Portrait Photography How To

A good pose is key to a good portrait. But how do you get a person in the right pose for a flattering photo? Pro photographer Manny Ortiz shows you an easy way with a simple posing hack he says, "actually works."

"Posing someone is hard and easy to forget when the pressure is on," Ortiz admits. "This is what I do when my mind goes blank!"

Ortiz's "secret formula" for posing is known as HML, which stands for High, Middle, Low. In posing, the High section is the top of head to the neck of you model. Middle is the neck to the waist. Low is from the waist to the feet.

This HML formula then lets him give simple instructions to his model on where, for example, to put their hands, whether it's in the high, middle, or low sections of their body. Ortiz demonstrates how to use this hack in the video below where he instructs his model – as usual, his lovely wife Diana – on the poses he wants.

"So obviously there's a lot more that goes into posing than just hand placement," he says. "There's body position, weight distribution, the shoulders and the chin height and all the little things you can do to create different expressions. But this is like giving you a default setting.

It may sound simple but that's probably because it is. And, as you'll see in the video, is does help Ortiz give clear instructions on the poses he want.

So, check it out below and try to use it in your next portrait shoot. And be sure to visit Ortiz's YouTube channel to learn all his portrait tips, tricks, and hacks.