Photo booth poses: four-frame ideas for every group

How to pose in a photo booth

• Agree on all four poses first. The gap between shots is a few seconds, which is not enough time to decide.
• Get close. Faces should fill most of the square, so lean in further than feels normal.
• Change something big in every frame: expression, direction you look, or who is where.
• Look at the lens, not the screen, unless the pose is about looking away.
• Keep one frame "normal". Someone will want a photo they can actually use.

Photo booth poses for couples

Start sweet and end silly, or the other way round. The last frame is the one people remember.

1. Cheek to cheek, both smiling at the lens.
2. One of you kisses the other on the cheek while they act surprised.
3. Foreheads together, eyes closed, laughing.
4. Fake argument: arms crossed, backs turned, both glaring at the camera.

Poses for two friends or besties

Mirror each other. Two people doing the same thing at the same time always reads well in a strip.

1. Matching poses: same hand on the same cheek, same face.
2. One whispers a secret, the other looks shocked.
3. Back to back, arms folded, serious album-cover faces.
4. Squished together in a hug, both laughing.

Solo photo booth poses

On your own, the strip becomes a little story about one face. Change your expression more than your position.

1. A normal smile, so there is one good photo.
2. Look away from the lens, as if someone called your name.
3. Hands framing your face, or chin resting on your fist.
4. The biggest, silliest face you can make.

Poses for three or four people

Every photo is cropped to a square, so groups need to pack in tight. Lean your heads in, kneel at the front, or stand one behind the other.

1. Stacked heads: tallest at the back, shortest at the front.
2. Everyone points at one person, who looks proud.
3. Everyone looks at a different corner of the frame.
4. Group hug, or everyone tries to squeeze into the middle at once.

Funny photo booth pose ideas

• The slow reveal: frame one is empty, then a head, then two, then everyone.
• Emotions in order: happy, sad, angry, then crying with laughter.
• Swap places between every shot, so no one is ever where they were.
• Pretend the booth is broken: all of you lean in close to inspect the lens.
• A tiny movie: meet, fall out, make up, celebrate.

Pick a look that suits the poses

• Silly faces and crowds: Disposable '98, bright and flash-like.
• Serious, album-cover frames: HP5 B&W or Noir.
• Soft couple shots: Portra 400 or Polaroid.

Three people? The Triptych layout puts three frames side by side, one pose each. Shooting with someone far away? See the long distance photo booth guide for poses that work across two cameras.

Questions