Can you help with posing if I am camera shy?

Written By Eli Samuel

I get asked this on basically every call, and the good news is everybody is in the same boat.

Almost no one has done a photoshoot like this before. That is completely normal, and honestly it is one of my favorite parts of the process. I get to work with you one on one and walk you through everything step by step, so you are not just being thrown in front of a camera and expected to suddenly become Zoolander.

Because I am on very large commercial sets a lot, I am usually working with teams of over 100 people. In that world, I am a very small cog in a very big machine. So I genuinely love getting to work one on one and help somebody get a great result.

Yes, I have a digital facial coaching guide that I send before the session. But the real difference is that we go through it together in real time.

Usually by the end of the first practice portrait shot, after I walk you through it, the whole thing loosens up fast. At that point we are usually screwing around, hurling insults, and actually having fun.

You do not need to show up knowing how to pose. We figure it out together.

Eli Samuel

Eli Samuel’s practice is grounded in a sustained curiosity for visual communication, patterns, and color. He moves between photography, design layout, printing and bookbinding, and the moving image. His work often begins with feeling, then a frame, chasing an emotional charge first to drive the viewer’s attention, then building the image around it, using tension to turn something raw into something intentional.

Through handmade books, he slows the viewer down, using sequence to control how meaning unfolds and to make the work physical and permanent. These books rely on raw, charged pairings, placing people living with something beside language used as both messaging and form. Handwritten diary notes and typography operate as image, building rhythm, pressure, and intimacy across the pages.

In commissioned work, he brings the same emotional precision and visual discipline to campaigns and editorial projects, shaping bold, cinematic images that balance authenticity with intention. He works closely with clients and creative teams to build clear visual narratives, creating photography and moving image that feels direct, elevated, and human.

His work extends across multiple ventures, including editorial and commercial photography, fine art bookmaking and printed editions, campaign and brand direction, and moving image projects.

eli samuel

hello@elisamuelphoto.com

+1 512 698 1257

@elisamuelphoto

@ridgy_digi

https://www.elisamuelphoto.com
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