Yoga Photography Posing Course

Marketing is uncomfortable for many yoga teachers. It can feel egocentric to talk about yourself and your strengths. It can feel show-off-y to pose in front of a camera. But of course, if you want someone to attend your class, you may have to promote yourself to some degree. Generic stock photography might feel like a good idea at first. But it's not personal and it's a missed opportunity to be authentic. So let's talk about posing for yoga pictures. Here are our top tips and tricks. The list is based on years of working with our in-house talent, photographer Isla Grossi, and it's a compilation of our combined experience. 

Prepare well:

1. Spend some time on your brand. Consider your purpose as a yoga teacher, as well as your core values and how you can get them across in your classes. Doing this will help you decide poses, locations and outfits. Is playfulness important to you? Show it in your pictures. Is spirituality important? Get that across visually. 
2. Consider who your target audience is – who most appreciate your classes? Having some clarity here will also help you decide the details. Will they be inspired by your one-handed handstand, or just intimidated?
3. Hire a professional photographer.
4. Have a plan, image by image so you can be efficient and professional. 
5. If your photographer doesn't know yoga, bring another yoga teacher or yoga practitioner who can help you with alignment details. It makes a big difference. 
6. Taking pictures in a few different outfits and colours, in different hair styles and locations might be useful. Make it look like several photo shoots, basically.
7. Arrange a few pictures with a lot of sky or an empty wall or floor where you can place text in promotional material.
8. Some close-up details of hands and feet can be very useful.
9. Simple is usually a good idea.  
10. Be respectful of cultural and religious symbols and attributes that are not fully yours.

Yoga photography things that may not work for everyone:

• Yogi squat - tends to draw the mind to urgent pee-breaks and crotches.
• Headstand straight up - strangely enough doesn't look very interesting. A leg variation makes all the difference. 
• Goddess pose has a tendency to not photograph very well.
• Standing splits unless you are extremely flexible tends to look unimpressive.
• Forward folds tend to not invite the viewer in.
• Anything with a lot of butt, like Downward facing dog or Puppy pose means some angles just won't work.
• Low to the ground arm balances, like Eight angle pose, can be hard to photograph well.

Yoga photography things that usually work well:

• Warriors and lunges usually look accessible but strong.
• Side plank variations are also strong and your face is shown.
• Twists, looking over the shoulder, usually photograph well.
• Dynamic backbends like Dancer's pose or Wild thing tend to photograph well.
• Arm and hand variations can be good for close-ups or to put a personal twist on a simple pose like High lunge.
• A non-typical outfit can also add personality to a simple pose (jeans, boots, a hat...).
• A smile takes the edge off and a serious face can make you look more spiritual.

All this is general but maybe helpful if you are about to get (possibly) out of your comfort zone and into yoga photography posing. Have fun and good luck!

Ps. In our foundational 200 hr vinyasa teacher training, a photo shoot with Isla is always offered!

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