The Morning Coffee

How to set up The Morning Coffee

1. Set the frame before anyone moves. The Morning Coffee wants a waist-up frame, with 2 people already close enough to touch. A cozy in-home pose with the couple sharing coffee by a window. Ideal for lifestyle and anniversary sessions.
2. Get them into the seated shape, then say this once and stop directing: "Grab your mugs and tell each other about your dream vacation."
3. While they hold it, make one flatter change and shoot again. Have them hold mugs at chest height with both hands to give the hands a job.
4. If the first frame feels stiff, do not rebuild the group. Try this next: Sitting on the kitchen counter.

Who it suits

The Morning Coffee is a couple pose. It fails if the two of them stand like acquaintances. It suits 2 people and a seated shape. It is beginner: one clear sentence is enough direction. If the group feels crowded, drop to the closest variation instead of backing everyone away from each other.

Where to shoot and how to light it

Shoot The Morning Coffee indoors (indoor). A sofa, bed, table, window or step you already have is the set. Clear the background directly behind the heads so the couple photo poses subject stays the subject. You do not need a studio wall.

For The Morning Coffee, face a window and turn the ceiling light off. Light from the side sculpts faces. Overhead light puts eyes in shadow and flattens the seated shape. If the window is behind them, they will be silhouettes, which is only right when the pose is meant to be a silhouette.

The usual miss on The Morning Coffee is a gap, a straight line of heads, or a face waiting for the next instruction. Have them hold mugs at chest height with both hands to give the hands a job. Then take the frame before anyone resets.

Variations

• Sitting on the kitchen counter
• Under a blanket on the window seat
• Clinking mugs together