Finding your favourite and easy go-to poses for Instagram can be a bit hard sometimes, especially if you’re already doing photo planning and frame positioning! After 3 years of making my travel Instagram photos and spending countless hours posing for Instagram, I have finally found my best go-to simple and cute Instagram poses for my own photos, and I wanted to share them with you! And if happen to be one of those lucky girls who can get her boyfriend to join in on the photos, then scroll a bit lower down and have a look at my favourite poses for travel couples as well.
Top 10 Simple and Cute Instagram Poses and Posing Ideas
1. The Hat
My signature pose and arguably one of the most cute Instagram poses you can do. Literally, all you need is a big straw hat in the summer or a wool hat in the winter. Turn your back to the camera and lift your chin up a little – and you’ve got yourself the signature Instagrammer look! Easy to achieve and especially perfect for hot days where you don’t necessarily have the best hair day ever.
2. Turned Back
A classic travel girl cute pose for Instagram, and one of the easiest poses you can think of! It might seem strange at first to turn your back to the camera, but once you do it a couple of times, you’ll find it strange to turn your face towards it again.
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This one works perfectly if you’re a bit camera-shy. I’ve also gotten a lot of feedback from people that they feel most related to photos where you can’t see someone else’s face – they feel like it could easily be them in the photo. And having photos that are a little more relatable and easily doable, is definitely a good thing!
Turn your back, lift one arm and back with one leg. You’ve got yourself the fake walk, back turned photo like a travel girl pro!
3. Dress Flick
The dress flick Instagram pose is perfect in combination with a camera who has the option of shooting high speed continuous. This means that you’ll be able to take photos super fast and capture those moments when your hand releases the dress and it looks like your dress just flows on its own.
I generally take about 50 shots and only choose one when doing these kinds of photos. Try to stay as still as possible and only move your arm to flick your dress.
4. Look Back
The perfect pose for those of us who often don’t have a clue what to do with our arms in the photos! Turn your body to the side, or completely against the camera, and look back. It gives the photo a nice ‘join me’ vibe. These cute Instagram poses can be done in many different ways, but my favorite is to put the camera in a high-speed-continuous mode and run away. The dress always gets a nice flow and I am always happy with the results.
5. Hotel Bed
You’re staying in a beautiful room and have no idea how to pose inside four walls? These are perfectly cute Instagram poses you can do in any hotel room or even your own bedroom.
Try to create a cosy spot and don’t be afraid to move furniture around a little (just make sure you put it back after!), so that it fits the light. Aim for a relaxed photo or include some props to make it more fun. A lot of hotels have some books or newspapers that are the best props. Or why not just do your make-up or grab a glass of water. The hotel bed photo done right!
You can have a look at a few of my hotel posts for more tips on this – it’s especially useful if you’re doing hotel collaborations!
6. Use Props
If you really want to keep your hands busy, then props are the way to go! A vintage camera, a hat or a book will take you a long way here! It’s especially useful to use props if you’re taking a day just for creating content and want a good variety of photos, without feeling like you’re doing the same thing over and over again.
I try to always treat accessories as props as well, so don’t be afraid to hold your hat, instead of wearing it, or flicking your scarf in fall. Also, don’t be afraid to get creative and make use of what’s around you – like this dead palm tree leaf I decided to grab onto on the photo below.
7. The Drone Shot
Beach and pool shots look amazing when taken with a drone! A drone can really show the magic of the place in a totally different way than a camera can. I love top-down photos from a higher perspective, or slightly angled from a lower height.
If you want to take a picture together with someone, just put the drone on self-timer mode and place the remote next to you, it’s easier Photoshop it out of the image than if it’s laying in your hand (trust me, I’ve tried and failed). An amazing place for epic drone shots for cute Instagram poses is definitely the Philippines! So many epic beaches and islands there that will absolutely rock those drone shots.
8. Get On The Ground
To get a good variation of cute Instagram poses and poses in general, the ground is a great option for a different perspective and variety on your feed. This is one of my favourite Instagram posing tips because it dares you to do something a little different and gives you a chance to create a different view of a location where everyone generally poses in a different way.
This cute pose is especially useful on beaches, piers, by lakes etc.
9. Hold Hands
If you’re one of those lucky girls who can get her boyfriend to take a photo with you, then this one will be the least awkward for both of you. Hold hands and stand, or pretend to walk (by taking one step forward), and you’ve got yourself an easy to replicate couple pose Instagram shot.
My boyfriend hates to be in the photos with me, especially if I want to kiss or hug, so holding hands is one of those couple poses he is willing to do without arguing too much about it hehe! We took the majority of holding hands photos in Bali though, so his might be his happy place?
10. The Couple Shot
The final one is for those of us who sometimes manage to convince our boyfriends into unthinkable (read: romantic) poses. Think kisses, hugs and uncomfortable positions with fake smiles – aka the ultimate travel couple shots! These ones are one-in-a-million so make sure you savour the moment and go all out when you can!
A little tip if you’re struggling with convincing: rewards! I know it may sound simple, but I often say lunch or cocktails are my treat. You know your partners best, so have a little think what they would like to do and promise them that in exchange for a cheesy photo together. You gotta do what you gotta do, right?
I hope these 10 cute Instagram poses for girls and couples gave you a few ideas of how to take cool travel shots! I know it may feel embarrassing and intimidating to start taking photos when posing, but trust me – with time you’ll care less and less what others around think.
If you’re feeling super shy, my top tip is to look up into the sky or closing your eyes when facing away from the camera. Do not look at the people staring at you, put on a smile when you turn your back to the camera and work it! The photos I felt most awkward taking turned out to be my best ones. So just think of it this way – the more awkward it feels, the better the photo will be!
For beginners in creating and working those cute Instagram poses, I would also say props are the best way to go. The most awkward thing to place on a body are always the arms. And if you keep them busy with something else you’ll definitely be able to create a cool picture that will tell a little more of a story.