Prompts for Creating Movement— Couples Edition
Documentary Style Photography
Ten of my favorite “movement prompts” for couples to create organic, candid style photos!
The key to effortlessly capturing documentary style photography is movement. Giving prompts instead of poses. When you give a prompt, clients can interpret it in many different ways & make it their own. They create their own result that feels natural for them & gives you photography GOLD. The clients feel comfortable which yields beautiful, effortless photos. An absolute win/win.
Run/walk while holding hands
I almost ALWAYS start by having clients walk at the beginning of the photoshoot. Most of the time I’ll have them begin by walking towards me & I’ll say “look at each other, now look at me, now bump hips.” When they bump hips, it creates such a sweet, genuine smile. I also will tell them to not try to knock the other person over… just in case haha!
2. Hold hands & push & pull each other in like you’re going to kiss— without actually kissing
Sometimes this prompt might take a little bit of direction so I may “act out” what it would look like just to give them an idea. After they’ve pushed & pulled several times, I’ll tell them to kiss & AH it always looks so sweet.
3. Grab her from behind & swing her around
The “swinging” isn’t always off the ground, sometimes it’s more of a “sway,” but this is one of those prompts where it’s pretty open for interpretation! Let the clients do whatever comes to their mind & capture the moment as it happens. No love looks the same!
4. Kiss her on the neck really fast 15 times
For this prompt, I’ll have them in a hugging position before I yell out the prompt. It seems to give better energy when I do it that way because it almost catches them off-guard & doesn’t give them any time to think about it. That’s just my experience with the prompt, but it’s always good to experiment with different clients & figure out how prompts work best for you!
5. Pick her up & spin her around
This prompt is one that I do not use on every couple! It’s so important to feel out your clients before asking them to do something like this. The goal is to keep them as comfortable as possible during the shoot & this prompt can make a situation real uncomfortable real quick. At the beginning of a session, you may want to ask your clients “how do you feel about lifting poses?” If they say they’re not comfortable with them, just say “that’s perfectly fine!” & move on! But if they say they want to do them— YAY!
If you are going to do lifting prompts, make sure to give the person lifting lots of breaks or keep the prompt very short! Guys especially will hold a pose until they hear you, the photographer, say they can break the pose. So they may get tired if you don’t give them a break during lifting prompts! Just something to be mindful of!
6. Lay on (or next to) his chest & flip your hair around
This one is another one that may take a little of direction, so be prepared to help whoever is on top position their body where they’re not putting all of their weight on the other person, but their faces are still close. I like to give extra hair prompts like “throw your hair to the other side,” “play with his/her hair,” “brush her hair behind her ear” & it’s always so dang sweet.
7. Play with each others hands
I love doing this one in a seated pose! This prompt is so simple & looks so different for every couple. Definitely one of my absolute favorites.
8. Do a dip kiss
Be prepared for your couple to not know what a dip kiss is! Not everyone will know what you mean, so this is another prompt I will sometimes act out. BUT THE RESULTS ARE SO FUN. Most couples will do a small dip where they’re not fully holding the other persons weight, but then there’s couples like this one that take it to THE NEXT LEVEL. I think I screamed out of pure amazement when they whipped this pose out. Holy smokes.
9. Tell her.. (insert something related to the couple)
-What you’re most excited about for your wedding day
-Your favorite memory from your wedding day
-Your favorite thing about her
I could go on & on, but this one is so fun! I also love doing this prompt whenever I’m testing lighting on my camera just to keep the couple interacting with each other in a fun way.
10. DANCE!
This one is my all-time favorite. It works for EVERYONE. Do it with music. Do it without music. Play their first dance song. Sing to them (just kidding please don’t do that haha). Maybe they know some cool dance moves (like this couple). Even if it’s just a small sway, this prompt will get the couple moving & feeling in their element. It also creates some really beautiful images.
Of course, I still like to get what people call the “for Grandma” shots. The posed, looking at the camera & smiling photos. Those are important too, in my opinion. But creating images you can FEEL, that’s the key to a great session.
