1. The first rule of posing clients is to make them feel relaxed. If the model is uptight or nervous it will reflect in the finished product. The best way to start is for you to be confident and relaxed.
2. Posture is everything, casual is a great look, but that doesn’t mean to slouch. Many people do tend to slouch when they are relaxed, this can give them an untidy or even lazy appearance.
3. If a particular pose is working well you can try changing it up a bit. Try slight variations of the pose and of the camera position. A change of angle, a tilt of the head, subject looking another direction; can give very different look to the same old pose.
4. When doing a sitting, female pose, show movement in their legs, avoid straight lines and 90 degree angles. Position the legs individually not as a pair, slightly different angles and heights. This will helps create a more desirable, more sensual pose and not them app rear to have one large leg.
5. Male poses are meant to provide the appearance of strength and confidence. A slightly upward camera angle can provide this feel. Leaning slightly forward, a thumb in a belt loop or hand in a pocket, are good methods of creating that facade.
6. If you have a subject with a weight problem you can shoot at a slight downward angle. This will help to give a slimmer look to your subjects face, as well as helping to conceal extra chins.
7. Steer clear of shooting straight on square to the camera poses, this especially true of heavier clientèle. In general, this is not the most flattering pose for people. Placing the body in even a very slight profile will create a slimmer more natural look.
8. When you are trying to pose some one in a natural looking pose, don’t expect it to come naturally. Believe it or not, it takes talent to be able to look natural in an unnatural situation. That’s OK, you can demonstrate poses, move their heads, arms and legs as needed.  
9. Subjects rarely know what to do with their arms when posing, they should not fall straight down at the subjects sides.- This tends to makes the arms appear fuller and it does not create a natural look.

• Nor should they cross in front, hands together in front of the crotch area.- This tends to make the subject look    like they are late for a bathroom break.
• Place a hand on a hip, in pocket front or back (not to deep), on a wall or fence, overhead, a small bend at the elbow anything that avoids the straight line has a more natural felling.

A great way to help yourself before the shoot is to create a favorite posing list. You can include illustrations, photos, or even magazine pages from monthly fashion journals.

These are strictly to help you remember ideas, never show a subject a photo of a model and say pose like that. Professional models may be able to imitate what they see in a photo, but the average person can’t. Also the average person can feel intimidated when compared to a model. While using fashion magazines as a gauge of current trends can be very useful, it is unlikely that your client will understand. It can be a very useful tool to help you prepare for a session.

With the economy as it is these days, most of us are looking for ways to bring more money in the door. Adding income to an existing business can be as simple as offering something new or different.
As any business owner knows; getting the customer to the door is the hardest part. Once you have over come that hurtle your job is to sell and up sell. Don’t waste opportunities to earn extra income through creative up selling.
Someone comes into your studio for a photo or asks you to shoot an event for them; that is a perfect time for you to show them the exciting things you can do with templates and enhancements.
A photo of a young lad in his baseball uniform is nice, add a memory mate with his name and team information and you have something special. Wallet photos of this future hall of famer are OK for family members, but realistic looking sports trading cards with his photo and stats are great.
A H.S. senior has come in, has chosen a sitting and package, now try adding multi image memory mates, year tags, framing, canvases, extra blemish removal, specialty backgrounds, a disk with web photos for myspace an facebook and so on.
You should never feel embarrassed or dishonest for giving your customer more options. Offering more ways to use and display their portraits is all part of the service you should offer. After all you can’t give the customer what they want if they don’t even know what you offer.
And always have samples available and ready for your customer to view.

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