10 Wedding Photo Pose Ideas for Every Couple

Did you know that couples spend over $2,000 on average for their wedding photography, not including videos? What about the fact that most people are at least a little bit camera shy? Unfortunately, those two things have the potential to add pressure to the whole wedding photo process and make it more difficult than it needs to be. The good news is that there are tons of simple ways for you and your photographer to capture pictures that you’ll cherish forever. One of those ways is by researching wedding photo pose ideas ahead of time.

In this guide, we explore 10 unique and stunning wedding photo pose ideas you can use to get a wide variety of shots that you’ll look back on fondly. Keep reading to discover expert tips and tricks for some of our favorite options.

Explore 10 of our favorite wedding photo pose ideas:

No matter how much experience you have in front of a camera, taking your wedding photos can feel a little nerve-wracking. By preparing a handful of poses ahead of time, you’ll be able to fill out your wedding photo album with a variety of shots and looks. To help, we interviewed wedding experts and scoured Pinterest to collect our favorite wedding photo pose ideas.

1. Put your heads together.

“My favorite pose idea for camera-shy couples is a simple one,” New England-based intimate wedding photographer Emma Thurgood said in a recent interview with Wedding Spot.

“ … face each other in a loose embrace, bring (your) foreheads together, close (your) eyes, and just breathe in the moment of (your) wedding day. This pose will help the couple feel more relaxed because of how it connects the two of them and enables them to focus only on their love, shutting out distractions and things that might be causing them anxiety. It's a moment that is just for them.”

2. Create tasks for yourself.

Elizabeth Dilley of EJ Dilley Photography said that the best wedding photo poses often come from action shots. “My trick is to always keep the couple moving,” says Dilley, “give them tasks so that nothing seems static and the couple is always authentically engaging with each other. That may be through cuddling, dancing, keeping warm, snuggling on a blanket, toasting, checking out the views.”

Pick 2 or 3 tasks to do while the photographer is shooting and focus entirely on those. Before you know it, the session will have ended and you’ll have a ton of great photos to choose from.

3. Play with your veil.

Or, if you don’t have a veil, use a piece of chiffon or see-through fabric to capture this wedding photo pose. Drape it over both you and your partner’s heads then put your heads together, close your eyes, and laugh. You may even want to enlist a helper for this one if you want the fabric to flow in the breeze. This will cover part of your faces while still looking beautiful.

You can even do this wedding photo pose idea solo. Simply pull the veil gently around your shoulders and smile lightly into or just past the camera.

4. Whisper in each other’s ears.

Retno Dwinika, wedding planner for Amora Bali Weddings, agrees that small moments look big on camera. “Whisper funny or romantic words to your partner and see their reactions,” Dwinika said in an email to Wedding Spot.

Our tip is to have phrases planned out ahead of time. And don’t worry about anyone overhearing — this pose is just for the two of you.

5. Touch your neck.

This pose can be done solo to show off your wedding ring. Dwinika calls it “a simple gesture to make your photo looks a lot more romantic.” You can choose to have your face in the shot looking into the camera or down. Or, you may want the photographer to only capture your chest and neck to highlight the details of your dress, veil, and other accessories.

6. Walk away from the camera together or alone.

Dwinika also advises couples to try this easy, no-pose-pose. “Walking away from the camera with beautiful nature as the background” is a great way to capture both you and your wedding venue.

This pose works outdoors in fields, forests, and gardens. But it can also work indoors down hallways, staircases, and grand entrances.

7. Walk or run towards the camera together.

“Walk together towards the camera, eyes gazing at each other,” says Dwinika. That way, you won’t have to feel nervous about looking at the photographer. Instead, you can focus on each other, capture how beautiful you both look, and feel at least a little bit more natural in the process.

8. Hug your partner from behind.

Dwinika also suggests this still wedding pose idea. “A hug from behind creates a closer shot, where it emphasizes emotions, outfits, and accessories really well.” The best part is you can even have your eyes closed and your faces relaxed to avoid a forced smile.

9. Lean over a table.

If you have access to a cute bistro or patio table, sit down and lean into each over it. You can hold hands and stare into each other’s eyes or simply pretend to whisper in one another’s ears while looking away.

Shot from above, this wedding photo pose idea looks like a casual slice of life shot that you’d see on Instagram. Poses like these add a breath of fresh air to the entire portfolio compared to the other classic pose shots you expect to see in a wedding album.

10. Sit in a chair.

Have one partner sit facing the camera and the other sitting on their lap with their legs to one side facing the chair. Hold hands on the opposite side of the chair and have the person who is sitting down kiss the other person’s shoulder.

Do these 3 things to prepare for your wedding day photos:

Yes, you can absolutely wing it and take amazing photos. However, since you’re investing a significant amount of money into these, we suggest you follow the advice of the expert photographers we’ve interviewed below.

• Practice. Katie Kortebein, Head of Editorial at Love Stories TV, told Wedding Spot that couples should strongly consider an engagement shoot. “Not only will you get gorgeous photos to hold on to forever, but you'll get to know your photographer and get more comfortable posing around them. Bonus: Your photographer will learn your personalities, favorite sides, etc., and take that with them to your wedding day.” You can also practice photos at home by yourselves or with a friend ahead of time.

• Start small. Kortebein also suggests asking your wedding photographer to start with detail shots before moving on to full face and figure poses. “If you're a camera-shy couple, try getting some detail shots first, like rings, shoes, pocket squares. This way, you'll get used to having your photographer hovering around you and being in front of the camera before actually having your face in the shots.”

• Feel comfortable. “My best advice for couples,” says Thurgood “is to hire a photographer that you can feel comfortable with right from the get-go. If you don't feel like you can be yourself around your photographer, then the photos aren't going to be a good representation of who you are.”

Get stunning photographs with these wedding photo pose ideas!

Even the most camera-shy people can take magazine-worthy wedding photos! Once you have your poses nailed down, all you have to do is have fun.

As Kortebein says, find ways to “get out your nerves, talk about how excited you are to marry each other, and just revel in the amazing day you're about to have. Look into each other's eyes and just be super present in the moment. We promise you'll feel more at ease AND will get the most incredible photos.”

We couldn’t agree more. Now that you know exactly how to pose for great wedding photos, you may be wondering about the rest of the photography timeline. We cover that, and much more, in our post on how long it takes to get wedding photos back.