If you’ve ever watched a client freeze the moment you point a camera at them, this episode fixes that. Marcus shares the system he uses to turn nervous, stiff brand clients into natural, confident portraits — no posing guide, no awkward instructions, just a handful of simple techniques that work with anyone in front of your lens.
You’ll learn how to get direction across without saying a word, why the shots your clients love most are rarely the ones you actually asked for, and the one prop rule that instantly makes a brand shoot feel considered rather than generic.
If you want the groundwork that makes all of this even easier, go back and listen to our episode with Colin D Smith, the listening expert, on building the client relationship before the camera even comes out
00:00.00
Marcus Ahmad
Pretty dark.
00:01.25
Sam Hollis
Yeah, it’s cloudy and rainy here
00:02.85
Marcus Ahmad
Oh man. The summer’s over big time, innit?
00:08.07
Sam Hollis
Hello Marcus! How are you doing today on this slightly rainy day?
00:13.00
Marcus Ahmad
It is, Sam. I’m really well, thank you. But, guys, a little bit missing the summer already. oh Never mind.
00:19.19
Sam Hollis
ja while we need the route I think this is the first rain my garden has seen in two and a half months, literally.
00:21.14
Marcus Ahmad
Oh.
00:23.54
Marcus Ahmad
Yeah, that’s right.
00:23.90
Sam Hollis
so
00:24.77
Marcus Ahmad
I’m photographing a golf tournament in a couple of weeks. and I’m really hoping it’ll be green by then.
00:29.30
Sam Hollis
Maybe. The golf courses have been watering though, haven’t they? Aren’t they exempt from the hosepipe bans?
00:31.95
Marcus Ahmad
No.
00:32.93
Sam Hollis
That one not.
00:33.20
Marcus Ahmad
No, they’re not. My ah my brother-in-law works is a mad golfer and he works in a golf course even. And they can do the greens, which I believe is where the hole is, but not the rest of it.
00:42.48
Sam Hollis
Oh. But not the rest.
00:44.69
Marcus Ahmad
Yeah.
00:44.54
Sam Hollis
i see yeah Okay.
00:45.76
Marcus Ahmad
Yeah.
00:46.70
Sam Hollis
Anyway, this isn’t a golfing podcast.
00:48.48
Marcus Ahmad
No.
00:48.61
Sam Hollis
So moving quickly on. We are talking today about something completely different.
00:50.69
Marcus Ahmad
Good Lord, how time really went there.
00:53.31
Sam Hollis
I think Marcus is going to talk about. um Posing. Is that right, Marcus?
00:58.45
Marcus Ahmad
Yeah, that’s right, Sam. So ah today I want to talk about posing and directing your clients. And I know from the you know Facebook groups and chats that I see that this is one topic that makes a lot of photographers very nervous.
01:12.98
Marcus Ahmad
And I get it.
01:13.00
Sam Hollis
and clients as well, isn’t it?
01:13.39
Marcus Ahmad
I understand why.
01:15.43
Sam Hollis
You know, you have your photograph taken, you just you don’t know where to put yourself do you so sometimes you end up just doing a silly pose just to you know because you don’t you don’t know what to do
01:24.27
Marcus Ahmad
Well, you know that’s the job of a photographer to to get the best out of the client So, you know and you can have the best lighting in the world, you know the best location and a great brief And then if your client stands in front of the camera and freezes, you’ve got to be able to do something.
01:40.60
Marcus Ahmad
So I come up with basically three simple tools that you can work.
01:40.75
Sam Hollis
That’s it.
01:45.43
Marcus Ahmad
with your client on every And it will work every time.
01:49.60
Sam Hollis
Perfect. No more rabbit in the headlight syndrome.
01:52.29
Marcus Ahmad
Hopefully not. So, first things first. um Before your client walks through the door Everything needs to be ready. So preparation is key here. You’ve got to test your lighting.
