Before a portrait session, I like to narrow pose ideas before the camera comes out. The easiest shortcut is to sort references by who is in the frame, what kind of scene I am using, and whether the subject should stand, sit, walk, or lean.

That gives me a short working list instead of a vague inspiration board. It also reduces the usual problems like stiff hands, flat body angles, or not knowing what small movement to try next.

One reference I keep handy for that prep step is photoposes.net. It groups pose ideas by people, occasions, scenes, outfits, and actions, which is much easier to use when I need to plan a shoot quickly.

Even a shortlist of five pose references can make the session smoother and help the subject relax faster.