25 Sitting Poses Used By Professional Photographers

Portrait photography can be a challenge, especially if you are new to photography. Directing your subject is no easy task, even when you take photos of them sitting down— trust me, it becomes a lot harder with fewer elements to play around with. So, in this article, I'll share 25 sitting poses to help you prepare for your next photo shoot...

25 Sitting poses for photography

1. Leaning forward, elbows on the knees

This pose is effortless, classic, and versatile. What’s more, you can adapt the position of the hands to different moods depending on the effect you want to cause.

For example, if you want to make your subject look serious yet relaxed, tell them to open their legs, place their elbows on the knees, and let the hands rest in the middle. Alternatively, you can ask them to smile, close their legs, and place one or two hands under their chin for a more charming and friendly mood.

Man sitting leaning forward, elbows on the knees. — Leaning forward, elbows on the knees

2. Sitting on the stairway

Stairs are great for making stunning, dynamic photos. Plus, they create a more casual look.

You can place your subject in the middle of some stairs with one leg higher than the other to create a more striking composition. The best part is that this pose works both facing forward and from the side.

Woman sitting on the stairway. — Sitting on the stairway

3. Leaning back, arms on the sides

This pose is ideal for creating a casual, relaxed look, almost as if the photo is totally candid. It works great for pictures on a large chair or couch.

You can try it with your arms resting on the armrests or just one arm on the side, interlocking your hands to create a triangle shape with your arms.

Woman sitting leaning back, arms on the sides. — Leaning back, arms on the sides

4. One knee up

Whether sitting on a chair, a step, or a high wall, this pose is perfect for creating more dynamism in the composition. And it's a great way to make your model look relaxed.

Ensure one leg is bent with the foot close to the hip and the knee facing up. The other leg stays at a lower level, slightly bent or straight (depending on where the subject sits).

As the last recommendation, try to open the top leg slightly to the side and not fully forward.

5. Both legs spread

This pose looks fun and creates interesting lines to draw attention—beneficial for fashion and street photography. It's ideal for working with a high stool or on the floor. In addition, it works with the legs fully extended or slightly bent.

In this example, my subject is sitting on a rock at the beach.

Woman sitting on rock both legs spread. — Both legs spread

6. Legs sideways

This is another classic pose for quickly resolving a seated portrait on the floor or ground.

As the name implies, this pose simply means turning your subject's legs to the side while their upper body faces forward or at a slight angle.

Make sure your subject stays comfortable and is in the pose naturally and that they aren't turning too much causing a crank in their lower back as this will make your subject look awkward.

Woman sitting on a log with her legs sideways. — Sitting legs sideways

7. Legs at 45 degree angle

This pose looks feminine and delicate while being undemanding and classic.

Your model should be 45 degrees to the camera and not fully facing the camera. This way, you make better use of the lines you create with the position of the body and legs for a more eye-catching portrait without losing simplicity.

Woman sitting with egs at 45 degree angle. — Legs at 45 degree angle

8. Legs bent on the floor, one knee up

This is a variation of a pose we saw earlier but on the floor.

In this case, you leave one leg bent down as in the pretzel pose, and the other leg is kept slightly bent with the knee facing up and the sole flat on the floor. Then, you can bring your torso slightly forward and rest one arm (or two) on the leg that is up.

Man sitting with legs bent on the floor, one knee up. — Legs bent on the floor, one knee up

9. Leaning on a table

If you have a table, use it to your advantage! You can play with your model’s hands to create interesting lines and shapes and forget about the legs momentarily.

For example, you can ask your subject to lay their forearms on the table to create a triangle shape between their arms and their heads—it never fails. Or, you can ask them to place their elbows on the table and rest their chins on their hands.

Don't have a table, then you can use any surface.

During a fitness photography shoot I had, I had my subject lean on a boxing heavy bag.

Woman leaning on bag. — Leaning on a bag

10. Chair backwards

Sitting in chair regularly is boring! Mix it up and try turning it around for a rebellious look. This is a good idea to use a chair differently and get out of the ordinary.

You can play with the direction of the body and cross your legs forward or to the side.

Woman sitting on a chair backwards. — Sitting on chair backwards

11. Leaning against a wall with bent legs

This is another simple and classic pose that always works. It looks great with the arms resting on the knees or one leg higher than the other to create more striking lines. Try it indoors or outdoors with walls, door frames, windows, trees, etc.

You can take the photo with the subject entirely sideways or at 45 degrees to the camera.

Man sitting leaning against a wall with bent legs. — Sitting on wall with bent legs

12. L shape

Any pose that creates lines and geometrical shapes adds much to your final image. The L pose looks fantastic for fashion photography.

Sitting on a chair or ledge, slightly bend one of your leg or both legs to create an "L" shape. For example, in this image I took, notice that the leg with the purse on it is creating an "L" shape.

Woman sitting on a sofa creating an L shape with her leg. — Sitting creating L shape

13. Sitting leaning to one side

If you're going for a creative fashion look, have your subject sit down and lean to one side.

Instead of sitting straight, having then lean to one side will add some interest make your image more dynamic.

