Go to school and pose for photos

"The biggest change is to stand sideways and smile, but the results are still monotonous photos like sticks," said Ms. Duong, 36 years old, in Hoang Mai district, Hanoi.

Thuy Duong decided to spend nearly three million VND to attend a course on "posing in front of the camera".

The saleswoman said that before learning how to pose in front of the camera, she was taught how to walk cross-legged gracefully. Next, students were instructed in supportive exercises to help open their shoulders, straighten their backs, and avoid hunching their necks and backs. In addition, Duong was taught how to swing her arms and move her hips rhythmically.

After four sessions of the course, she applied it to her trip to China in early November. Duong said she was confident in wearing short skirts and high heels, and when taking photos, she posed sitting with her legs stretched out or standing cross-legged to look taller, or she could combine walking movements to make the photos look natural.

"I was taught to be careful even when holding a handbag or a cup of coffee. If you want to look classy in a photo, you can pose standing, put your bag on your left elbow, gently bend your arm up, and hold the coffee cup in the other hand," said the Hanoi girl.

Le Xuan also took a few days of intensive posing courses to wear ao dai to take Tet photos. The 30-year-old girl likes to wear traditional costumes so she often hires photographers. "Even though the photographer guides me, I still feel shy when I have to act out the same thing over and over again, and the photos don't look natural," Xuan said.

On social networks, groups sharing knowledge about posing for photos attract from several dozen to several hundred thousand members. In Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, there are also more than a dozen establishments offering courses on posing for photos.

Ms. Vu Dieu Thuy, founderKolin Academytraining, personal branding said that it opened a photo posing class in 2018, but from the beginning of 2024 until now, the number of students has increased dramatically, double the average of every year. On average, there are about 50-60 people registering to study in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi each month. Students are mainly 20-35 years old, about 60% study to build their image, personal brand, work as photo models, KOC... The remaining 40% are office workers, students studying to learn more poses, confident when taking photos.

The courses at Ms. Thuy's facility usually have three main contents: learning posture, learning shooting angles, and learning photo color correction. Tuition fees range from one to four million VND.

According to Ms. Thuy, to have a beautiful photo, first of all, students need to be confident with their body shape, know how to choose colors, clothing styles, and makeup suitable for the situation.

Some posing classes in Ho Chi Minh City also attract hundreds of members to study both in person and online every month.

"In addition to learning how to pose, students are also taught to find suitable angles, eye expressions, and smiles. Instead of acting, do everything naturally like walking around, drinking coffee, reading a book, and asking the photographer to continuously capture the moment," said Bich Ngoc, 28, a model and instructor at a posing class in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Dr. Nguyen Thanh Nga (Academy of Journalism and Communication), the number of people taking photo posing courses is understandable in the current context.

Nowadays, people know how to focus more on self-development, from cultivating knowledge to taking care of their image. Some have jobs related to social networks, business, meeting partners, advertising also need personal images, so learning how to pose for photos helps them have more opportunities as well as be more confident each time they post online. "Even learning to serve the need to 'live virtual', receive many compliments from friends to help relieve stress, and be happier is also reasonable," said Ms. Nga.

After 4 years of modeling in Hanoi, Thuy Trang said that thanks to taking a posing course, in addition to learning more poses in the studio and outdoors, she also knows how to "act" in front of the mirror. Previously, she often spent money renting a studio or going to a coffee shop to take photos, but since she learned how to take photos in front of the mirror, she has been able to highlight her products and save money.

After the course, Le Xuan also felt confident knowing how to "interact" with the ao dai. "The photos became more emotional, knowing the poses to take beautiful photos made me more confident," the 30-year-old girl said.