02:05.95
Marcus Ahmad
make sure your exposure is working ah or is the correct exposure make sure your flash is working and get everything tied in Now, talking about flash and and doing portraits, here’s a little tip.
02:18.27
Marcus Ahmad
Always set your flash between one eighth and one quarter power. Because at these lower power settings, your flash will recycle much faster.
02:30.12
Marcus Ahmad
And that really matters when you’re dealing with. direction and posing because the best shots are sometimes often not the posed ones they’re the moments in between the laughs the look away or some kind of natural adjustment So if your flash is still recharging you’re going to miss them.
02:47.98
Sam Hollis
hopeless Yeah.
02:49.59
Marcus Ahmad
So get your batteries charged and if you’re tethering, make sure that’s all working correctly.
02:55.27
Sam Hollis
and from our show we had a while ago with Colin D. Smith, he was talking about as well, that preparation of building the relationship with the client. So then that that side’s much easier too.
03:05.08
Marcus Ahmad
Yeah, and we’ve talked he’s talked about that and I’ve talked about it on shows, you know, what to do with people and when they arrive at you the door to your studio. um So we’ve got that in other shows. This is more about the posing side.
03:16.69
Marcus Ahmad
So just when I was talking about tethering there, Sam, a little tip I can pass on is…
03:16.64
Sam Hollis
Yeah.
03:22.36
Marcus Ahmad
it When you’re tethering is to take the cards out of the camera. which… I know it sounds a bit counterintuitive, but if you’re tethering, shooting to a card at the same time can sometimes cause buffering.
03:35.68
Marcus Ahmad
And this slows the camera down and you miss the moment.
03:36.11
Sam Hollis
Okay.
03:39.50
Sam Hollis
right yeah so you just it just saves the photo straight on the laptop
03:43.36
Marcus Ahmad
It goes straight to the laptop with no buffering, just by removing the cards.
03:45.86
Sam Hollis
Yep.
03:47.54
Marcus Ahmad
If you’ve got a dual card slot, just even removing one would do the job.
03:53.21
Sam Hollis
Okay.
03:53.41
Marcus Ahmad
So. Get all this done before your client arrives because when they walk in, your full attention needs to be on them. and not the kit.
04:03.67
Sam Hollis
hundred percent
04:04.86
Marcus Ahmad
Okay, posing. So… First of all I want to say something that might surprise you. I don’t use posing guides. Never have done. And you know the kind of things I mean, Sam, those illustrations that are showing you have exactly where to put the hands, the feet.
04:19.18
Sam Hollis
For those that are listening, I’m pulling i’m put to putting my hands in silly places.
04:22.60
Marcus Ahmad
he’s doing a few shapes there, nice shapes there, so I need to be on a dance floor. So, yeah, and they’re basically formulas, but they don’t work for every body type. you know and as i say i don’t use them and i encourage you not to use them either and here’s why Everybody. is different.
04:41.52
Marcus Ahmad
every person moves differently and their levels of flexibility are all different so you’ve got to be accommodate that for different people in front of the camera a pose that looks elegant on one person is going to look awkward on another.
04:57.92
Marcus Ahmad
And more.
04:57.90
Sam Hollis
What do you think? So Marcus, I’m just thinking, so as a…
04:59.58
Marcus Ahmad
Yeah. good
05:01.92
Sam Hollis
experienced photographer can really see that. If you’re just starting out, do you think those postcards have a place to kind of get you giving you some ideas?
05:09.33
Marcus Ahmad
You can see me shaking my head here, Sam.
05:10.79
Sam Hollis
Yeah, I can
05:10.95
Marcus Ahmad
No. And i’ll let me tell you why.
05:12.26
Sam Hollis
Okay.
05:13.23
Marcus Ahmad
Because when you’re following a guide, you’re watching a piece of paper instead of watching your client.
05:18.90
Sam Hollis
Yeah. Yeah.
