TikTok's Viral Posing Expert Shares Celeb Hacks For Couple Photos

Let’s get real for a minute — posing for a picture with someone else can be an awkward experience, even for celebs who regularly walk the red carpet. Seasoned pros like Zendaya and Rihanna are the definition of photogenic, but if you’ve seen Christine Buzan (@lookgoodinphotos) sharing celebrity posing hacks all over your TikTok FYP, you know even stars who are fixtures at the Met Gala or the Oscars don’t always nail it when striking a pose with their SO. The TikTok-viral posing expert says anyone can take pointers from celeb couples on the red carpet to help them and their partner snap the perfect pic IRL.

Most recently, Buzan went viral doing a series of TikToks covering the most photogenic guests at the 2023 Met Gala, and she has over 1.5 million followers who follow her for posing tips inspired by stars. Buzan tells Elite Daily in an exclusive interview, “I use celebrities, because we're fascinated with celebrity culture. I really want to break their posing techniques down in a way that's meaningful and accessible to everyone, kind of in the same way that YouTubers did with makeup hacks in 2008.”

Buzan, who began her career interning at a magazine in the fashion closet, says that assisting on photo shoots helped her pick up on what poses worked — and what didn’t. She went on to use these posing tips in her own fashion blog before sharing them on TikTok. “I started working on developing my own methodologies, because those don't really exist. There's specific rules within modeling,” she says, and she breaks it all down into terms that make sense for every person and body type.

To help make these celeb-inspired posing tips easier to remember for her followers, Buzan comes up with hacks and methods like LAAFFS — legs, abs (hips and chest), arms, fingers, face, and shoulders. This is the order of body parts you have to think about before striking the perfect pose. Similar to her LAAFFS method, Buzan broke down easy posing tips for couples based on some of the biggest celebs she’s witnessed recently on the red carpet.

Utilize Points Of Connection

“When it comes to posing with a partner, it's really important to form points of connection,” Buzan says. According to the TikToker, there are three specific points that couples should pay attention to: the hips, shoulders, and head. By connecting these points, you can tell a different story through body language. For instance, “if you have your hips angled toward the person to show a level of connectivity, that tends to be a bit more intimate,” she says.

Robert Pattinson and Suki Waterhouse at the 2023 Met Gala chose to utilize their head connection. By keeping their heads together, this shows a “really sweet and really tender” connection between the two. When staying close to your partner, Buzan suggests being really aware of hand placement. She says, “A lot of people will just put their arm around their partner and have their hand rest on their shoulder, and then there's a big, distracting hand.” You don’t want that.

Know Where To Stand With Your Partner

One big photo fail is when couples pose facing each other, according to Buzan. She says this kind of pose is “very intimate” and may not be appropriate all the time, especially at formal events. Avoid this move by standing at a 45-degree angle toward each other, “or have one partner facing the camera directly with the other person turned inward.” You also want to be mindful of who is standing on which side. Buzan uses Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas at the Met Gala as an example of what not to do. “If you look at her poses, her leg that should be extended with the slit in her dress is toward him,” she explains. “I think they would've looked better if she was standing on his other side.”

She also mentions not standing with your feet more than hip-width apart. By “manspreading,” you’re unintentionally creating distance between you and your partner. This makes it harder to have those points of connection when you’re standing far apart. Buzan says, “It's all about forming the unity of the couple rather than having one person shine. A couple that Buzan gave a shoutout to for being really connected on the Met Gala red carpet is Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz. In addition to having a lot of variation within their posing, she says still had connection points at the shoulders, head, or hips. “They do a really great job of breaking the lines, so they never look like they're just completely straight up.”

Play With Height

Buzan also believes that height plays a major role when determining where to stand. You can use stairs “to create a lot of interesting moments and layers,” or angle the shorter partner toward the camera. When Chopra and Jonas did this, Buzan says, “This gave the illusion of Nick being a bit taller.”

Keep Moving To Make Your Photos Less Awkward

When it comes to a red carpet power couple, Buzan shares, “Everybody is talking about Rihanna and A$AP Rocky for a reason.” The posing expert says that they shine because they aren't afraid of incorporating movement, just like Beckham and Peltz. “Movement makes a photo appear more natural and less awkward,” she explains.

Once you have your base, Buzan says to “figure out where the most natural placement of your arms is, and then you can do a few poses and move between them.” You can also look more natural by moving your shoulders and your head just a little bit while your friend is snapping the pic of you and your partner. Don’t be afraid to move around. Your photos are digital anyway, so there’s no harm in a blurry pic or two in between some really dynamic ones.

With these posing hacks to keep in mind, you and your partner can snap some more natural and Insta-worthy photos that you’ll want to share right away.