Nobody who books a session here knows how to pose, and it does not matter, because posing is my job. You will be told exactly where to sit, what to do with your hands, and where to look, one instruction at a time. The first twenty minutes exist mostly to prove that to you.
This is the question people are most embarrassed to ask, so here is a minute-by-minute account of the start of a session.
What happens when I arrive?
You knock, I open the door, and Marggie is already set up.
The address is only sent after booking, so you will have found the place without any trouble. The studio is closed to everyone else while you are here. Nobody else is coming.
The first thing that happens is nothing. You put your bag down. We offer you water or coffee. If you brought a friend, they find a seat. Nobody picks up a camera.
What is the makeup chair for?
Hair and makeup, and also for getting used to the room.
Marggie has been doing this for twenty years and she talks the whole time. By the time she is done, which is about an hour, you have been sitting in the studio chatting with two people who are clearly not in a hurry. Most of the nerves people arrive with are gone before we take a single frame. That is the reason hair and makeup is included in every session.
If you do not normally wear makeup, say so. She will keep it light. The goal is you, with the studio lighting accounted for.
What is the very first photo?
Usually you, in whatever you walked in wearing, sitting on the window seat.
I ask you to sit. I show you how to angle your knees. I ask you to look out the window. I take a frame.
Then I show it to you on the back of the camera.
That moment does more than anything else I could say. People expect to see something awkward and they see something fine, sometimes better than fine, and their shoulders drop about two inches. From then on it is easier.
What do you actually say during the session?
Small, specific things. Never "just be natural."
"Bring your chin toward me a touch." "Let that hand rest on your knee." "Look at the top of the window frame." "Now back at me." "Hold that."
I demonstrate anything I cannot describe. I do not touch clients to adjust a pose. If a strap needs fixing, Marggie fixes it or you do.
You never have to guess what to do. If you find yourself wondering "what should I be doing," I have failed to direct you, and you should say so.
What if I hate how I look in the first shots?
Then we change something, and we keep changing things until you do not.
Most of the time the first frames are better than people expect. Occasionally someone looks at the camera back and winces. That is useful. It tells me what you are self-conscious about, and I can pose and light around it for the rest of the session. Nobody has to explain why. "I don't love that angle" is enough.
Do I have to look at the camera?
No, and mostly you will not.
A lot of the best frames are looking away, looking down, or caught between instructions. Direct eye contact with a lens is hard for almost everyone. We build up to it over the session, and by the end it usually feels fine. If it never does, there are still plenty of pictures.
What if I get nervous partway through?
We stop. Nobody is watching a clock.
Sessions are two to three hours for this reason. There is room to sit down, drink some water, and change into the next look without rushing. Marggie is there the whole time, and she is very good at knowing when someone needs a minute.
You are also allowed to change your mind about anything. If you planned on a look you no longer feel like doing, we skip it.
Should I practise poses beforehand?
No. Practising makes people stiff.
The one thing worth doing is looking at the portfolio so you know what the pictures tend to look like. Beyond that, arrive rested, and let the session be the practice.
How do I know if I can actually do this?
You can. I have watched hundreds of people who were certain they could not.
The people who worry most about posing are usually the people who end up with the stillest, most honest photographs, because they do not perform. If that is you, you are in the right place.
Send a message if you have a question I have not answered. No obligation, and you will get a reply from me.
Written September 2026.