05:19.61
Marcus Ahmad
Yeah, the best directing comes from observation. and you can’t observe properly if you’re flicking through a reference sheet. So put that guy down and watch.
05:28.20
Sam Hollis
Yeah.
05:31.07
Marcus Ahmad
the person in front of you. So here we go. So I’m like the three three simple things that you can do. The first technique I call moving. um So this is where…
05:42.40
Marcus Ahmad
You do something and the people copy it. You turn your body slightly, they turn theirs. Drop a shoulder, they took drop theirs. Raise the chin. They do that. So you don’t have to say you don’t have to say a word.
05:54.55
Sam Hollis
I’m busy mirroring Marcus Phillips.
05:55.48
Marcus Ahmad
Sorry, I’m laughing because sam’s ah Sam’s mirroring in front of me. And this works because most people don’t know what to do with their body in front of the camera. So giving them something is… Copy removes the guesswork.
06:08.73
Marcus Ahmad
They stop thinking. and start moving.
06:11.84
Sam Hollis
And presumably, if it’s mirroring, its yeah they well are they doing it kind of… by reflex it’s not like saying oh just do what i do just if you’re doing things they almost there’s that connection almost naturally copying
06:21.77
Marcus Ahmad
That’s a great point, Sam. There’s two different ways you can do with it. Let’s just say we’ve got level one, okay? And that is, okay, you say, okay, do this. do this and they copy you level two or maybe even level three is where they we’ve got such an empathy with the client with the sitter that they just do it by without even thinking about it
06:31.79
Sam Hollis
Yeah.
06:41.58
Sam Hollis
because which is something you almost naturally do with people you’re speaking with isn’t it to some extent you’re naturally mirroring each other.
06:45.51
Marcus Ahmad
Yes.
06:48.48
Marcus Ahmad
That’s right, Sam. It takes a bit of time to get there. I believe the photographer Richard Avedon used to use that technique. It was so good with the people he photographed that they would just do copy him what he said. There was such an empathy built.
07:01.15
Marcus Ahmad
built in there.
07:02.46
Sam Hollis
Yeah.
07:02.52
Marcus Ahmad
So that’s moving. My next one I call direction. um So… There’s a difference between instructions and direction.
07:12.93
Marcus Ahmad
Instruction sounds like this.
07:13.39
Sam Hollis
Okay.
07:14.75
Marcus Ahmad
Put your hand there, turn your chin to the left. straighten your back.
07:18.45
Sam Hollis
Right.
07:18.31
Marcus Ahmad
Direction is more like this. Imagine you’re just walked into a room and you own it. Or think about the last time someone gave you really good news. You’re asking them… your city to inhabit a space, a feeling. a character.
07:36.50
Marcus Ahmad
a moment.
07:38.23
Sam Hollis
yeah very very different isn’t it and then almost with the instructions as well they’re so complicated it’s like you’re in the middle of yoga class and there’s a complicated move you’re so busy thinking about this you’re probably pulling a very strange face and feeling slightly awkward because you go well what’s my right foot supposed to be there or is it supposed to be slightly higher and it’s oh my god too much to think about
07:47.52
Marcus Ahmad
Yeah. Yeah.
07:55.98
Marcus Ahmad
Yeah. I mean, there is a way you can use that a little bit more dynamically, Sam. You can actually get people to do awkward things and they sort of think, ah and you can say, okay, let’s just try something else. And that means they sort of, you know, they’ve got over that fear factor or or something. So you can build that into it. These are all.
08:11.16
Marcus Ahmad
subtle cues that you do with people. And this is all part of your job as a portrait photographer.
08:14.31
Sam Hollis
Yep.
08:17.27
Marcus Ahmad
So props, they can help too as well. Give someone something to hold and they immediately have something to do with their hands. Give them a chair. and they have something to lean on, sit on or even stand behind.
