The Best Yoga Poses for a Photoshoot to Create a Thriving Yoga Business

Have you ever spent hours trying to take photos of yourself practicing yoga only to feel discouraged and dismayed at the end? Capturing the best yoga picture can often feel like an unreachable pursuit. But here’s the thing to remember – often, what we look like in real life is not the same as what we look like on camera. And by following a few essential tricks, you can use the camera to your advantage and capture the best yoga photos for yourself or your Instagram in no time.

Whether you are just taking fun pictures of yoga poses to post on Instagram or are curating a set of yoga photos for your yoga business, there are a few crucial elements to keep in mind. In this article, we will go over the best yoga poses for pictures in general and on Instagram, along with some fun tips and tricks for capturing the best yoga photos in no time!

Why Are High-Quality Yoga Pictures Important for a Yoga Business?

In modern times, we live by the rule of social media. For every yoga teacher and yoga business, having an active social media presence or engaging yoga website is essential to reaching your audience and building a thriving yoga business. And there is no better way to engage online than with eye-catching yoga photos.

Yoga photos can convey your expertise in physical yoga asana practice and can provide a way to keep your audience interested. Along with these eye-catching photos, they also give you an opportunity to convey the deeper aspects of yoga in the caption and begin to share your wisdom of yoga with others. Yoga photos also represent your personality, as there is no better way to connect with another person than through their smile and eyes.

But remember, yoga is so much more than just the poses. Yoga is a deeply spiritual and philosophical practice that brings us into deeper touch with ourselves and a higher power. When we remember this fact, we can highlight these elements in our photos and also learn to surrender the results at times when we just can’t seem to capture this depth on screen.

The Best Yoga Poses for Pictures

A good rule of thumb when figuring out the best poses for pictures is to imagine how the post will look in all three sections of the typical photo frame. Photos are generally separated into three sections, and you can either align yourself in the center of the frame or in one of the sections on either side. The more space in the frame that you take up, the more eye-catching that the photo will be.

Generally, expansive yoga poses are the best options for creating compelling and engaging yoga photos. These yoga poses utilize the framing of the photo to your advantage and can stop people as they scroll through their feeds. Any pose where your arms are reaching up and out create an inviting image for people to see that beckons them to your website. Some examples of expansive yoga poses that you can try for your yoga photoshoot are:

• High Lunge Pose (Anjaneyasana)
• Dancer’s Pose (Natrajasana)
• Wild Thing Pose (Camatkarasana)
• Tree Pose (Vrikshasana)
• Goddess Pose (Utkata Konasana)

These poses take up a more significant portion of the photo frame and can be exciting for your yoga students to see. You can explore with other postures in photos as well – just remember that the more open and inviting the pose appears, the better it will be received. But if you have a favorite yoga pose that you are dying to photograph, then go ahead and give it a try! Just consider the angle of the pose as you photograph it and utilize the framing secret to your advantage.

The Best Yoga Poses for Instagram

When figuring out the best yoga poses for Instagram, you can often follow a similar rule of thumb as for other yoga pictures by choosing poses that appear open, inviting, and expansive. But Instagram also has a different metric that tends to engage its viewers – anything that appears complex, advanced, or exotic!

The viewership on Instagram has seen your standard yoga poses hundreds of times, so often, the best performing yoga poses in Instagram pictures are those that haven’t been seen many times or poses that involve inversions, arm balances, or complex shapes. Some of the most popular yoga poses for Instagram photos are:

• Handstand Pose (Adho Mukha Vrikshasana)
• Peacock Pose (Mayurasana)
• Lotus Pose (Padmasana)
• Seated Wide Legged Forward Fold Pose (Upavistha Konasana)
• Crane Pose (Bakasana)

Instagram has a tendency to favor yoga poses that appear exotic, exciting, or even a bit sensuous. While there is a lot of controversy over whether or not yoga poses should be displayed sensually (and I personally have strong feelings against sexualizing yoga), it is undeniable that this is what performs best on Instagram. Each yoga teacher comes to their own decision in regards to how they want to portray themselves and their yoga business. But it is also important to note that focusing too much on making yoga appear complex and advanced can also dissuade your audience from seeing yoga as accessible and inviting to beginners.

