There’s a myth floating around Pinterest and wedding blogs that the best engagement photos just… happen. That the photographer hangs back, the couple acts natural, and magic appears. That posing is somehow artificial. That direction gets in the way of authenticity.
I’d like to respectfully disagree.
I pose my couples. Intentionally. Deliberately. Sometimes heavily. And I’m telling you upfront – not as a disclaimer, but as a point of pride – because the couples who book me deserve to know exactly what they’re walking into. And what they’re walking into is something that will make them feel more powerful, more themselves, and more seen than they ever expected a photo session could.
What posing actually means – and what it doesn’t
When I say posing, I don’t mean stiff. I don’t mean the awkward high school portrait where someone tells you to smile and tilt your head. I don’t mean anything that makes you feel like a prop.
What I mean is this: I’m creating shapes with your bodies. I’m looking for triangles, angles, depth – the kind of visual tension that makes a still image feel like it has movement and weight. I’m thinking about layers. Are you sitting? Standing? Could one of you be on the ground while the other stands? What happens if those two things exist in the same frame at the same time?
I’ll tell you to sit up straight – and then let your body fall like a broken doll. I’ll build odd shapes with your arms and legs. I’ll twist your torso in a direction that feels completely unnatural – and then I’ll take the shot and show you the screen. And nine times out of ten, that’s the moment everything shifts.
It feels weird as hell in the moment. But it translates. And once you see it translate, you’ll trust me with anything.
That’s not manipulation. That’s craft. Painting has composition. Architecture has structure. Photography has posing. The idea that a great image should happen accidentally is, honestly, a little bit of a lie we’ve been sold.
Why it matters: the feeling a posed image creates
Here’s the deeper reason I work this way.
A purely candid image can be beautiful. But it captures a moment. A intentionally composed image captures something harder to name – it creates the feeling that you’ve accidentally stepped into a scene you weren’t supposed to see. Something private. Something charged. And you can’t quite look away.
That’s what I’m after. Every time.
I want your photos to start a story. Not just document one. A posed image, done right, gives both the person in it and the person looking at it a feeling that lingers. That’s what makes it worth framing. That’s what makes it worth keeping for decades.
Posing helps me elevate the story of who my people are. It gives form to the dynamic between two people – who leads, who holds, who reaches, who steadies. That’s not something that always shows up naturally. Sometimes it has to be drawn out. That’s my job.
The pose I come back to – and what it says
I have a pose I’ve created that I return to often, and it looks a little different every time depending on the couple – but the bones of it are always the same.
She stands. Powerful. Hand on hip, chin lifted, eyes closed or looking straight into the lens like she owns whatever room she’s walked into. He sits on the ground, legs almost wrapped around one of hers, arms holding her – not pulling her down, but anchoring himself to her. It’s pleading. It’s longing. There’s something in it that reads like quiet submission – but not weakness. He holds enormous power in that pose too. A steady, grounded, “I’m not going anywhere” kind of power.
It’s one of the most intimate things I’ve ever put two people through in front of a camera. And it photographs like nothing else.
She owns the frame. He holds the ground beneath her. That dynamic – fierce and tender at the same time – is the thing I’m always trying to find in a session.
I love posing women in a way that is fierce and powerful. Where they own the rhythm of the shoot, the connection between the two of them, the energy of the whole scene. And I love the man as the strong, steady force behind her – present, intentional, unmovable. When those two things live in the same frame, something happens that candid alone rarely creates.
The one rule I give every couple before we start
At the beginning of every couples session, I tell them I only have one rule. And it’s for him.
He has to touch her. The entire shoot.
Not in a posed, choreographed way – just in whatever way feels natural in the moment. Holding her hand. A hand at the small of her back. Rubbing her arm. Holding her face. It doesn’t have to be dramatic. It just has to be constant.
This does several things at once. It gives him something to do so he’s never standing there wondering what to do with his hands. It brings them physically closer throughout the session, which builds comfort with touch and PDA in a way that feels organic rather than forced. And it ignites an intimacy between them that photographs in a way I genuinely cannot manufacture any other way.
Connection is the foundation of every image I make. The posing builds the architecture. The touch keeps it alive.
But the candid moments still happen – and I’m always watching
Here’s the thing about heavy posing: the best moments often happen right after.
You hold a shape that feels completely ridiculous, I take the shot, you both crack up – and I’m still shooting. You exhale out of a pose and lean into each other instinctively – still shooting. He adjusts her hair without thinking about it – still shooting. Those in-between frames, the ones that happen in the transition between direction and release, are some of the most honest images in any gallery.
I’m not a photographer who does one thing. I’m not purely editorial and I’m not purely documentary. My signature is the contrast between the two – a frame that looks like it belongs in a campaign sitting right next to one that looks like I caught something I wasn’t supposed to see. Both true. Both yours.
If you want to see what that looks like in practice, my portraits page is the best place to start.
Who this approach is for – and who it’s not
I’ll be honest with you: if you want a session that is entirely unposed, entirely hands-off, entirely “just be yourselves and I’ll disappear,” I’m probably not the right fit. And that’s okay. There are incredible photographers who work that way and do it beautifully.
But if you’ve ever looked at a photo and felt something – not just “that’s pretty” but something that sits in your chest a little – that’s usually the result of intention. Of a photographer who knew exactly what they were building and why.
My couples are people who want images that feel like them – but elevated. Who want to be guided, not just observed. Who want to walk away with a gallery that doesn’t just document their relationship but does something to the person looking at it.
I’m not here to take your photo. I’m here to create it. There’s a difference. And for the right couple, that difference is everything.
Ready to see what this actually feels like?
Every session I shoot is different – because every couple is different. The posing shifts, the dynamic shifts, the story shifts. But the intention is always the same: to create images that make you feel something. Images that start a story. Images worth keeping.
If that sounds like what you’re looking for, I’d love to hear from you. Reach out here and let’s talk about your session.
Keep reading
→ How to Feel Comfortable in Front of the Camera (Even If You Think You’re Awkward)
→ What to Wear for Your Engagement Session
→ How to Choose the Right Location for Your Engagement Session
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