08:29.83
Marcus Ahmad
Props. change the dynamic. They give the client permission to interact with something rather than just standing there. Now, obviously, we’ve done shows about props before, Sam, and I always try and say, avoid the three Cs.
08:44.74
Sam Hollis
Let me guess. Wait, wait, let me guess. Avoid. coffee cups.
08:47.55
Marcus Ahmad
Yep.
08:48.20
Sam Hollis
Ah. Laptops.
08:50.05
Marcus Ahmad
Computer.
08:50.34
Sam Hollis
And…
08:50.60
Marcus Ahmad
That’s a computer. Yeah. Coffee shop computer.
08:52.67
Sam Hollis
phone. Is that the last one?
08:54.78
Marcus Ahmad
Cell phone. Yeah.
08:55.90
Sam Hollis
Yeah.
08:56.05
Marcus Ahmad
we was So we got coffee cup. cell phone or computer and the other one was a um computer cell phone.
09:00.85
Sam Hollis
Yeah.
09:05.67
Marcus Ahmad
Oh, I can’t remember. Maybe those were the three.
09:06.90
Sam Hollis
Anyway.
09:07.68
Marcus Ahmad
They should have three.
09:07.75
Sam Hollis
But unless maybe they’re a coffee blogger.
09:10.15
Marcus Ahmad
Yeah, that’s right.
09:10.22
Sam Hollis
then it’s a bit different.
09:11.15
Marcus Ahmad
Then it would be appropriate. Yeah, so avoid those and use props that you can, you know, add have a bit of energy to them and i i’ll ah suit the person you’re photographing.
09:23.02
Marcus Ahmad
Okay, the third and final technique, Sam, is observation. Hyper. observation and this one is maybe the most important. So hyper-focused, deliberately observing of everything the client is doing.
09:39.04
Marcus Ahmad
Watch this.
09:50.35
Marcus Ahmad
watch for those moments. And when you see one, Ask them to do it again. Just say the thing you just did with your hands. Do that again. Most clients won’t even know what they did so show them, mirror it back to them and then capture it.
10:07.34
Marcus Ahmad
So these are the shots that end up being the client’s favourite. every time.
10:12.82
Sam Hollis
Because they’re what they do naturally.
10:14.62
Marcus Ahmad
Exactly, because they’re not posed, they’re real. And real is what branding photography is supposed to be.
10:18.09
Sam Hollis
Yeah.
10:23.60
Sam Hollis
Excellent.
10:24.49
Marcus Ahmad
So there it is. Let’s have a little recap here, Sam. Before they arrive get your kit ready flash on low power for recycling, tethering setup, cards out of the camera to avoid buffering.
10:37.35
Marcus Ahmad
And then… when they’re in front of you. Forget the posing guides. Use mirroring. Direction. Props. End of our ball. observe.
10:48.20
Marcus Ahmad
The decisive moment.
10:48.57
Sam Hollis
So if you…
10:48.96
Marcus Ahmad
Oh, let me just get this last bit in, Sam, because it sort kind of goes on from there.
10:50.78
Sam Hollis
Yeah, that was
10:52.83
Marcus Ahmad
The decisive moment is always there. Your job. is to be ready for it. Sam.
10:59.29
Sam Hollis
Cool. So yeah, sorry. So props, you’ve told us what not to use. Could you give us some examples of sort of things that could work much better?
11:04.57
Marcus Ahmad
Yeah. Okay, well, I’ve got a little collection here in my studio. um I ask the clients… what strap lines they use. Okay.
11:15.12
Sam Hollis
Okay.
11:15.48
Marcus Ahmad
So look yesterday I had a financial consultant in the studio.
11:19.01
Sam Hollis
Yeah. So that’s intro… automatically there’s nothing obvious it’s not like going oh there was an iron monger so i got him to bring in a you know a hammer this is that it’s something where there’s nothing obvious things to mind it’s there with that one
11:31.15
Marcus Ahmad
yeah exactly so you might ask them okay what’s you know what’s your usp what’s your selling point what kind of you know what’s your strap line and they might be for example say well you know
11:36.63
Sam Hollis
Okay. Yeah.