Best Yoga Poses to Create Inclusive Spaces

We've talked about expansive poses and how they take up space, making them great for yoga pictures.  We've talked about what performs best on instagram, whether we like it or not.  I think it's also important to address the yoga poses that help to build inclusive communities.  If you're using your yoga photos to attract customers and inclusivity is important to you, I recommend simple, attainable yoga postures that are relatable.  

Not everyone can relate to arm balances and complex inversions.  These shapes don't speak to me as I don't practice many of them, and I"m not the only one.  Finding shapes in your body that most any and everyone can relate to sends the message to potential students that your yoga classes are accessible and this can be very empowering.  We want to take pictures in postures that are open because they exude welcoming energy which also helps to create inclusivity.  Some of the best yoga poses to create inclusive spaces are:

• Easy Pose (Sukhasana)
• Extended Mountain Pose (Utthita Tadasana)
• Hero's Pose (Virasana)
• Standing Side Bend Pose (Parsva Tadasana)
• Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

How to Take Yoga Pictures

1.     Check the Lighting

The lighting is one of the most critical elements of a high-quality yoga photo. If the lighting is poor, you will not be able to see the contrast of your body against the background, causing you to blend in. Even good lighting can turn a dismal scene into the perfect yoga pose stage. Some yoga teachers like to use professional lighting sources, but you can also utilize the power of natural light by taking your photos at certain times of day (hint – the golden hour is famous for a reason!).

2.     Consider Your Background

Another crucial consideration for any photo is your background. If your background appears dirty, cluttered, or unattractive, then it doesn’t matter how good your yoga poses are in the photo. Some of the best backgrounds for yoga photos are natural environments, as these are calming to the senses. But you can also use a simple and clean background, such as a white wall in your house – but you might consider adding some decoration to the space to give it an engaging edge.

3.     Use a High-Quality Camera

One of the biggest disappointments in any yoga photo shoot is when you strike the perfect pose, and the camera just isn’t able to capture its beauty. Using a high-quality camera like a DSLR can really make a drastic difference in creating beautiful yoga photos. But if you can’t afford the perfect camera, many smartphones also now have excellent cameras and are a great option to begin with. Make sure to use a tripod as well to keep the photo straight and stable as you strike your pose.

4.     Utilize Your Clothing Choice

Yoga photos aren’t just about the pose; they are also about the entire image and scene that you are conveying. Choosing the right outfit to wear in your pictures can make a huge difference in facilitating an engaging yoga pose. At the minimum, make sure that your clothing looks clean and professional. But you might also consider exploring fun outfits and engaging colors or patterns to add some flair to your image. Make sure also to consider the contrast of your clothing choice against your background choice – there is nothing worse than wearing white yoga clothing against a white background!

5.     Have Fun!

The most important thing to remember when taking your yoga photos is to have fun and enjoy the process! Yoga is so much more than just the poses, and it isn’t about perfection either. In fact, showing some imperfections or mistakes in your yoga photos can make yoga feel more accessible and can give you an inviting and open ambiance in your marketing materials. Even if trying an advanced yoga pose for a photo may look cool, don’t forget to be safe in the process and listen to your body to avoid getting any injuries.

Become a Yoga Teacher Online and Create Your Thriving Yoga Business!

Capturing the perfect yoga pictures is not just a fun thing to do; it is also essential for any budding yoga teacher to start their business and build their brand. Whether we like it or not, social media is here to stay. So, why not share the power of yoga with others on these channels with engaging yoga photos and the timeless wisdom of yoga philosophy and spirituality?

If you love to practice yoga, then maybe it is time for you to take the next step and become a yoga teacher to share your gifts with the world! In our online yoga teacher training courses, we help you deepen your personal yoga practice and gain the skills to share yoga with others. Reach out to us today for more information on how you can join our online 200hr ytt and 300hr yoga teacher training courses today!