Woman sitting on a sofa sitting leaning to one side. — Sitting leaning to one side

14. Chin cradle

This pose is great for photographing your subject from the front and creating an attractive vertical composition. It works on a couch, chair, or stairs.

Ask your subject to rest one of their arms on their knees and have them cradle their chin with their hand. In terms of framing, you'll want to get close to your subject to capture their face.

Be sure to also have your subject gently touch their chin and avoid "smushing" their chin as that will be very unflattering. You want your subject to gently cradle their chin.

Woman sitting on the stairs with her hand cradling her chin. — Sitting with hand cradling chin

15. Legs crossed over fully

This is one of the most common sitting poses for women. It simply involves keeping your legs together and crossing one over the other.

This is a nice feminine pose that can also exude a sense of mystery.

Woman sitting on the stairs with her legs crossed over eachother. — Sitting legs crossed over one another

16. Legs crossed over partially

This pose is similar to the previous one but is a bit of a more masculine pose because you'll be having your subject cross their legs partially.

Instead of having your subject cross their leg over the other completely, you'll instead want them to only rest their ankle on the other leg. This creates a more masculine and nonchalant look.

Man sitting on a bench with legs crossed over partially. — Sitting crossed crossed over partially

17. Arms hanging

The arms hanging pose while sitting is a bit of a rebellious, fashion look.

The only time this pose is applicable is if you're in a creative shoot like a fashion shoot. If you're taking photos for a client then this might not be the best look.

You'll want to have your subject lean forward looking straight at the camera while their arms droop down. It gives a cool and edgy look.

Woman sitting on sofa with arms hanging. — Sitting arms hanging

18. Sitting touching ground

This pose is ideal for creating a creative and artistic look.

Ideally, you want to do this pose in water or in a field of flowers. You'll want there to be something on the ground for the subject to touch whether that be water, a flower, etc.

In this example, I had my subject go into a small body of water and she touched the water while looking down.

Woman sitting in body of water touching the water. — Sitting touching ground

19. Elbows on knee 45 degrees

This pose is similar to the first pose in this list except this time you'll want to angle your subject 45 degrees.

This 45 degree look creates a more dynamic image by adding extra lines to the image.

Man sitting on bench with arms on elbows 45 degrees from the camera. — Sitting elbows on knee 45 degrees

20. Elbows on knees facing inwards

For this pose, you'll want to have your subject place their elbows on their knees once again, but instead of having their arms and hands face forward, they will be facing inwards.

You can either choose to have them rest their hands naturally, place one over the other, or grasp them together. This pose also goes well with your subject looking off into the distance per my example.

Woman sitting with knees on elbows facing inwards. — Sitting elbows on knees facing inwards

21. One hand on top of thigh

The one hand on top of thigh pose is another easy sitting pose that you can use. To strike this pose, I like to have my subject sit up straight, rest one arm on one leg, and have the other hand on the top of their thigh.

This creates a casual, cool look.

Man sitting on stool with hand on top of thigh. — Sitting hand on top of thigh

22. Sitting with props

The sitting with props pose involves your subject playing or interacting with a prop while sitting down.

The goal for this pose is to create a candid, casual look. Some example props could include your subject sitting down playing a guitar, playing the piano, or interacting with another prop.

For example, in this photoshoot, we had a small disco ball and I had my subject look into the reflection and adjust her lip gloss.

Woman sitting on sofa playing with a disco ball prop. — Sitting with prop

23. Sitting legs dangling

The sitting with legs dangling pose create a fun, casual look.

To strike this pose, your subject needs to be sitting on an elevated surface where their legs will be able to hang down. Just make sure it is something safe and not a high ledge where either you or your subject could fall and get hurt.

This pose looks fun and is very original, but it is not that easy. Therefore, practice it before taking the photo so your subject feels comfortable with it. Make sure they sit naturally. For example, in this photoshoot, my subject turned ever so slightly to create a more natural sitting pose for himself.

Man sitting on his truck with his legs dangling. — Sitting legs dangling

24. The lean sit

The lean sit is a hybrid pose where your subject is both leaning and sitting.

This pose works well when you have a ledge, railing, or something to lean/sit on such as a car.

For example, in this photoshoot, my subject wanted to show off the new car he had so I had him lean/sit on the front right side of the car highlighting him and his car at the same time.

Man leaning against his new blue car. — The lean sit

25. The sit lay

The final pose I have is the sit lay...or the lay sit, whichever you prefer.

To strike this pose, you'll want to have your subject sit all the way down and have something that props their upper back/head. They won't be laying down all the way but they also won't be sitting all the way up.

This pose is great for capturing a moody or contemplative look. Pair it with Golden Hour or Blue Hour and you'll create a moody aesthetic.

Woman leaning against wooden log. — The lay sit

I know portraits can be intimidating at first, and being a good portrait photographer takes much practice— just like in any other photography genre.

So, the best advice I can give you is to look for references, plan your sessions with time, and practice with your friends.

Additionally, you can also practice with yourself. I like to try poses and photograph myself first to understand how to improve the pose and direct the subject more effectively. It also helps to know if a pose is awkward so you don't give your model a hard time.

Learning photography is all about trial and error, so get your camera, find a place to sit, and practice poses!