11:41.46
Marcus Ahmad
I do custom. uh financial packages for my client for for my clients and so i’ve got a tape measure you know a simple tape measure they can hold and it would you know you can imagine how that can be used you know we we
11:47.58
Sam Hollis
Yeah.
11:49.72
Sam Hollis
Okay, yeah, yeah.
11:53.13
Sam Hollis
Yeah.
11:54.10
Marcus Ahmad
we make bespoke finance that’s the kind of thing you want sam something that’s visual obviously to make it you know something that’s simple something that’s cheap you know you’d only be spending loads of money on different props
11:59.48
Sam Hollis
yeah
12:06.20
Marcus Ahmad
And even better if the client brings it in themselves.
12:08.77
Sam Hollis
and a little bit fun from the sound of it as well because yeah you know they
12:10.82
Marcus Ahmad
Exactly.
12:11.95
Sam Hollis
especially with something like that can be very straight-laced and they’ve got they’ve got so many restrictions on what they can say but visually you can have a bit of fun with that can’t you
12:19.73
Marcus Ahmad
It’s exactly Sam. And what I think it defines ah like a headshot into a branded portrait. Yeah.
12:30.06
Sam Hollis
That makes sense.
12:30.41
Marcus Ahmad
Exactly. So, yes. Yeah. Three simple things there, Sam, that I think will help. You know, I mean, when I did start off. doing fashion photography, I would have magazines and you’d make a little mood board and you’d pin it to the studio wall or to a poly board and you’d use that.
12:46.84
Marcus Ahmad
But this is dealing with models. These are people who…
12:49.50
Sam Hollis
Yeah.
12:49.97
Marcus Ahmad
are
12:50.07
Sam Hollis
Very different, isn’t it?
12:51.06
Marcus Ahmad
very they’re used to using their body their dancers maybe or have studied body movement and so you can say to them move your middle finger and they do it in a very Natural A.
13:02.39
Marcus Ahmad
I don’t know why I picked middle fin there.
13:04.36
Sam Hollis
All right.
13:04.41
Marcus Ahmad
Bye-bye. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have actually.
13:05.66
Sam Hollis
But also what you want a fashion shoot to look like is very, very different. And the poses are quite. contrived almost they’re not necessarily looking natural it’s very different so the outcome you want from a from a brand shoot
13:16.83
Marcus Ahmad
Oh, I made it. It’s very different. Sam, it’s very different. It’s all moody and it’s all attitude. You know, and I’ve worked with model, you know, some of the top models that I’ve worked with. They just stand in front of the camera and do anything. And it’s just absolutely bloody perfect. he said Okay, yeah, just do that. Don’t move. Perfect, perfect, perfect.
13:35.23
Marcus Ahmad
You know, so it is different. Dealing with people is very… uh but doing with your clients is very very different it’s all about Well, the things I’ve said and set in the mood, but…
13:46.68
Sam Hollis
Yeah.
13:47.35
Marcus Ahmad
ah Most of all, Sam, just Be ready. And don’t be focusing on your equipment because that is the last thing you want to be thinking about. of you keep Keep it all simple.
13:58.12
Sam Hollis
Yeah, because especially as you said, it could be that chance when you’ve asked them to do something they’ve never lacked. That can often be when the best shots are.
14:05.41
Marcus Ahmad
That is one of the shots. It’s those in-between moments, Sam.
14:06.74
Sam Hollis
Okay.
14:07.86
Marcus Ahmad
You’ve got to be ready. you gotta to be you know It does take a bit of skill, but you’ve got to be ready.
14:13.70
Sam Hollis
perfect Amazing Marcus, lots to think about there, lots to take away. um And yeah. I will see you next week.
14:21.59
Marcus Ahmad
See you next week, Sam. Thank you.
