A fence or railing fixes the oldest posing problem there is. This set covers resting your elbows on the rail, leaning your back against the fence, and holding on lightly while tipping your weight away.

A fence or railing solves the oldest problem a beginner has in front of a camera: nowhere to put your hands. The moment there is a horizontal bar to lean on, both arms have a job and the rest of the body relaxes to match.

Three poses work on almost any railing: rest both elbows on it and lean slightly forward; turn your back to it and hook both arms over; or hold on lightly and tip your weight away from it. The third gives the best curve through the body, because it pushes the hips forward.

Compositionally, that horizontal line cuts both ways. If you stand dead centre and the rail splits the frame into two equal halves, the photo goes static. Stand a third of the way in and let the rail run diagonally into the distance and it becomes a leading line rather than a barrier.

Reference poses

A railing gives the hands a place and the body support

This setting solves the hardest posing problem with no prop at all: there is a horizontal bar at exactly hand height. Both hands on the rail with the body tipped slightly forward is comfortable and reads naturally in almost any situation.

Leaning back against the rail gives a different picture: weight tipped back, elbows resting on the bar behind, chest open. It is the most open shape the body makes and it looks confident without effort. Both beat standing upright beside a railing without touching it.

A fence is a strong leading line if you shoot along it

Shooting perpendicular to a fence turns it into a horizontal bar across the frame, splitting the picture in half and contributing nothing compositionally. It is how most people photograph one, and it wastes everything a fence can offer.

Stand at one end and shoot along its length, and the posts and rails converge into the distance, creating strong perspective that pulls the eye into the picture. Place the person about a third of the way along, so the line runs from the corner of the frame to where they stand.

The gaps are a foreground layer

If the fence has spaced vertical bars, try shooting through it. Put the lens right into a gap and the bars either side blur completely into two soft bands at the edges of the frame, framing the subject in the middle. It is a simple technique that produces a picture unlike anything else in the set.

The requirement is that the lens must be very close to the fence. Stand a metre back and the bars stay sharp and all you have is an obstructed photograph. Distance decides everything with this one.

Fence and railing poses

Reference poses

A railing gives the hands a place and the body support

A fence is a strong leading line if you shoot along it

The gaps are a foreground layer

Try a pose with your camera