posing with natural interaction. I use posing to create flattering, beautiful images and prompts and movement to create photographs that feel alive.
What if you're both awkward?
Honestly? Even better.
You don't have to become a different version of yourselves for your session.
If you're naturally playful, we'll make room for that.
If you're quieter and more affectionate, I'll guide you in ways that feel comfortable.
If one of you loves being photographed and the other would rather be anywhere else, I'll help the reluctant one ease into it without putting them on the spot.
And if you're both standing there thinking, “We have absolutely no idea what we're doing,” that's okay too.
You don't have to figure it out.
I'll guide you.
You also don't have to spend the whole session looking at the camera
Some of the most meaningful photographs happen when you're not looking at me at all.
I want to photograph the connection between you, not just two people standing next to each other smiling at a camera.
That might mean photographing you walking along the lake, talking together, laughing, holding each other, or simply taking a quiet moment together.
Duluth gives us so many opportunities for this kind of photography, whether we're using the Lake Superior shoreline, a wooded location, an urban setting, inside for an in home session, or somewhere that has personal meaning to you.
The location matters, but how you experience the session matters just as much.
I'll help you with more than posing
A good couples session doesn't start when you show up with a camera pointed at you.
I want you to feel prepared before we ever meet.
I'll help you think through things like:
What to wear for photos and how to coordinate without looking overly matched
Choosing a location for your photo session that fits your relationship and the kind of photographs you want
What to expect during the photo session
How we'll approach posing and movement
How to feel comfortable if you're nervous about being photographed
What to do if the weather doesn't cooperate
You'll also have access to my planning resources and guides so you aren't left trying to figure everything out on your own.
My goal is for you to show up knowing that you don't have to know what you're doing.
I've got you.
What I actually want you to do during your session
If I could give every couple one instruction before their session, it would be this:
Stop worrying about whether you're doing it right.
You don't need to constantly check whether you're smiling correctly.
You don't need to wonder if your hand looks weird.
You don't need to keep asking, “Was that good?”
And you definitely don't need to spend the entire session thinking about the camera.
Let me worry about the photographs.
Your job is to be together.
Talk to each other. Laugh. Hold each other. Be a little ridiculous. Enjoy the person you're there with.
I'll take care of the rest.
Why couples who feel awkward often love this approach
I don't think you should have to become “photogenic” before you book a photography session.
My job as your photographer is to know how to photograph real people, not just people who already feel comfortable in front of a camera.
That means knowing how to pose you in a way that's flattering without making you feel stiff, knowing when to step in with direction and when to let a moment unfold, and paying attention to the little things happening between the big moments.
Because sometimes the photograph you'll love most isn't the one where everything was perfectly posed.
It's the one where you were laughing.
The one where your partner looked at you a certain way.
The one where you forgot I was even taking a picture.
That's the kind of couples photography I want to create for you.
If you're looking for a Duluth couples and engagement photographer and the thought of posing for photographs makes you nervous, you don't need to become comfortable in front of the camera first.
You just need to show up with the person you love.
I'll guide you through the rest.