My Favorite Candid Engagement Portrait Poses

My Five Favorite Candid Engagement Portrait Poses

I believe that the best engagement portraits are those that are fun and candid. Some couples do really well with traditionally posed portraits. However, in my experience, most couples are at their best when the session is interactive and candid. Here are my five favorite candid engagement portrait poses 🙂

Walking Shots Are Easy And Candid

One of the easiest poses that I like to start off with are walking shots. I like these kind of poses for many different reasons – but one of the most important reasons is because it gives you and your partner some space. Most people get a little uncomfortable when a giant camera is pointed at their face 🙂 So distance helps with this a lot.

For waking shots I also like to give a couple of fun alterations like having you and your partner sing a song, for example. I might also pause you and have you give your partner a quick kiss on the hand or cheek.

Leaning on a Post or a Tree

Another one of my favorite candid engagement portrait poses is by having you or your partner lean against a tree or a post. When you guys are close together, this is usually enough to get some smiles out of you. But to make it a little more candid, I like to have you guys interact with each other. An example of how I do this can be as simple as asking you to tell me something about your partner. This can be something that they are good at or something you love about them, for example. In my experience, adding a candid interaction to the pose makes the post more natural.

Sitting Poses

If there are places to sit, I also like to get a few shots of you and your partner sitting together. Stairs and benches are great for these poses. And there are a variety of different poses that we can do. For example, I may have your partner stand behind the bench and give you a kiss. Or I may have you guys both sitting on the same level. To make this a little more candid, I can give you and your partner a prompt. Another prompt I may ask is for you and your partner to share a story about a first date or your proposal, for example 😉 The more interactive the poses are, the better they are at capturing your personality.

Your Partner Standing Behind

My fourth candid engagement portrait poses is of your partner standing behind you. Like the pose when you or your partner are leaning on a post or a tree, this is a great pose because of how close you are. Having one person stand behind adds a fun element because it is natural for you to want to look back at your partner. Usually this first glance back at each other gets a natural and fun reaction.

Holding Hands

Last but not least, another of my favorite simply and candid engagement portrait poses is of you and your partner holding hands 🙂 Like walking together, I am sure holding hands is something that you do regularly. Like with nearly all of my poses, I like to make these poses interactive. I will not give away all of my secrets – but I have several prompts and questions that are meant to get you guys smiling and laughing together 😉

Hopefully these five examples of my favorite candid engagement portrait poses have been helpful. I believe the best portraits are those that feel natural and unposed. My favorite way to do this is by putting you and your partner in a “pose” and creating an atmosphere where you are interacting with one another 🙂