Portrait Photography How To

Summer is here and the time is right for posing swimsuit models on the beach! But where do you begin?

If you're new to swimwear photography, the video below by travel and lifestyle vlogger Laura Reid is a good place to start. Titled "How to Pose in Photos (Tricks & Hacks to Look Good in a Bikini)", this simple tutorial is for anyone who wants to look extra fine when being photographed on the beach. But beginner swimwear photographers can easily deploy these poses when instructing models for beach shoots.

Here are just five of the many great tips in the beach photography tutorial below. Scroll down and watch the video to learn all the poses.

Tip #1: Crossed Leg Pose
"You want to take one of your legs and cross it over like this," Reid demonstrates. "By doing this, it's going to elongate your body. And by having a leg that's kind of crossed underneath and then a leg on top like that and then angle that leg towards the camera, it does create an illusion that you do have longer legs."

Tip #2: Hands Back Pose
"This is one of my personal favorites, which I always do for photos because it makes my torso look longer and just stretches everything out. I take my hands and put them back like this and I hike my bathing suit up my butt a little bit. It does make your butt look a lot better. Lean back and look into the sky and let your hair flow."

Tip #3: Feet in Front Pose
"Another pose you can try if you are self-conscious of your stomach area is you can have your feet in front of you like this."

Tip #4: Kneeling Pose
"What you want to do for a sexy kneeling beach pose is you never want to be just sitting like this. What looks more comfortable on camera is going to feel less comfortable. So just go up halfway and relax your arms. That way you can see your whole legs versus just being one conglomerate unit."

Tip #5: Lounge Chair Pose
"If you're going to sit flat in a lounge chair, it's honestly not going to look that great. The key is to go onto your side by leaning over, that's going to completely elongate your body. Then what you want to do with legs is put one out a little bit and then the top leg can extend. And that's going to make your legs look a lot longer."